Edited highlights from the club newsletter archive

To mark the club's 30th anniversary year, further articles will be added over the coming months.

2006

Ben Macdui by Stephen Johns

".....The year before we had made an attempt on Ben Macdui in similar snow conditions but in thick mist.  After taking the tow to the summit of Cairngorm and inching our way along those undulating ridges around Coire an Sneachda to Cairn Lochran we decided to cut our losses and head north toward Lurchers Gully. 

"In the days before GPS the Cairngorm plateau was not somewhere to practice navigation.  It was one of those windless occasions where the mist was so thick that snow and sky merged into one.  You may have experienced it yourself.  It’s like being suspended, almost weightless in a sphere of white and you don’t know if you’re stopped or moving.  I know that on occasions I’ve fallen over sideways, completely disoriented by the lack of feedback of sensory information.  I didn’t fall over this time but I had to feel out with each stride to find out if my ski pointed up or down. 

"I’d worked out that we’d gone far enough along Cairn Lochan so that if we did ski down the north side we wouldn’t plummet into Coire an Sneachda as others before had done but instead we would end up on a little plateau.  But you can never be sure exactly how far you’ve gone in those conditions and there’s always that nagging doubt that you may have got it all wrong!  Reticent and exploratory snowplough sideslips coincided with a thinning of the mist revealing a watery sun.  The snow however was the perfect depth, consistency and the slope just the right gradient that made it impossible not to attempt a Telemark turn and in no time at all those snowplough side-slips extended into full Telemarks as the visibility and confidence improved....." 

Germany and Italy by Ben Beachell

".....The Dolomites needs no introduction and have that jaw dropping quality no matter how many times you see them. However this time with plentiful snow we were especially fortunate.

"A trip up the Sexten Valley was a good introduction. The valley gets steeper and narrower the further up you climb creating the impression that you really are in the heart of the mountains. Whilst stopping for lunch we failed to notice the café suddenly emptying after ¼ hour. It was only when we finished and went outside we realised why. The sun had dipped behind the mountain and we had a literally freezing descent back home.

"The next day could only be described as a classic. We followed the old railway line to Cortina. This climbs and climbs out of the Pustertal Valley all the while weaving through the spectacular landscape, including an excellent view of the Tre Cimé. After what seemed like hours we crossed the watershed and started the descent down to Cortina. We had heard about some tunnels, but it wasn’t until the valley closed in that we suddenly found ourselves staring into the portal, not entirely sure how long it was. No going back now, so into the gloom we plunged. If that wasn’t enough we were then skiing across a suspension bridge before plunging into a second tunnel. Emerging from the tunnel we were rewarded with a fabulous run down into the Cortina Valley.

"Of course no trip would be complete without some excuse to thrash ourselves and we had dutifully entered the Pustertaler ski marathons with Mike and myself opting for the 28km classic on Saturday and the three of us doing the 42km skate on the Sunday. Both races started on the flat meadows behind Dobbiaco before winding their way up various side valleys with the classic race finishing in the next valley below Dobbiaco and the skate race finishing at the next but one village up the valley. The start of the classic race was like nothing I have experienced before and we blasted through the first 5km in a little over ¼ hour. Luckily as the route climbed up the first side valley the pace eased and a steady rhythm was soon maintained. With smaller fields than the Worldloppet races it was altogether more civilised and I could ski easier at my own pace......"

2004

Ski Touring in Kendal by Ian Jones

"......From here you are faced with a 15 minute walk through Kendal, ignoring the quizzical looks of shoppers, as you make your way up on to Serpentine Road which will give you access to the golf course. The course is set out over Kendal Fell and is surprisingly 150m higher than Kendal itself, so will often have a cover of skiable snow when the castle is green.

"The course is crossed by a number of public footpaths so there is good access and it is used extensively by children on toboggans, which can constitute a hazard if you don’t check uphill first. If on reaching the golf course conditions appear poor, it is worth persevering.  The area is quite exposed to wind so some areas are often blown clear when other sheltered areas have a good covering. The terrain has everything that a cross country skier needs – long gentle slopes, good views, a feeling of “getting away from it all” and when/if you need something more challenging, there are a couple of areas which must be a nightmare for a golfer but are just great for a skier with steep short drops and areas of humps and bumps all with a nice grass base so you will not wreck your skis.

"Being on a golf course you just need to keep aware of the greens (those nice flat bits with a flag in the middle) and steer well clear of these to avoid any unpleasantness with golfers or the green keepers. I was alarmed to come across a half obscured sign starting – BUG -.  Was this a pointed warning to skiers to keep away?  On clearing the snow, it actually read BUGGIES THIS WAY.

"If you want to extend the skiing it is possible to head off to Cunswick Scar following a Public Footpath which will lead you to a footbridge over the A591 and the way is obvious to the small summit with great views over the Lyth Valley and the fells beyond......"

Alpe d’Alston (Sunday 29 February) by John Hooson

Snow had fallen mid-week. A rarity enough but this was followed by a crisp, clear, windless weekend. Hence, as Sunday Meet Leader, I was anticipating a rush of phone call enquiries as I lounged around on Saturday evening. None was forth coming. There were two helpful calls from folk who’d been out on the Saturday relating the conditions they’d found, but nobody up for the Sunday. Perhaps others did their own thing?

With no Club responsibilities after all, I was free to take the family out and, following Mike and Diane’s advice, we headed to the Yad Moss ski tow high on the road from Alston over to Middleton-in-Teesdale. The further east we went the deeper the snow became.

This tow is operated by Carlisle ski club and has been recently upgraded using lottery cash. There is a new ‘barn’ housing picnic tables, composting loos, two skidoos and two full-scale piste-beast. The poma-type tow runs for about 500m, the start being a little ferocious (ask Mike/Diane for details).

With young family at heel we eschewed the launch-pad and opted to do our own thing up and down a section of very quiet piste. Meanwhile Mike and Diane invested a few quid in a lift-pass and spent the day perfecting elegant Telemarks down the various runs. And they weren’t the only Telemarkers out that day.

The Hoosons amused themselves for many hours in the continuous sunshine. This was only the second time on snow skis for the kids and they loved it. Other activities included snowballing, sledging, drift-tunnelling and hiding Mike’s rucksack in the middle of a snowman!

At the end of a wonderful day the only disappointment was to arrive at the famous Melmerby Bakery just as they were closing - so no chocolate torte. Compensation was found in the form of fish and chips in Penrith!

Your Skiing Horrorscopes for the Year Ahead by Mike and Helen Smith

*Ski-kjoring  - being towed along by a dog on skis – that is you are on skis and the dog is towing you along, not that you are being towed by a dog on skis (you can’t get the bindings).

Lakeland skier (sort of) wins something big (March) by Stephen Johns

In terms of an important sponsor for the Braemar Telemark Festival it’s my belief that P-Tex Candles should be the biggest.

Let’s face it if you get snow (to ski on) for the Braemar Telemark Festival it’s a bonus, which means that in the week following the event one normally has to lavish large quantities of the said candles on one’s ski bases to bring them back to something resembling ski bases.

In true Scottish spirit, the organisers, along with the Glenshee Lift Co., against all the odds always manage to make bricks without straw and produce something seemingly from nothing. Looking at the mountain from the road one wondered how on earth they would manage to find enough connected snow to put on the Mountain Race. But of course they did. Uphill on skins alongside Butchart’s and following the snow all the way down to the frozen Loch Vrotachan, skating round the perimeter, the surface of which was covered in slush, making it doubly hard.

The Lakeland Club was represented by John Chapman. He got off to a bad start because he had mislaid his skins in the rush to get to the start point and he had to leg it up the first rise. Some advantage accrued from this due to the fact that he had no need to remove any skins and he was able to overtake a few rivals by skiing straight off and taking a mean line down the hill to the frozen Loch. Help came by way of John’s son, Michael, who had gallantly offered to fetch the skins from the café, and as John toiled up the return slope from the Loch, Michael appeared with said skins and John was able then to continue upwards in more fitting style and at better speed.

The final descent down a dwindling ribbon of slush and heather was hard as he had just about lost the use of his legs and lungs. He describes his descent as “Adopting the widest 'John Wayne' I could muster.” From then on, he just let his skis run and succeeded in staying upright to the finish. The winner had taken only 27 minutes to secure his Exodus holiday for two in Norway. John had taken slightly under 40 and was placed 10th, half-way down the field. Taken together with the ceilidh John claims that this was one of his all-time physical challenges. He beat many young sprigs half his age and if you take into account John’s past couple of years I’m sure you’d agree that this is undoubtedly a fantastic personal achievement.

When there is snow at Glenshee the best and deepest is nearly always to be found lurking in the gully behind Butchart’s. It’s therefore no accident that this is the site chosen for the location of Tele-Cross Race. What’s Tele-Cross ? Four skiers setting off simultaneously down said gully all aiming to get through the first gate which is just about wide enough for two or three skiers. There are a number of other gates, turns and a jump with some overtaking opportunities and a winner eventually emerging some 200 metres lower down the hill. The first two go through to the next round.
The one entry from our club in the first heat came a close second, which qualified him for the first semi-final. In the second semi-final he once again came a close second but only because he was bundled off the line by a rather large and burly Scotsman. Nonetheless this qualified him for the final.

Sad to say that in the final he came fourth despite skiing figure elevens where others had not dared to do so. The prize of a bright red, Braemar Telemark Festival, Mountain Equipment, Windstopper jacket was not to be his. Finishing last was not quite what he had hoped for, but qualifying for the final in a national event is no disgrace.

Had the story ended there it would have been a (small) feather in the club’s cap but there’s an interesting post script.

At the award ceremony the winner was announced and it was none other than the big, burly Scotsman. However big, burly Scotsman is a BASI instructor who had been engaged in instructing on the Festival. The organising committee thus deemed him to be ineligible for the prize and he was ceremoniously disqualified. Exit stage left big, burly Scotsman, empty-handed. Everyone moved up a place so that our Lakeland member was now third. The name of the new winner was announced and he too made the solitary walk up to the stage - but would you believe it? He too was involved in the Festival organisation. This is a turn up. Number two is now disqualified. Exit stage left competitor number two, empty-handed. Everyone moved up a place so that our Lakeland member was now second. The name of the new winner was announced. He stepped up to the stage, but from behind the bar. What a give away. Can this be true? Is he too a member of the organising committee? Indeed he is. “Disqualified” say the judges. Competitor number three also leaves the stage dejected and empty-handed. Everyone moved up a place. But just a minute; there’s only one left. That’s right. Our intrepid hero and Lakeland Cross Country Ski Club member is declared the winner. His name is announced and he goes up to the stage to wild cheering from the Kendal table to collect his prize of that bright red, Braemar Telemark Festival, Mountain Equipment, Windstopper jacket.

So if you see a club member wearing a nice bright red, Braemar Telemark Festival, Mountain Equipment, Windstopper jacket, walk up to him and say “Nice Jacket” and wink. Everyone else has.

1996

Skiing to work (February) by Marian Hesketh

At last I have done it. It’s always been my fantasy to ski to work, but there never seemed to be enough snow to make it possible (I do work in the centre of Preston).

My feelings about snow in Britain have always been a bit ambivalent. It’s all very well in its proper place, in Norway or Switzerland or gleaming on a distant Lakeland fell top, but snow in the streets of Preston is usually neither use nor ornament, not enough to ski on but sufficient to make cycling to work a risky undertaking.

Then came the huge snowfall on the night of Monday 5 February. There must have been about eight inches of pure white show sitting on top of our dustbin on Tuesday morning. I looked out at the heaps of soft, untouched snow in the street, and knew that today was the day.

The pavements and even most of the roads were still well covered, and I only had to take my skis off to cross about four major roads. We are rather lucky in Lostock Hall in having an old railway track leading down to the River Ribble, giving an ideal skiing/walking/cycling track into the town centre. First I had to negotiate a few suburban streets, but the virgin snow on the pavement was easily covered. The old railway track was the delight which I always knew it would be, and there was a lot of appreciative and envious comments from the cyclists who were wobbling their way through the drifts, and commuters who had decided to walk to work.

This is what skis were made for, and I felt quite smug as I poled across the old tram bridge, trying to maintain a good two-phase technique and watch the birds on the river at the same time.

The main streets of Preston don’t spring to mind as the ideal place for a ski trip, but at 8am immediately after a heavy fall, even there my progress was easy and I could ski right to the office door.

I was the first there, and several people didn’t make it to work at all that day. Those who did kept rushing to the windows and fretting about the still falling snow, worrying about how they were going to go home.

I wasn’t bothered – the more, the better for me. Not only did I manage to ski all the way home that evening, I even repeated the process the next day, although by the afternoon of the second day the snow on the pavements had turned to slush.

I’ve proved that it can be done, and possibly aroused some interest in cross-country skiing among my workmates and the bemused citizens of Preston who saw me skiing past. I’m told that there was a reference in the evening paper to an ‘enterprising schoolboy’ who was seen skiing in from Lostock Hall; I presume they mean me, since I didn’t see any other skiers, or any other tracks, and I find it partly flattering (my schooldays are long over) and partly amusing (do I look that boyish?).

Did anything else manage to ski to work, or ski anywhere interesting or unusual during the blizzards of 1996? Do let us know.

1995

The revolution comes to the fells (March) by Stephen Johns

Much has been said and written over the last couple of seasons about the latest generation of short skis.

You may have read articles both by myself and Peter Curwen about the choices of equipment available. The knock-on effect has been for many to re-think the application of Nordic skiing hardware, not least by me in relation to skiing in Lakeland.

On any Sunday meet, a wide variety of equipment of equally varying age will be encountered. It can range from Georg Bull’s marvellous wooden skis to the newest member’s latest acquisitions. Such a range isn’t really surprising. After all, one of the things we pride ourselves on is that we’re not like Alpinists. We perhaps even go out of our way not to get this year’s colours and we certainly don’t go out buying new gear just to follow this year’s fads.

As a result, members are skiing on equipment that was purchased 10 years or more ago – and because of the lack of Lakeland snow it perhaps hasn’t had all that much use. It’s also likely to work just as well as it did 10 years ago when it was new. So if it works for you, who can knock it?

Not everyone, however, is happy. This season out on the fells I’ve spoken to one or two people who have becomes increasingly dissatisfied with their equipment and with what they can get it to do. In one case, I spoke to a non-member who was out on some 15-year-old Trak skis and he was looking very enviously at someone on mountain touring gear and saying how much better he would cope with the conditions if he was to trade up. He was quite unaware of how Nordic gear has developed in the last few years.

These encounters have caused me to think more precisely about the skiing we do in Lakeland and the reasons behind why we buy the equipment we do. Nordic skiing, being so wide-ranging, means that we have to make some initial obvious choices depending on where our main area of interest lies. If you’re not going to ski in Lakeland and plan to do all your skiing in cut tracks, you’ll go straight for the lightest equipment. Most people realise that skiing on the higher Lakeland fells is quite different. One day every five years we get to go out on real powder snow. In reality, when we do get snow the norm is ‘Lakeland Powder’ (ice and wind-blown crust) unless it is ‘Porridge’ (wet and heavy).

Received wisdom has it that for the Lakeland fells you need metal-edged touring skis (such as the Åsnes Sondre) leather boots and 75mm bindings. So far so good, but why on earth do we insist on skis with a touring camber for the fells? Even if you get one of those special days with wonderful snow, the chances are that there won’t be more than 100 metres of anything that’s near flat. Even then you’ll probably be breaking trail with little chance to utilise the glide that touring skis are capable of. In reality, we ski up as high as we can to get to the better snow, have lunch and ski back down. Incidentally, have you noticed that few cross-country skiers admit to enjoying skiing downwards. If we do spend time on a patch of snow, we are of course ‘practising’ our turns.

Having identified just how we ski in Lakeland, here in the best of all possible worlds is the equipment you would use. Your skis will be substantial Telemark skis with an almost Alpine camber. They will have generous sidecut and be renowned and praised for their turning capabilities. A spin off of the ‘revolution’ will be that your skis will be much shorter than others in your party because you won’t need the same length to support that touring camber. You will later use that short length to amaze and delight your chums as you unzip the crust or blast through the crud with finely balanced and gracefully executed short swing Telemark turns on your way down. Your skis will be waxable, but you will reject the use of waxes for the fells in favour of skins because waxes and klister cannot cope with the wide range of conditions you will experience between the valley and the tops. To plump for waxless bases will be an unhappy compromise. Twenty years of development still have not yet produced a waxless base capable of taking on the fells.

You will attach your skins in the comfort and warmth of your own home prior to departure because you will be climbing immediately to start the ski. You will glide very poorly on that 100 metres of flat, but you will soon catch up the others when they reach the next steep bit. Yes, you will be wearing leather boots as the others, but yours will look bigger and higher and be bristling with buckles and clips. You might plump for release bindings, but you will have one thing in common with your friends on 15-year-old skis – your 75mm bindings.

As the top you will take off your skins for the descent, revealing razor sharp metal edges and sintered stone ground bases glistening over their entire length with freshly applied hot glide wax. When you eventually reach that flat bit, all your summer roller skiing will come into its own as you skate effortlessly on your flat, newly waxed skis.

Being a member of the Lakeland Cross Country Ski Club, and as a consequence, eminently sensible, your decision to stay with Nordic equipment has paid off yet again. Your gear may be a bit heavier than others in your party but it will be a good deal lighter than it would be if you had opted to haul heavy mountain touring gear. You would also have deprived yourself of the sublime and unsurpassable thrill of Telemarking. You have now only made the transition to Lakeland Nordic skiing in the mid 1990s, but you will also, and more importantly, have had a wonderful and satisfying day out on the fells.

1993

Patterdale weekend (26-28 February) by Christine Wood

Once again the club’s Patterdale weekend was very successful with between 40 and 50 people taking part for either all or just part of the weekend. We were very pleased to see members of other cross-country ski clubs joining us. As on previous years, Susan Foster and Christine Shields did an excellent job or organising the event and the social activities, even arranging snow too! A friendly welcome was, as usual, extended to us all be the youth hostel warden and staff.

After the evening meal on Friday, those present were entertained by interesting slide presentations from Susan Foster and John Mounsey. Tea, coffee and scones were laid on at supper time to stoke up for the following day’s activities.

It was cold and windy on Saturday with low cloud and snow flurries. Various groups went walking or to find some snow, and the largest party set off from the youth hostel past Angle Tarn and up onto High Street where sufficient snow was found to ski on.

Back again in the warmth of the hostel, Robert Hovey showed his pictures of the Blind Adventure Group’s cross-country skiing holiday in Italy which several of our club members had been involved in. He also played a recording of a recent interview he had undertaken on Radio Cumbria about cross country and roller skiing. After a glass of delicious gluhwein it was time for dinner. John Mounsey continued the evening with slides of Thailand, and folk singer David entertained us with amusing songs. A birthday cake to celebrate George Freeman’s 80th and Robert Hovey’s 70th birthdays that week was wheeled in and shared with them. Both are still skiing and long may it remain so. Ken Trimmer presented the club’s Broken Ski Award to Jenny Hodgkinson for coping superbly with long, strenuous, fast and steep ski days for the Blind Adventure Group’s cross country skiing holiday.

Sunday was cold and windy, but dry and clear. Most people headed to Matterdale Common where there was a covering of snow down to the car park. Different groups took slightly different routes, on skis or partly on foot, but perhaps the largest party found a relatively sheltered spot where the snow was not too icy and practiced Telemark turns under the guidance of Phil Evans and Geoff Onslow. The low temperature and general snow conditions were not conducive to a long day out, so people gradually made their way back down to return to the hostel for hot drinks and more birthday cake. I did manage to keep my skis on almost down to the car park, but it was very coarse skiing amongst the tussocks and slower than walking!

The end of another successful and enjoyable Patterdale weekend. Many thanks to all those who helped to make everything run so smoothly and particular thanks to Susan and Christine for all their work in organising and co-ordinating the weekend.

1990

Great Dodd (21 November) by Vince Devlin

With reports of a smattering of snow on the fells ever since the school half term week I was anticipating a chance to ski anyday.

On Monday at work, people had seen snow on Kentmere and on Tuesday evening Geoff rang to say that the Dodds were skiable. When Wednesday dawned sparkingly clear I decided to go for it.

Stanah was unusually busy when I arrived – a mass of hunt supporters, a walker and also another cross-country skier – Jim Charters.

Climbing up a few hundred feet left all the hunting folk behind and we emerged from the mist covering Thirlmere into a crystal-clear world – looking down onto a sea of clouds – really spectacular.

The Dodds were covered in sparkling white snow and looked promising as we crossed onto Sticks Pass. By the time we reached the pass, the mist has started to roll in – if only we had been a couple of hours earlier! Here Jim stopped for Lunch while I pressed on up Stybarrow Dodd. Visibility was now down to 50 yards or less and it turned into an exercise in navigation – map and compass being checked continually. At least it was calm so stopping frequently was no problem.

I decided to keep the skins on down to the head of Browndale Beck to enable me to keep to a more direct line. Onwards toward Great Dodd – there didn’t seem to me much point in trying to find Watson’s today. Hoping to get to Clough Head I skied on down to Calfhow Pike. This was the most difficult bit of navigation as it would be easy to miss the col and end up too low down, having to regain the ridge by more climbing. However, the walkers path skirting Great Dodd acted as a good catching feature and led over slushy patchy snow to Calfhow Pike.

Here I stopped for lunch. The sun played with the mist and I caught a glimpse of a snowless Clough Head during one of the clearer spells. This changed my mind about skiing any further along the ridge. Too soon it was time to climb back over Great Dodd into the mist.

Following my ski tracks made the return journey easier navigationally, in fact from Great Dodd onwards I had two sets of tracks – the others belonging to Jim. The snow ran out about a hundred feet above the sheepfold on the way back down to Stanah.

Thursday was an even better day to be out skiing as, I believe, the tops didn’t cloud over at all. You have to ski defensively in the mist so you don’t get the same thrill of whooshing down a hillside at speed. Nevertheless a good first trip of the season for me with a snow cover of two inches over the Dodds and the first few solos of winter!

1987

Ski touring in the Black Forest (22 February to 1 March) by Ian Royle

Having recently returned from my first Waymark holiday there are two questions which trouble me. Firstly, why have I not done it before, and secondly, when can I go again?

As an introduction to touring, the Black Forest Tour is excellent. 100k of prepared tracks covering the Schwarzwalder Ski Marathon route, though at a slightly more leisurely pace than the race winner who completes the distance in eight hours or so.

Travel from Heathrow is by Swissair scheduled flight to Zurich where you meet the tour leader and search frantically for the skis you thought had been loaded in London. They finally arrive and the group of nine sets off by coach to Schonach, the start of the tour, about two hours away.

The snow is obviously thawing in Zurich but as we cross the Swiss/German border and start to climb, conditions improve until arrival in Schonach, which is just as snowbound as its picture in the brochure. The nine in the party included three from the London Region Ski Club who had been up to the Lakes on the weekend of the Ski-O, two downhillers, a lady racer, a bloke from Egremont who has done the tour before, but independently, our leader Sylvia, and me.

Three of the keenies felt the need to ski on the first afternoon, but the rest of us sampled the bar in the gasthof and waited for dinner when, as at the other stops, there was enough to fill even the hungriest skier. The quality varied from day to day but was generally good, and often excellent.

The next day we tried some of the prepared tracks around the village, learnt how nice it was to ski on decent snow and returned for another enormous meal. Sylvia confessed to being a little worried about our speed, considering we had 36k to ski on one of the days, but we managed to convince her that we’d only been playing up to now and that 36k would be no trouble at all. Some of us weren’t quite so sure.

On the first day of the tour proper the clouds rolled away, the sky was a deep blue and the air was beautifully crisp and cold. We did the 23k to Neueck quite easily, though all of us decided when we reached the gasthof, that we were carrying far too much.

This was, however, no time to make such a discovery. The nice thing about carrying a heavy rucksack is the anticipation of taking it off. Neueck was probably our worst accommodation. The gasthof was part of a farm and smelled like it, the landlady didn’t seem pleased to see us, and dinner was lamb curry, which I don’t think is a typical German dish. However, the gluhwein soon puts a different complexion on matters.

Frau Rommel wasn’t too keen on serving breakfast at 7am, but ubergruppenfuhrer Sylvia has decided we needed all the time available for the long day to Hinterzarten. A pity the bread didn’t arrive until 7.30am. Even with as small a group as nine there was a great variation in the standard of skiing and we were often strung out over a fair distance. The route is well marked though, and frequent drink stops and the lunch break ensured that no-one got lost. There was also a great variety of equipment. From metal-edged off-track skis like mine, which were too heavy for the tracks but useful on the icy bits, to proper track skis, both waxable and fish-scale.

On our so-called rest day in Hinterzarten we were put through an intensive coaching programme including lane changing, skating, Telemarking, and other types of turning, all designed to get us through the English Ski Council Bronze Award.

The third touring day was interesting in that most of it was accomplished in mist and low cloud. We climbed the Feldberg, 1500m, and dropped down to the hotel, following the yellow and black marker poles and passing close to a weather station and the Bismarck memorial tower, both of which were completely invisible. We didn’t even see the hotel until a friendly downhiller turned us around and pointed us in the right direction. This was our one night spent in luxury, with a small but well patronised sauna, a choice from the menu instead of the set meal, a fashion show during dinner, and even a party in my room later.

Only one more day to go now and my rucksack hardly seemed to weigh anything at all, though after climbing the Feldberg again reality broke through. It was amazing to see all that we had missed on the way down the mountain the day before. On this last day the snow was thawing quite quickly and on some sections we had to walk. It was also raining for most of the time. I can get this kind of skiing in the Lake District. But we all managed to ski across the finish line and trooped drippingly into the gasthof.

That evening our lady racer, who is also a Waymark leader and should have taken the Rondane holiday had it not been cancelled, gave a very informative talk on waxing and equipment in general. I discovered that my poles are too short. Seven years on short poles……
Another ridiculously early breakfast then onto the coach for the trip back to Zurich airport. Frantic changing and clothes and packing of skis on the concourse then check-in, the duty-free shop and the usual wait while the aeroplane is delayed. And not none piece of Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte all week.

1984

UK Cross-country Ski Championships (11-12 February) by Geoff Onslow and Phil Evans

We planned our holidays to coincide with the UK Champs and headed for Aviemore a week early, but got delayed for four days in Blair Atholl because the Drumochter Pass was blocked by snow.

We did not mind as we could tour the beautiful forests of Glen Tilt and Glen Banvie on new powder snow all the time. The sun shone out of a deep blue sky most of the time and the snow which hung thickly on the branches sparkled, it was a skier’s paradise.

They cleared the road on Thursday and in a convoy of police and a snowplough escort, we arrived in Aviemore and stayed at the quiet Coylumbridge campsite for about five days. On Friday we toured the Glen More forest trails and worked out the loipe; what a marvellous setting for the championships, with the Cairngorms above and Loch Morlich below, and all around the native Caledonian pine forests.

Saturday, the first day of the championships, brought clear blue skies and no wind. People started arriving around nine o’clock, a few from the Army and RAF who we knew from roller meets in the summer, but the vast majority civilians, young and old, male and female. Eighteen members of the Yorkshire Dales XC Ski Club arrived who we know very well, because we are also members of that club.

The two-day race programme incorporated the senior and junior mens 15k, all comers 5k race, 1k sprint, senior and junior ladies 10k, junior boys and girls, citizens race 5k, and 3 x 5 k relay.

Phil competed in the 15k relay, 1k sprint and citizens 5k; Geoff only managed the citizens and all comers as he was still recovering from a wrist injury.

The atmosphere over the two full days was marvellous, with the brightly coloured race and tracksuits, and also touring clothes, mingling together. 375 separate entrants meant there was always someone new to talk to. All of the civilians completed tours most of the time and only attend races to meet people with a similar interest. Racing helps to improve their technique so that they can enjoy their tours much more, being able to ski further and more easily, enabling them to see more of the countryside they love.

We had some fascinating conversations with many people about their experiences which many have all around the world in countries as far apart as New Zealand and Norway, Canada and Germany, and here in Scotland, Cumbria and Yorkshire.

It was a very enjoyable experience which we recommend to everyone interested in skiing. Why not go next year and meet people with the same interests, maybe take part in a fun race. You don’t have to break a sweat if you don’t want to.