Halifax Nordic Ski Club Newsletter
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In this week's newsletter:
- Membership
- Halifax Nordic Sled Fund- Go Fund Me
- Halifax Nordic trails
- Skiing tomorrow
- Brunello update
- Ski waxing fundraiser
- Looking for races?
- Skijoring
- Cross Country Nova Scotia
- Purchasing cross country skis
- Looking for used gear.
- Skiing outside of HRM
- Volunteer with Halifax Nordic
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Gift a Halifax Nordic Ski Club Membership
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If you have not picked up your 2020 Halifax Nordic Ski Club membership, the season is just starting. For full membership details and pricing visit our
website
.
Purchase this year's membership on Zone 4.
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Halifax Nordic Ski Club has expanded its network of trails and has been finding partnerships to help with grooming. Grooming relies on reliable equipment that can be deployed quickly to trails when snow falls. HNSC has six trails to take advantage of the microclimates around HRM. Our grooming team works magic attempting to preserve existing snow and groom the trails in a way that will increase our "skiable days".
We just received great news that a grant request to improve our grooming equipment has been approved. The Valley branch of Community, Culture and Heritage has approved a grant request for HNSC. We are eligible for a $3700 grant towards a purchase of $12,100. The club would like to purchase a newer sled to upgrade our original 2005 Skandic. HNSC hopes to raise $2500 from our members so we can make the purchase immediately and utilize the grant.
We have a devoted core grooming team at HNSC that are out late at night and early in the morning when snow falls so that trails are ready for skiers. These upgrades improve our equipment and make for better and easier grooming. HNSC is 100% volunteers and non-profit.
To date, we have raised 20% of our $2500 goal, please consider supporting the sled fund.
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It was a busy week last week with all of the snow and we saw excellent conditions at Brunello, McDonald Sports Park and there was groomer training at Oakfied. We hope that you were able to make it out last week when the conditions were ideal. A reminder to members to check trail conditions @
www.halifaxnordic.ca/trails
or on
Facebook
. Each trail is a microclimate, so when there is snow, check in with us (Twitter, Facebook or our Website) to see if the trails are groomed.
The groomers ask that skiers stay off the trail until they can safely finish grooming, so if you are headed out after a snow fall, please check in to see if the trail has been opened yet.
We do our best to keep posting trail updates throughout the week, but conditions change quickly. We are a small team of volunteers and you can help by letting others know conditions, so please, post to Facebook or Twitter with an update or photo. These updates from members then appear on our website and let other skiers know if they should venture out on the trails.
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Graves Oakley
was groomed this evening to try to pat down the snow and prevent it from blowing off in the high winds. This trail will likely be your best bet for tomorrow morning, but we can't guarantee the forecasted high winds at Graves Oakley will not blow away all of the snow. If you are out first thing, you may need rock skis, and please post to Facebook to let other skiers know how the trail fared with the winds blowing in off the North Atlantic. Check our
trail updates
for conditions.
We are waiting to see what the latest snowfall will bring, unfortunately, it does not look like we will get as much snow as we had hoped and we're scheduled to get high winds tonight that could blow the snow off the trails.Stay tuned and time for a snow dance.
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We had incredible trails at Brunello last week after the snowfall and saw many skiers out on the trails. Last week was a reminder that in Nova Scotia, get out when it snows as it may disappear overnight.
The temperatures were cold this week and we we bagan snowmaking on Monday in the Brunello snowbowl and hope to have the bowl filled next week.
There are now lights installed in the snowbowl which means much easier to ski in the evening.
The snowmaking will make scheduling events easier in 2020. Weather permitting, we are planning for Monday night lessons 6:45-7:45, Tuesday social skis 7-8 and pop up races- likely Wednesday nights (check FB for details). The Tuesday night social ski is sponsored by the Trail Shop and we will be updating details on
Facebook
and
http://halifaxnordic.ca/news/
.
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Monday night when the temperatures dropped and we began blowing snow.
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Thursday night, it's -8 at Brunello with temperatures forecast to drop to -14. The team is working under the lights taking advantage of the cold weather as the bowl fills.
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Ski Waxing Fundraiser!
Back by popular demand.
Get your skis waxed and ready for the season AND support the provincial ski team.
SKI DROP OFF: Saturday, January 18th at 11 am or Monday, January 20th from 5:45-6:45 at Brunello Clubhouse
PICK UP: Monday, January 20th, 6-8 pm or Saturday, January 25th at 9:30
Cash donations (suggested $15) at pickup much appreciated! Funds raised will go to support the ski team’s travel and wax costs for their big races.
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Looking for ski races?
Race for Halifax Nordic at the Maritime Cup - January 18 and 19
Head to Fredericton next weekend for the fun and friendly 2019 Maritime Cup.
- Saturday January 18, 2020 - NB Cup #1 - Freestyle, individual start
- Sunday, January 19, 2020 - NB Cup #2 - Classic, mass start
The races will be held on the Killarney Lake Trail network which was recently upgraded to meet international standards thanks to a $200,000 project supported by all three levels of government.
More details at:
http://www.wostawea.ca/maritimecup/
When you register be sure to identify Halifax Nordic as your club. The Maritime Cup will be awarded to the club with the best results over the two days. New Brunswick has an incredible number of clubs and active skiers, and they are always very welcoming to Nova Scotian skiers.
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We have received lots of requests over the years from members as well as the skijoring community to include trails for onleash dogs, and specifically for skijoring. HNSC is going to try something new for the rest of January at
MacDonald Sports Park,
on a trial basis we will allow skiing with dogs on leashes/tethers. This is a multi-use park so caution must be exercised by all users. Based on feedback from users and the WAAA a decision will be made on the dog skiing policy at the end of January. Check out
East Coast Mushing
for more details on skijoring.
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Cross Country Nova Scotia
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Purchasing cross country skis?
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If you are looking to upgrade your ski gear, try one of our club partners: The Trail Shop and Hub Cycle. Support these locally owned businesses that have experienced staff and have many options for purchasing equipment.
Mention you are a Halifax Nordic Member and you are eligible for a Halifax Nordic Ski Club discount.
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The Trail Shop:
6112 Quinpool Rd., Halifax NS
info@trailshop.com
902-423-8736
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Truro
59 Inglis Place, Truro, NS
truro@trailshop.com
902-842-2777
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33 Inglis Place
Truro, NS, B2N 4B5
902-897-2482
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Used cross country skis and gear to buy or sell?
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We are getting lots of inquiries around buying and selling used gear. Try the Facebook group
NS XC BUY/SELL/TRADE
. it was set up to put folks in touch with each other.
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There are many great spots to ski in and around Nova Scotia as well as in neighbouring New Brunswick. I would recommend joining the Facebook group
NS XC skiers searching for skiable snow
to check for snow conditions in outside of HRM and NB. Kejimkujik, Keppoch, Victoria Park, North Highlands Nordic, Wentworth are a few of the ski areas around the province.
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Ways to volunteer with the club
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We are looking for a range of volunteers to help us run this year's club. Looking to volunteer? We have many rolls: coaches, event volunteers, join the Halifax Nordic Board, grooming , etc. Send us an
email
and we would be happy to find a role for you.
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Thank you to our club sponsors, we are grateful for your generous support of our club and growing the cross country ski community.
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Halifax Nordic Ski Club |Halifax | www.halifaxnordic.ca
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