Skiing in the French Alps!

Today my dream of cross-country skiing at Montgenevre finally came true! We had been here only once before in winter, in 2006, when Torino hosted the winter Olympics, and we were too busy going to Olympic events or skiing the fresh powder on the downhill slopes to explore the cross-country trails at the time. This time, however, I was determined to try Nordic skiing in the Alps, despite not having slept well from coughing due to a cold. I drank lots of hot tea, waiting for the rest of the family to wake up. When everyone was up, I made French toast (mais oui!), and then we walked down to the village to rent Nordic skis at the little shop next to the tourist center. For 15 euros a day each (the price is less if you rent for additional days), we were outfitted with Salomon boots, waxless classic skis, and poles. We then went to the little hut to get ski passes, which cost 15 euros a day, a seven-day pass cost. We scanned our passes at the turnstile across the street, and three different loops of wide trails groomed for skating and classic were ours! 

This little pass between France and Italy had received loads of snow in the last week, and the evening low had been 20F; at mid-day, the temperature was hovering above freezing, but the trail was not mushy. The pass is just under 6000 feet in elevation, and the sun was intense. I was glad I brought sunglasses.

We did the first little loop, “Le Lac,” which is at the top of the pass and has very little elevation gain. Within that loop, right on the flat lake, is a round loop dubbed “Espace debutant,” where you can ski in your ball gown, or so I thought, until Enrico told me that debutant just means beginner in French. 

Next, we did Le Stade and Le Golf loops which have a couple of steep downhill pitches, as well as some long easy downhill sections, great for double poling. After days of doing little arm exercise beyond lifting another forkful of pasta to my mouth, it felt great to flex a bit and also try to go faster than the downhill skiers on their route parallel to the cross-country trail. At a certain point, the cross-country trail merged with the downhill trail. We were all sweaty and thirsty at this point, so we stopped at a little outdoor café for some water. It was so warm in the sun that we sat outside without feeling the least bit chilled. We also discovered that we were now in Italy, having crossed the national boundary at some point on the ski trail.

The route back to France was a lot of uphill, and we were feeling the elevation. The Sassi ski train was a bit slower on this section of the trail. We got to go on a bridge over the downhill trail at one point, which reminded me of the Birkie bridge. 

After getting back to the start, Enrico and I did another short loop and the boys did another long loop, and then we were all tired and hungry for lunch, so we headed back to our apartment. Lunch was leftover polenta and vegetables and some soup. After a big post-ski coughing fest, we rested for awhile and started planning tomorrow’s ski.

There is no bad weather, only bad clothing choices

My friend, Kay Beckerman, recently asked me to repost my recommendations about clothing to wear while cross-country skiing, and I am happy to oblige.

Along with the maxim that there is no bad weather, only bad clothing choices, I would add that to be truly comfortable while out cross-country skiing, you do have to under-dress a bit and be willing to be uncomfortable for the first 5 minutes while you get your heart rate up and start producing heat internally. If you go out in a big parka that you feel cosy in while standing still and then start skiing, you will soon be sweating, and sweating=getting cold and miserable.

In Fargo, where we often have wind, it can be tricky to balance the wind protection you want to stay warm in the wind, with the breathability you need to expel excess heat when your body is working hard. Specialized ski clothes are expensive, and I have been a skier through many years of living below the poverty level, so I know there are workarounds that are less expensive. For example, clothing for winter bicycling is less expensive and does double duty for cycling (and using a bike for transportation instead of a car is one way I survived those lean years). I have also made a lot of my ski clothes myself with a serger, a roll of fleece and a roll of stretchy lycra.

Basically, dress in layers and don't wear cotton that gets wet and stays wet. Fabrics like polypropylene and wool that are breathable, wick moisture away from the body, and still insulate you even when wet are the best choices. When using wind protection, choose shells that have some panels that are breathable. Windblocking material in the front of a jacket and breathable material in the back works well.

That said, here is an example of  what I wore on a day when it was 18 below.

From top to bottom: a fleece hat (thicker than the hats I usually wear), earmuffs, and a neck gaiter; Three layers on top: a thin skintight Odlo baselayer, a fleece sweater, and an REI shell. Two layers on my legs: Odlo baselayer and Novara bike tights with a wind panel in the front. Smartwool socks, Alpina boots with thinsulate. I wore lobster mitts. If I were to stay out longer than the hour I was out, I would add overbooties and a liner to my mitts. Possibly a thicker layer under my bike pants would be helpful too.

For today, when it was 15 above, I swapped out the thick hat for a thinner one, and a thin shirt for the fleece. I stayed toasty for 2 hours. 

Blessed by a Bald Eagle

Last night I wasn't sure if I was going to make it back home to Fargo after spending the Thanksgiving holiday with my sister in Pennsylvania. I knew a winter storm was coming across the Plains, but as I prepared to fly out of the Philadelphia airport, it did not appear that my connecting flight in Chicago was delayed. However, after boarding, our plane did not move for 30 minutes due to lack of a captain. Now I was worried that I would miss my connecting flight in Chicago. About 30 of us were in danger of missing connecting flights, so other passengers allowed us to exit first. I ran to my gate, thinking I had about a 50/50 chance of making it before they closed the door. When I got to the gate, huffing and puffing, I found out that flight was delayed--hurray! I would make it! We boarded, but then this plane also did not take off. Just when I thought they were cancelling due to weather, the captain announced that they just had to sign off on some "maintenance paperwork," and we would be on our way--hurray! More waiting on the runway ensued. Again, I worried we would just head back to the gate. Then the captain announced, "We are cleared for take off. It will be a bumpy flight, so please keep your seatbelts on." We flew into the storm. Indeed, it was a bumpy flight. I had just started to fall asleep when, Bam! We landed hard on the runway in Fargo. It was midnight, and the wind was blowing hard, making the snow fly horizontally instead of falling vertically. Enrico expertly maneuvered our Prius through the snowy streets. I was glad to make it home, and fell asleep dreaming of skiing the next morning...

I woke up as it was getting light, and eagerly looked out the window--nice big drifts of snow and clearing skies! I had a hearty breakfast of oatmeal and an egg, brought Enrico a cup of coffee and prepared to go out for my first ski in 6 weeks. It was still windy as the storm clouds departed, but not too cold out--about 15 degrees F. I took the waxless touring skis out to break trail.

It was slow going with snow drifting up to mid-calf or higher in places. However, I was just happy to be out--nothing like cross-country skiing to recover from air travel. It was about 9am when I started, and I didn't see another person until I got to Lindenwood Park, where I saw someone out snowshoeing. As I got near the bridge that leads from Lindenwood to Gooseberry Park, I saw a large bird in the distance. From the way it flapped its wings, I thought it might be an eagle. Usually I would ski eagerly toward it to get a better look, but this time I just stayed still and watched as it tacked back and forth across the river, each time getting a bit closer. Yes, it was a bald eagle. I watched, entranced as it got closer and closer, until it flew right over my head. For a long second, it looked at me, and I looked at it. Then it tilted, flapped its wings and rode the wind again to the other side of the river. I watched it continue this way downriver, back and forth, gliding then flapping. Maybe looking for fish in the open water. I felt blessed by this eagle and continued on my way with an extra spring in my stride.

When I got into the woods, I came onto a spot where the floodwaters had not yet receded from the ski trail. I tried to remember what this spot looked like in summer, and stayed on the higher ground to avoid getting my skis wet.

Soon after that, I encountered another set of ski tracks. Glancing at my Apple watch, I saw that I had been skiing for an hour already--talk about slow going! I turned back, eager to enjoy a faster pace skiing back in my own tracks, and that was the case for awhile, but as I got to Ponte Park, it had been long enough since I passed that way that my ski tracks had already been filled in with snow by the unrelenting wind. The stretch from there to the water treatment plant was just as hard going coming back as it was going out.

The sun came out on my way back, and my tracks had already been filled in by the wind.

I extended my ski by breaking a little skijoring trail to enjoy with Noko later. I got back in at 11am, pleased that my fall workouts allowed me to be able to ski for 2 hours continuously, except, of course, a few moments to snap these photos.

I hope that the snow doesn't melt, and this is the beginning of continuous skiing for the whole winter. 

First ski of the season on October 12th!

After a month of rain and cloudy skies, we got a couple of warm, sunny days, and then our first snowstorm starting the evening of October 10th. At first it was a cold, freezing rain and then it changed to snow. It snowed all day on Friday, October 11th, but I wasn't optimistic about the possibility of skiing because 1) mentally, I am not ready--I didn't have any of the fall hikes that should precede a ski season and 2) with extremely wet conditions, I figured the snow would just melt into the wetness on the ground.

However, when I woke up Saturday morning to the wonderful bright light that comes with snow on the ground, I couldn't resist heading out with my skis. I told Enrico it would probably be bad and I'd be back in 20 minutes.

As I walked down the street, I could hear a group of crows cawing up a storm in the tree by my neighbor's house. Looking up, I wondered what the commotion was about. Then my eye caught the birds across the river--a group of turkey vultures. Fargo crows vs. Moorhead vultures--snow day battle! I watched these birds flying in the snow--fat white flakes against dark wings. I put on my skis and climbed up the dike, pushing off, I expected slow going with the snow building up on the bottom of my skis, but I actually had a surprisingly nice glide down the other side. I thought,  This might actually turn out to be okay . . .

Green leaves, yellow leaves, and white snow--an unnatural combination

With every stride my spirits lifted. Yes, some of my tracks were one-use only as my skis compressed the snow right down to the wet ground below, but I could kind of glide along all right, and it was glorious to be out in all the bright snow after a very dark several weeks.

Guess these tracks can only be used once...

Although there were still a few strong gusts of wind from the storm, there were also long periods of stillness, with great big flakes floating peacefully (and vertically) to the ground. The strength of this winter storm was evident in the many branches that had fallen to the ground under the weight of snow caught in their still-green leaves (no doubt aided by the strong gusts of wind that accompanied this storm). In some instances, whole trees had fallen.

The ski trail was flooded in some places because the river is so high from our September of rain. This photo shows a part of the trail we normally ski on.

Wonder if this will dry up before the real ski season starts?

I kept to the higher ground and stuck to the grass, when possible. I was feeling pretty good, so I thought I might try to go over to Gooseberry Park, where there is lots of grass to ski on, but the bridge was up because of the flooding.

The bridge has been raised due to the flooding of the Red River.

Instead, I continued into Lindenwood Park. Some kids were sledding, and people were out walking their dogs. One tiny white dog was "fetching" snowballs thrown by his owner. He really, really wanted to bring them back, furiously digging into the snow to retrieve the fallen snowball. Only another thrown snowball would distract him from the task.

I skied around the grassy part of Lindenwood up by the sports fields and found that by skiing just below the leeward side of the dike, I could have lots of snow to ski on because the wind pushed it there.

These tracks could be used more than once.

When I got to the entrance to Lindenwood, I saw another skier about to head out--Peter Arneson, who gave me permission to post this video of him.

He talked about how much he enjoys skiing and apologized for the squeak of his skis--so Fargo of him. I said I didn't mind--all the sounds are part of the music of being out skiing.

A highlight of my ski today was seeing a Peregrine falcon in Ponte Park, diving down through the snowflakes. My breath caught in my throat when I spotted him. I also enjoyed seeing all the leaves with snow on them.

When I got back near our house, I texted Enrico, and he came out with Noko. I skijored with him for a little while, and Enrico took some photos of us. I was out for 2 hours, and now I'm quite tired!

Last Ski of the Winter

After a few days up at Turtle Mountain, I wanted to see what the trails were like along the river here in Fargo, so I went out for a ski early this morning while it was still cold. Yes, there was still crust skiing, but some of it looked like this, which--although skiable--was not sparking much joy:

Crossing the bike paths was, quite frankly, tedious (taking off skis and putting them back on) and treacherous (a smooth sheet of ice had frozen over the bike path). Also, as the snow melted, more sticks, dog poop, and debris had come to the surface, which meant skiing with greater awareness--no zoning out today! Nevertheless, I still managed to catch my left ski on something, causing a sudden face plant--not so fun on the hard, icy surface. 

Despite such annoyances, there was still some fun skiing to be had in the hour I was out. For example, the area between the water treatment plant and Ponte Park had some crust skiing with no obstacles, and I was able to do a few charges up the dike to get my heart rate up into the 160s and 70s. Going down is not so fun on the icy crust though! 

I had to go over to Lindenwood to the spot where I have taken a series of photos as the river began to thaw. Unfortunately, the spot where I usually stand was already underwater, so I didn't get to complete my series, but I did get to see some Canadian Geese enjoying the open water:

I enjoyed the fresh air and seeing the changes to the landscape I've spent so much time in these last few months, but I also felt very sad to see the ski season ending. I always feel such a profound sadness in spring. Others think I'm weird, so I really appreciated seeing the film about Sami artist Maj Doris at the Fargo Film Festival last week, because she expressed that same kind of sadness that comes with spring. For her, it meant saying good-bye to her reindeer, who migrate to their summer pasture up in the mountains. 

"Phargo Phil" did not see his shadow

St Patrick's Day Ski

I might still be a bit delirious from my cold, but I decided to have a bit of fun out skiing today. My Uncle Doug had given me these outrageously large and colorful shorts as a Christmas present, so I decided to wear them for spring skiing on Saint Patrick's Day, along with a lot of other loud, tropical-looking items of clothing. My patent for the Norwegian Ski Bikini, which I am calling the BiSkiNi is pending. On April 1st, I will announce my new company of the same name. Let me know if you want to buy stocks.

Spring Skate Skiing

There is a bit of a thrill in being the first to lay down skate tracks on a newly groomed skate trail, and that put a zing in my step this morning. There had been fog earlier, which left crystals on the branches. All the glittering on the trees in the strong spring sun made for a dazzling skate ski this morning.

Spring Skiing, Spring Fever

I was back out skiing after five days of being sick with a spring cold. Yesterday's "historic blizzard" left a layer of frozen rain and snow on the tracks that had been set by Fargo Parks right before the storm. The high winds blew a lot of branches on the trail, which I did my best to clean up as I skied. It was 23 degrees, which meant crust skiing! I slid over the frozen surface of the snow without sinking in the deep snow on my way down to the river.

The only creature to use the trails since the storm left his footprints in the track.

Once there, I looked around to see the results of the storm and to look for signs of spring. It felt good to be outside again--I was getting cabin fever from being inside so much. Weakened from being sick, I skied pretty slowly and stopped to cough and blow my nose a lot.

The river is thawing and also rising from the warmer water to the south. 

For awhile, a reddish little squirrel raced next to me through the willows growing along the bank before veering off toward the river. On my way back, I heard the gobbles of several turkeys from the Minnesota side of the river. In looking for where the sound was coming from, a movement in the sky caught my eye--a bald eagle! I wonder if the turkeys were vocalizing at him?

Even though there is a lot of snow, the angle of the sun is high and there are many signs that spring is almost here. I'm glad to be up and about to witness them.

Buds are already forming on the tree branches. 

3 Loops of Skating

We had a snowstorm starting up on Saturday, March 9th, so I went out shortly after sunrise for a skate ski. It was fast, the snow was not too piled up, and I felt pretty good, so I did three loops of the skate trail. I was out for just under two hours, average heart rate 152, high of 168. By the time I finished, I was beginning to catch my tips in the snow because of the accumulation  (or I was just tired). 

Fresh Tracks & "Feels Like" Ten Above

Thank you, Fargo Parks! I was greeted with freshly set classic tracks on Saturday morning, and had a great ski between home and Lindenwood Park. Today, I did the same loop, plus up to the dog park. Conditions were excellent--I was "in the zone" virtually the whole time. The sun is higher in the sky, providing plenty of warmth despite the "dangerous wind chill" warning for North Dakota today. I have to disagree with the "feels like" temperature, which was -32 when I headed out. I believe it "feels like" +10.  That is the joy of spring skiing! 

Skiing with an Angel

The day is over--
My love waits for me.
We slide through
deep soft snow
As the sun sets.
Striding side-by-side
Talking over the day.

He, in a blue jacket
and blue cap
Blue eyes sparkling
at the blue sky.

After an hour,
Our trails merge
Into one.

The sun is down,
shadows grow,
A dark blue stain
spreads across his back
in the shape of wings.

I follow my angel home. 

Guest blogpost by Ben Melby: A Runner's Perspective on Skiing

Ben and his friend Peder Arneson skiing at Maplelag

VO2Max – the maximum amount of oxygen that you take in and transport throughout your body – the basis for endurance strength. As a life-long competitive runner, endurance strength is what I work to improve, to get fitter and faster. This is not only a benefit for local road races, but for general quality of life: improved sleeping, improved energy, improved mental clarity, improved calmness and well-being.

I have asked and received a lot from running. And those gifts are never more vitally important than during the deep freeze of Fargo winters when general mood and quality of life can be difficult to maintain, and getting out for runs (or motivating to run on an indoor hamster wheel) can be even more difficult to maintain. So how do I manage to not only maintain but continue improving, living to the ‘max’?

Cross country skiers have the highest reported VO2Max of all endurance athletes—higher than Phelps, higher than Bolt, higher than Kipchoge, higher even than a doped-up Armstrong. Nordic skiers, by virtue of their full-body demanding activity, have the best heart, lungs, and endurance strength of them all.

When running gets hard, the skiing gets exciting and invigorating, lifting one right out of seasonal affective disorder. When the Fargo winter threatens to lower one’s fitness and quality of life, get out skiing. Lindenwood Park, Edgewood Golf Course, Viking Ship Park, or the short drive out to Maplelag or Spidahl’s resorts—Fargo has a lot to offer the runner turned skier when the summer turns winter.

I now find myself looking forward to winter, snow, and (to a degree) cold. Now it is an opportunity to improve my running, my fitness, and my quality of life. When spring road race season returns, I am ready: mentally and physically at my ‘max’.          -Ben Melby

Ben out skiing at Maplelag Resort