Beaver Tails Nordic Ski Club

It seems like most days this January have been colder than the seasonal average.　 (Is anyone else running out of green wax?)　 But last Sat we got a respite from the string of cold days, perfectly timed for our annual ski clinic.　 It was cloudy and the temp steady at about -3 C.　 Plus, there was a fresh 3-4 cm of snow from the previous night.
Several of us arrived in the morning to enjoy the great conditions.　 I did the Triangle trail with Mickey and Sue-Anne.　 It was in excellent shape, well-tracked and lots of snow on the descents.　 However, at one point I skied over a slight hollow spot and heard a “crack!” that I assumed was an underlying branch.　 It was only a while later that I realized it was my ski that had cracked open behind my heel.　 Fortunately, I was able to keep skiing on it until the end of the day, but I was going to have buy a new pair　!
At 12:30 pm we all gathered at the trailer by the second parking lot.　 There were 34 of us registered for the four classes.　 One had to cancel the day before, and one underestimated how long his pre-clinic ski would take and missed the meeting time.　 At 1 pm, the remaining 32 of us split into our four sections and spent the next two hours following the guidance of our respective instructors.　 It sometimes seemed that we are watching and listening more than skiing, but in advanced classic section, we still covered 7 km.
Everybody was very happy with how the lessons turned out.　 Well almost everybody.　 In the beginner section, towards the end of the lesson, Duane took a spill and dislocated his shoulder.　 It took a trip to the St Jerome hospital to get it fixed up.　 He reported he was feeling much better by the end of the day.　 He also expressed his gratitude for everyone’s help and concern.
Duane’s injury aside, the ski clinic was once again a great success.　 Many thanks to Glenn for doing all the organizing and making it happen!