The Loppet Foundation - the folks behind the luminaries

by Ingrid Remak 
www.loppet.org.

Loppet skiers/ski camp/Minne-Loppet kids (photo cred - Loppet Foundation):  Kids are enjoying skiing for the first time in the Loppet Foundation's youth programs.

Luminary and kid (photo cred - F/go)
Taking a peak through the enchanting forms,
the Luminary Loppet is a magical night for
all ages to enjoy.

Luminaries are not made, they are hatched. Over the last seven years, Lake of the Isles
has seen the lifecycle of over 8,000 luminaries frozen into existence for the Park Nicollet Luminary Loppet - the largest event of the City of Lakes Loppet Cross Country Ski Festival weekend.  The Luminary Loppet draws over 6,000 participants annually - who weave their way along a candlelit path of over 1,500 luminaries.  


“It is a magical event,” said Leslie Foreman who has skied the event numerous times with her family.  “I absolutely love it.”

While the City of Lakes Loppet has become emblematic of Minnesota winters, few participants know the snowy force behind the mellow glow.  Behind the scenes of this iconic event are an incredible group of volunteers - and the Loppet Foundation, a small non-profit advocating for year round outdoor activity in Minneapolis - especially among inner-city youth.  

The Foundation has played a big role in the growth of skiing and the promotion of outdoor activity generally in Minneapolis.  For instance, the Foundation has worked with the Minneapolis Park  & Recreation Board to bring skiing to the Chain of Lakes - with a groomed trail all the way from Uptown to the Chalet in Theodore Wirth Park.  The Foundation was also instrumental in bringing snowmaking to Wirth Park, so that there is a place to ski even when we have an Iowa winter . . .

Every year the Loppet Foundation outfits Minneapolis Public Schools elementary schools with equipment, coaching and grooming.  Kids learn to ski and about concepts like nutrition and fitness through an eight-week program.  At the end of the program the Foundation buses the students to the Minne-Loppet, a free kids event held during Festival weekend.  Each year over 500 students learn to ski through the Minne-Loppet programs.  Most of these students hail from North Minneapolis, and most come from disadvantaged backgrounds.  

The Foundation provides many other opportunities for both adults and youth to experience outdoor activity throughout the year.  For instance, the Foundation runs two middle school Ski and Bike teams, providing equipment, coaching and transportation with the hope that this year-round program can change the trajectory of lives.  The Foundation runs Trips for Kids, through which the Foundation maintains a fleet of mountain bikes and provides opportunities for inner-city youth to try off-road bicycling at Wirth Park.  The Foundation also runs summer and winter Adventure Camps, a Loppet Mentors program, and Run Ski and Tri-Clubs for adults who are interested in developing outdoor skills.  

“The middle school teams are a place where we can begin to dive deeper into the world of racing, and provide other exciting experiences surrounding these sports,” said Anwatin Ski Team coach Allie Rykken.  “The kids love the training trips up north, and also camping in the summer...  We have pasta parties, epic bike trips...  They learn that adventures can lie around every corner.”

The Foundation is currently expanding its breadth of programming to include adaptive athletes, as well as Loppet Mentors, a program that pairs kids on the middle school teams with active adults in the Loppet community.  The hope is that these one-on-one experiences will empower youth to pursue outdoor adventure for the rest of their lives.  

While “Nordic” in its roots, the Loppet Foundation’s youth programs reflect the diversity seen in Minneapolis today.  Because there is no word for skiing in the Hmong language, Hmong students in the program have created their own expression: “Jei-snow” which literally means “riding snow”.  

Other students are paving the way for their families:  “I want my mom to try skiing,” said Bryce Holte to his mother Hope as they talked about the family day their coach organized.  “I only want snow, for HIM!” his mother replied laughing.

Many people tend to think that the Foundation is a subsidiary of the City or that the City subsidizes the Foundation, but the Foundation is a completely independent non-profit entity.  While the Foundation works with the City and the Park Board, the Foundation supports itself through memberships, grants, donations and event registrations.  For instance, the Foundation pays the Park Board for a permit to use Lake of the Isles for the Luminary Loppet.  The Foundation then invests heavily to make the Luminary Loppet a great community event, with hopes that people will register for and enjoy the event - which allows the Foundation to continue providing the event and all of the services the Foundation provides to youth and to the broader community.

The Luminary Loppet is a mere five kilometers, but the Loppet Foundation will prepare the course for thousands of skiers.  Recreational, competitive, new and old, solitary and social folks will come together for a shared night on the snow.  When you register for the 2013 Luminary Loppet, know that you are a part of setting the tracks for many great skis ahead - both for yourself and the community.

For more information or to register, visit www.loppet.org.

Wax Kits for Each Wave

Matching the strategies from this article on wax strategies for marathon ski racing we create Wax Kits relating to the your starting wave

Wax Strategies for Each Wave

THREE STRATEGIES FOR MARATHON SKI RACING
Waxing for marathon racing forces a skier to make trade-offs between cost and performance. To simplify waxing for marathon racing I put together three strategies based on the wave you are starting in. These strategies are: Wave Five, Waves Three and Four and Elite, Waves One and Two. While I am specifically talking about glide wax strategies, these approaches can be applied to skate skis or the glide areas of classic skis.

A Wax Kit for Your Wave Click here

Wax Kit for Wave 5

WAVE FIVE
I am suggesting practical and affordable ways for you Wave Five racers to get more speed out of your skis, and hopefully, more enjoyment out of your races.

The only real differences between Wave One and Wave Five waxing strategies are the number of skis you own and the cost of the wax. If you are a Wave Five skier you, likely, have just one pair of race skis - the rest, how you prep your skis and apply wax, is the same.

Start with a clean, porous base
If your ski bases have distorted or discolored areas the bases may be burned (burned bases look a bit like teflon). A hot iron, or an iron stopping too long in one place, can burn your ski bases. Burning seals the base material which makes it more difficult for wax to bond. Additionally, cold waxes can seal your race base. The hard plastic green glide wax you may be using repeatedly during cold weather will coat your ski base with plastic.

Stone grinding will remove the sealed areas and make them porous and receptive to waxes again.  If you have one pair of race skis a good universal grind will give you flat skis and a structure that will serve you for most race conditions.

Note on Scraping and Brushing
Whether you are using high or low fluoro waxes be sure to scrape between each layer of wax with a sharp plastic scraper then brush thoroughly with a nylon brush (I use a nylon roto brush). After nylon brushing I do some hand bronze brush work (Swix T01580 Course Bronze Brush) to open the structure. Excessive metal brushing can remove too much wax from the base.

Hardening off the base
Before race waxes are applied you should iron on two layers of Blue (Swix CH6) or Green (Swix CH4). This will “harden off the base” and will allow your race wax to last much longer, run better and pick up less dirt.

Selecting wax according to snow type and weather forecast
When selecting a race wax you should take into account the abrasiveness of the snow along with temperature and humidity - if you are skiing on icy, abrasive or cold new snow,  you should go with a colder harder wax. If are skiing on new mid-temp snow  you can choose a wax closer to the temperature suggested on the wax package. We have often seen even elite-level racers choose waxes based on temperature alone and not consider snow type. This is a mistake that can slow you down considerably. For example, on a 28 degrees F day the manufacturer’s generic instructions will suggest LF7. However, the icy snow will cause drag because the hard snow crystals grab the soft wax and slow the skis. A harder wax such as LF6 will resist the abrasive snow and your skis will be faster.

Wax for the low temp of your race window.
If the forecast shows your start time at 10 degrees F and and your finish time at 30 degrees F, you should  go with the Rex LFG Blue which has a range of 10-21 F. This is the right choice because the snow temperature rises much slower than the air. At the end of your race the air temperature may be 30 degrees F but the snow will still be much colder. Another important reason to wax for the low temp is colder waxes resist abrasions and last longer. As a rule of thumb, waxes work best at the top end of their temperature range.

Apply your race wax
A couple days before your race, using the wax selection hints above, apply three coats of your selected wax. Iron on, scrape with a plastic scraper, brush thoroughly with a nylon brush and, if you wish, one pass with a bronze brush.

Wave Five Wax Kit
For Wave Five skiers (and Waves 6, 7, 8) three good waxes for your wax box will be the Swix LF8, Rex LFG or RCF Blue, Start LF08. I selected these waxes because they cover nearly every temperature and a low-fluoro wax will nearly always outperform a non-fluoro wax.
 

Wax Kit for Waves 3 + 4

WAVES THREE AND FOUR
If you are a Wave Three or Four skier you are a good skier and take the sport seriously. I put together strategies and a wax kit with higher fluoro waxes designed to get a bit more speed out of your skis.

Get your skis ready
First, if you have 2-3 pair of race skis, know your skis and grinds and how they perform in specific conditions. You should have one pair that runs better in warm conditions and one for cold.  For a big race like the Birkie there are a bunch of skiers breaking up the snow ahead of you and soft snow skis frequently work best for skiers who are not toward the very front of the pack. Be sure to “harden off”  your skis with a couple layers hard wax like Swix CH4 before applying race wax.

Base Race Wax
Base LF/low fluoro wax helps bond high fluoro waxes with the ski base. Flouros will not bond with polyethylene (ski base material) and fluoro content should increase with each layer. I recommend Start BWLF because it has a high fluoro content and is hard enough to bond with the ski base.

Race Wax
Your last layer should be a high-fluoro wax. High-fluoro waxes make your skis fast. They repel moisture, reduce friction and do not pick up as much dirt as low-fluoro waxes. I suggest Swix HF 6 + HF 8 because they have a high fluoro content for the price and these two will cover most conditions.

Wave Three - Four Wax Kit
A wax kit for Wave Three - Four skiers should contain Swix HF 6 and HF 8 along with Start BWLF; waxes which cover the vast majority of conditions and get a racer the most fluoros and speed for the money.
 

Wax Kit for Elite and Waves 1 + 2

ELITE, WAVES ONE AND TWO
Get your skis ready
Just as I tell Wave Three racers, know your skis and grinds and select two pair of skis to prep for the race. Harden off your skis with two coats of hard wax like Swix CH6 or Swix CH4

Base Race Wax
Apply one or two layers of a low fluoro base wax like Start BWFL will help high fluoro layers bond with the polyethylene ski base.

High Fluoro
Swix HF waxes are great picks - they have a high fluoro content for the money and have a great track record for delivering

Pure Fluoro Top Coat--powder
To make your skis repel water even more and go even faster, use a pure fluoro top coat. Swix FC100 Is one the best all around pure fluoros. It has been around for years and is still used by World Cup racers. Powder flouros like FC100 lasts a long time and work at the top performance for over 50 km. If you use flouros from a block you will notice diminished  performance around 25km.

May not always need Pure Fluoros
With the right HF wax and If snow is clean and humidity low a Wave One or Wave Two Skiers can have very fast skis without a pure fluoro top-coat. Within the HF Temp ranges I have had some great races with straight HF Waxes.

Wave One/Elite Wax Kit
A marathon kit for a racer looking for top-flight performance should contain Start BWLF, Swix HF6 and HF8, and Swix HF100 fluoro powder. This will ensure the fastest skis possible and covers nearly all conditions.

Gear West Flex Bench

This is the Gear West Ski & Run Flex Tester. It is a one of a kind tester that allows us to make sure you have a perfect fitting ski. It also is a great tool for you if you have multiple pairs of skis and want to know which pair of skis would be better in soft snow conditions vs. hard snow conditions.

Gear West Birkie Race Wax Service

Is it too late to stone grind for the Birkie?

by Tony Mommsen

See our Stone Grinding Services

7 weeks to the  Birkie
You forgot to get your skis stone ground last fall. Last winter you thought they were looking a little scratched or not quite flat. You know “Flat skis are fast skis”. But you also know after stone grinding it takes time to build up wax layers needed for fast skis.

 Why stone grind
Skis get beat up. Rocks can scratch, irons can glaze or concave the bases. Fluoro and other materials can clog-up your bases and reduce their ability to accept new wax. Our first pass through the stone grinder is to remove these irregularities and give you clean, flat bases. The second pass we add micro-structure for the conditions (temperature) the skis are to be raced in. Structure controls the adhesion or cohesion also called suction or friction. For cold conditions we add less structure, for warm conditions we add more. 

If your skis are needing some love,
check out our stone grinding services

Grind now or wait until summer
Look at your ski bases today and if you see problems you should grind them soon or wait until the season is over. Grinding now will give you time to saturate your bases with wax and give you fast skis for the Birkie.

SELECTING SKIS AND GRINDING FOR MARATHON SEASON
Race day for the Birkie (or any race) can be any weather condition: new snow, hard pack, cold or thaw. If you have more than one pair of skis, each pair should be assigned to the temperature range where they work best. You may have a cold, medium and warm skis. Grind them to match: cold skis will have less structure, warm skis will have more. During the season wax each pair for their temp range. A week before you should have a pretty good idea of the race day conditions and be able to focus your efforts on one (or two) pair of skis.

Step One - Select Race Skis
From on-snow experience, designate skis for cold, medium and warm conditions. We suggest cold and medium grinds. If weather is warmer on race day racers you can add more structure with a hand riller. Aggressive, warm weather grinds are difficult to remove the days before a race. Bring these skis to Gear West, we will confirm you made the right selections, and determine if stone grinding is needed.

Grind plan for two pair of race skis
a. Cold grind
b. Uni2 grind

Grind plan for three pair of skis
a. Cold grind
b. Medium - Uni 2
c. Warm - Uni 3

After the Grind
Hot boxing is included with all grinds -- this gets ski bases fully saturated.

Hot Boxing
Hot boxing is free with all stone grinds. We apply a layer of special soft wax to your newly ground skis and place them in a box where they warm for several hours. While in the box the wax penetrates the base.

Hardening off the base
Post hot box you should apply four to five layers of hard wax (like blue). These layers is called Hardening off the base and will make the base is more resilient to wear. 

The right company
The best knowledge! The best equipment! The stone grinder of choice for Gear West
is the Montana Crystal SR producing a superior structure that is fast the first time
you put it on snow.

Gear West Stone Grind Services
Stone Grinding - $59.99 pair.
Learn about our grinds below - bring your skis in and we will help select the right grind.

Cold C1
The Gear West C1 Grind is our coldest structure pattern. The ultra fine broken linear structure is designed to effectively ride over the sharpest of snow crystals (often seen on dry, fresh fallen flakes) at the expense of moisture management that "warmer" grinds provide. We suggest it for temperatures below +10F when the humidity is below 20%

Uni U2
The Gear West U2 Grind is the best all-around ski grind in the Midwest. While it won't perform quite as well in either very dry and cold conditions or exceptionally warm and wet ones, it's modest broken offset structure truly excels in "typical" conditions. It performs best in fine, transformed snow, which often occurs when temperatures are between 5 and 20F when the humidity is between 20 and 80 percent.

Uni U3
Providing some additional moisture control over it's sibling, the U2, the Gear West U3 Grind is an ideal all-around grind for high-humidity areas or for dedicated warm-weather skis. It runs best on old corn snow (which often exists when the temparature is between 20 and 30F and the humidity is above 40%), though it does not run as well in finer or fresh fallen snows.


Wet W40
The Gear West W40 Grind is designed to channel moisture and provide maximum break away speed in the wettest conditions. It's wide and aggressive open linear structure allows for remarkably fast skis in melting or moisture-dense new snow, though it may struggle in fine-grained or new snow.

Snowstorm Brings Excitement to Gear West Ski and Run

Snow affects mental health and Sunday's storm proves it. I have worked at Gear West Ski and Run for just a couple weeks and I have seen how snow puts smiles on customers and employees. Let's call it Snowstorm Happiness Syndrome. It’s contagious.

11:30 A.M. Sunday snow was falling hard and roads were in rough shape. Dana pulled into the Gear West parking lot to find four customers waiting for the store to open at noon. Each of the customers had all-wheel drive and they were on their way to the ski trails. They were picking up new hats and gloves or their newly waxed skis.

Even with difficult travel the shop was busy all day on Sunday. Those who bought new skis waited for bindings to be mounted so they could use them that afternoon. They would be skiing on the trails at Baker Park or French Park.

Brian demonstrates scientific measurement of snow depth - "See. Exactly 12 inches"

Gear West employees were as excited to see the snow as our customers. Lynne skied before coming to work Sunday, Brodie didn’t work Sunday but explored the back roads of Brooklyn Park on his fish scales during the peak of the storm. I had Sunday off so I skied from my house  to Theodore Wirth Park. As I skied I enjoyed seeing the snow pile up on the fences and branches. These are the days we Gear Wester live for. 

Gear West Ski and Run wrapped in snow

Monday.  The sun is shining and snow is deep around the store. The parking lot is half full with customer cars. I can feel the excitement as I walk into the store. Everyone is smiling. The phones are ringing, Speedy is helping customers with new skis and Brodie in the shipping department is boxing up new orders.

From my desk I can hear Speedy talking with customers. “I want skis I can break trail with or ski in set tracks” the Speedy says “These skis will work great, they are wide enough for breaking trail yet they fit in the track without rubbing on the sides.”. This is a break-your-own-trail kind of winter and we are all loving it. 

Speedy love touring on the Salomon Elite 5 Grip.
Speedy says "These skis make winter fun. You will get great performance wherever there's snow. 51mm wide in the shovel - makes it ideal for breaking trail yet goes in a set track nicely without scraping the sides all the time. 3D core better lift in the waxless area so the fish scales don't drag. G2 Plus waxless pattern gives a great kick and still a good glide. Very low maintance but you can apply Toko Grip and Glide over the the entire base and you glide through the snow.