Either cross country skiing was more popular in the 1980s, or
there was more snow, or people were just more optimistic, because the CNSC took
off with a bang!
The Cayuga Nordic Ski Club was founded on May 4, 1984 by a
few die hard skiers who were still thinking about snow in May!
They devised and put to paper a grand plan, including weekly tours,
coaching clinics, races, fall and spring dinners, and the Ithaca Nordic Ski
Festival, designed to be 4 races over a weekend in late January. The leader of
this new endeavor was the truly great Tobias de Boer, who recently passed away (May
2, 2016) just short of his 86th birthday. From the start the club
was very official, bylaws were written and the first club officers, probably volunteers
were:
Tob de Boer President (of course)
Dave Blanpied Vice President
Michael Ogg Secretary
Joan de Boer Treasurer
Gary James Coach
Louise Adie Promotions
Other
founding members included
Lucy
Gagliardo, Robert
Lodinsky, Nick Vandam, Rebecca Voug .
The first
newsletter went out in November 1984, and, having recently discovered all the original
newsletters in the club archives, as well as a letter written in Tob’s own hand,
I just cannot keep this fascinating history to myself.
For instance, at that time there were several ski touring
centers very close to Ithaca; here are their descriptions taken directly from
the first Newsletter (boldface mine):
Willowood (off Rt 327, Ithaca)
There are
approximately 12 km of trails here. Most of the trails are fairly flat, and
excellent for learning. This year, a lot
of work has been done extending the trail system, and providing something for
everybody. The area is lit and stays open until 10 pm. All trails are groomed, with two tracks. Club rate: Season Pass $20 (normally $30).
Greek Peak (opposite the downhill area,
Virgil)
About 30 km of trails, with 800’ vertical difference.
Although there are some easy trails, many of the trails provide as much technical challenge as you want to
find. The snow here is generally
excellent, on account of the location, altitude and protection offered by the
woods. Some grooming is done where
possible. Club rates: season pass $20
(normally $30). Day rate-$2.50,
Rentals/day-$6.00, Lesson-$5.00, Super ticket (trail fee, rental, and
lesson)-$10.00.
Mount Pleasant (off Ringwood Rd)
Located on top of Mt Pleasant, there is often good snow
here. A total of 10 km of groomed trails
in a combination of woods and open fields.
Most of the trails are relatively easy and (snow conditions permitting) well groomed. Some educational institutes (eg TC3) hold
their classes here. Club rate:
season pass $12 (normally $15), Day rate $1.00 (normally $2.00). Also available to club members, a 30%
discount on all ski equipment sales thru Dec.31.
Podunk (Podunk Rd, Trumansburg)
About 12 km of trails through woods, fields, and river
valley. The trails are groomed when snow
conditions permit. There are trails of
various ability levels, together with the only
ski jump in town. (Ski Jumping is one
of the Nordic sports). Osmo Heila
brought his expertise from Finland, where cross-country skiing is probably the
most popular sport. Day Rate-2 for 1 on
trail fee or trail plus rental package ($2.00 and $6.00 respectively).
Country Hills (Tully)
A little
further to get to, but a local thaw or just yearning for variety, can make it
worthwhile. About 30km of well groomed trails, of which 5km are lit. There is also snow
making on the 5km loop. The trails
are all ability levels.
Next time
I’ll tell you how the first year of the club actually went.
Thanks Carol. Short AND very interesting!
ReplyDeleteI can't add any history as I lived away from Ithaca from 1985 until 1997 and before that I skied mostly in the Six Mile Creek watershed from the Coddington Rd. side. It's sure too bad though that all of these ski options (except GP) are now gone. And the trail fees back then can make one feel really nostalgic for the good old days before most of us had even heard of global warming or climate change.
On the other hand, now we have the awesome trails at Hammond Hill - thanks Dan Karig and others - and many good folks are keeping the club going strong after all these years!
Thanks again Carol!
Peter Miller
Very interesting!
ReplyDeleteThanks Carol for the trip down memory lane. I was a Podunker back in the day but busy with College when the club officially started. In the late 70's we traveled around to all of the races. Country Hills was a big one, they had great trails (just north of Tully) and of course there was the Podunk winter festival and races. Greek Peak trails were at the the top of the Mt- and you could take the lifts up for free if had on skinny skis until they opened the touring center. There was a lot more grooming back then.
ReplyDeleteWillowood was a campground in the summer and ski area in the winter. I remember skiing there a couple of times at night when the club tried having weeknight races under the lights.
ReplyDeleteMount Pleasant was a touring center operated by the Padula family out of their home on Mineah Road. The club's first race was held there in I believe 1985.