XC Skiing - Saratoga Spa State Park

Beginning today, and every Tuesday in ski season, the Environmental Clearinghouse (ECOS) has a ski trip to a relatively nearby area that has good snow. The first trip of the season is traditionally to Saratoga Spa State Park. We ski for a couple of hours on the golf course and other parts of the park, and then retire to the warming hut for a potluck of snacks and hot drinks.

Much of the state, as well as nearby Vermont, got hammered by a lot of snow over the weekend, but locally we only got a few inches. The trails in the park had a light coating over a very firm base, and the skiing was surprisingly good. I went in full retro gear today, with wool knickers and knicker socks, ragg wool hat and mittens, and my old waxable wooden skis. It's been many years now since I've skied on wax, and I'd forgotten what a sweet sensation it is when the wax is right. We've had so many sloppy winters lately that it just hasn't been worth the guessing game that waxing requires under less than ideal conditions. Today was perfect, with temps around 20 and dry snow, and the skiing was smooth as silk. Golf courses aren't my favorite places to ski, but it was good to finally get out for some reasonably good skiing.