Bioski Newsletter December 2013 Newsletter...A 3x15m section of decking was built and installed before the end of November. Other wet spots are being addressed with the help of used

Bioski Cross-Country Ski and Snowshoe Club

Ski Cottage Hours and Ski Cottage Volunteers

Trail Ski Trails Update

Friends of Lake Laurentian Conservation AreaMessage

Dear Fellow Skiers and Snowshoers:As you know, we had a very successful 2012membership, and day use of the ski and snowshoe trails.volunteers, partners, supporters Club Membership Registration Forms and Consent formsbutton will allow you to ski at Laurentianwhile our Bioski fees have remained the same, the Cross Country Canada insurance premiums have risen this year. Ski Cottage Hours and Volunteers

Holiday Season opening: Our thanks once again to Pethe holiday season. It will be 5, inclusive.

Country Ski and Snowshoe Club - December 2013

Features: Club Membership

Ski Cottage Hours and Ski Cottage Volunteers Potluck Dates

Trail Conditions and Trail Safety Ski Trails Update & Snowshoe Trail Update

Off-Season Maintenance Friends of Lake Laurentian Conservation Area

Message from the Club Executive

Dear Fellow Skiers and Snowshoers: very successful 2012-13 season in terms of snowof the ski and snowshoe trails. We thank our members,

upporters – and our groomers!

Registration Forms and Consent forms for this season are attached. button will allow you to ski at Laurentian University trails as well. while our Bioski fees have remained the same, the Cross Country Canada insurance premiums have risen this year.

and Volunteers

eter and Brigitte Beckett for staffing the Cottage

the holiday season. It will be open 1-4 pm. Saturday December 28-31 and January 1

1

in terms of snow cover, We thank our members,

are attached. Your Bioski trails as well. You’ll see that

while our Bioski fees have remained the same, the Cross Country Canada insurance

the Cottage during 31 and January 1-

Bioski Cross-Country Ski and Snowshoe Club - December 2013

2

At this time we don’t know what the trail conditions will be, but there will be hiking – and the opportunity to register for the season. Regular hours during season: The Cottage will be open 10 am.-4 pm. on Saturdays and Sundays. These hours will commence when the ski trails are open, so check our website and/or call the Hotline for the announcement. There will be new coffee offerings this season at the Cottage! Ski Cottage volunteers: The hospitality and information offered by volunteers in the Cottage mean so much to skiers and snowshoers. We have a group of dedicated volunteers, but always welcome new members. Cottage duty is fun and provides an opportunity to get out and meet with fellow Bioski members. To volunteer please contact Pat Jackson-Sheridan at [email protected], phone 806-0598. Or contact Doreen Pagnutti at [email protected]. If you can’t reach Pat by phone, you can call Doreen at 929-2187 (cell).

Orientation and Scheduling: New volunteers will be provided with written procedures and will first work with a seasoned volunteer or executive member. The procedures include a phone list of emergency contacts should you encounter any difficulty. This year we will schedule volunteers as soon as there is potential for skiing. As in the past, you will be notified in advance if the trails are not ready or closed and we will not require coverage. A big thanks goes out to all past and future cottage volunteers. Potlucks and Special Event Last year one of our potlucks happily coincided with Robbie Burns night, when we snapped Evan our Haggis piper on skis!

“Ach aye the noo” what kinda Canadian Caber is this?


3

This year the February potluck will coincide with Valentine’s Day. Watch for a special themed gathering! Ski Cottage doors open at 6:00 pm. Dinners begin at about 7:00-7:15 pm. Our January, February and March events are at the time of a full moon. You can go on the trails before or after – or both! Dates: Friday December 6, 2013 – Kick-off potluck

Tuesday December 31, 2013 -- Mark your calendars for this New Year’s Eve gathering Friday January 10, 2014 -- Moonlight potluck

Friday February 14, 2014 -- Moonlight & Valentine potluck

Friday March 14, 2014 -- Moonlight potluck

Special Event: Family Day Event February 17, 2014: We hope to have a groomed trail to Moonlight Beach. In response to comments received back from last year’s questionnaire, our all-obliging groomer(s) plans to be setting – for 1 day only – a “Family Outing Trail” to Moonlight Beach and back (conditions permitting). We’ll let you know in advance when this event is confirmed. Trail Conditions and Trail Safety Hotline and Twitter: Call the Hotline at 674-5202 for trail conditions and there will a recorded message, or if during cottage hours, a volunteer will answer the phone. A regularly updated Twitter feed at the base of the home page www.bioski.ca is visible to all. Trail safety: We have worked to update our safety protocols:

• We will post a notice in the Cottage (and possibly at the trail heads) stating that “Users of the BioSki trail system are advised that : a) they should carry a mobile phone and ensure that they have the Ski Cottage number logged, and b) in the event of an accident requiring assistance, at weekends between the hours of 10:00-16:00 they are to call the Cottage @705-674-5202; outside of these hours, call 911.”

• For day users, the Cottage phone number will be added to the tag attached to their ski poles.


4

• An accompanying notice will provide advice on the relative difficulties for beginners of each of the Club’s trails, according to their respective colour code;

• Accidents that occur on our trails outside of cottage hours and which require a rescue come under the responsibility of the local authorities – police and ambulance services, 911.

Ski Trails Update Founders’ Five: We have honoured Peter Beckett and Gerard Courtin for their decades of commitment to Bioski by naming one of our trails Founders’ Five. They have chosen the Classic 5 as the designated trail because it was the original trail about which all other parts of the network are linked. You will see a marker reflecting the designation at Gully Junction which is where the Classic 5 splits with the 7.5 and 10 km trails. The BioSki-Laurentian Link (via Blackbird Swamp) was initiated two years ago to provide a longer trail for events such as the Laurentian Nordic Loppet and will only be groomed at the time if the condition of the ice of Laurentian Lake permits the safe use of grooming equipment. On this occasion, BioSki is willing to provide stewards on our section of the trail. Otherwise, the land based sections will be brushed by the respective clubs and throughout the season may be used, at the discretion of those skiers who wish to cut their own trail. Both clubs hope to devise a more viable, entirely land-based route between systems in the future. Trailhead: A new, but temporary trailhead stand will be erected at the beginning of the ski trails, pending the construction of a kiosk. This sign will welcome all skiers to our trails, point our safety protocol, and indicate the donation box for day users. Grooming: It might not be realized by all skiers that most of the grooming is done at night. The reason is twofold. First, it is pointless to groom while skiers are still active on the trails and, second, tracks require several hours to harden up so that they withstand skier traffic. This can only be achieved by grooming when there is no skier activity. The groomers are by and large volunteers and we owe them our gratitude for doing their work in the cold and dark. It is for the reasons given above that the designated groomer does not necessarily begin to groom immediately after a snow storm. And in the long run a little patience translates into trails that are better set and do not wear out as quickly.


5

Snowshoe Trail Update

• On November 4th, Rainbow Routes held another very successful monthly hike on our snowshoe/hiking trails with over 50 people attending and at least a dozen newcomers to the area. Check out their website www.Rainbowroutes.com for details on their December Hike, they are always a lot of fun!!

• Signs/maps on our snowshoe trailhead stand in the parking lot are in the process of being refreshed.

• Snowshoe trail markers are being refreshed as are the ‘you are here’ maps. As well, two posts were installed to hold trailmarkers where no trees were available.

• We are awaiting the installation of a donation box. In the interim, any donations could be made in the box at the ski trailhead. This will hopefully encourage folks who regularly use our trails but are not members of either Bioski or Friends of Lake Laurentian, to donate a loonie or ten towards the ongoing maintenance of these trails.

• Thanks once again to Ramakko’s Source for Adventure who will loan us two pair of quality snowshoes for the season. Cottage volunteers can loan these out to interested parties for use on our trails on a given day free of charge. We ask that borrowers leave some personal item as collateral while you are enjoying the wilderness.

• EXTRA NOTE: For those snowshoers interested in traditional winter expeditions, as well as crafts and skills, see www.lureofthenorth.com . In February, our Past President will be taking part in a Lure Expedition that features winter ecology.

Off-season Maintenance Our President Graham, Vice-President Sheilah, and our Advisors and Members-at-Large Peter and Gerard have led and coordinated the off-season maintenance work. Ski Trails: Photos below show some of the grunt crew members at work this fall on brushing, culvert preparation, and bridge work. This year, in response to our call-outs, we have


6

had the help of many hardy and intrepid souls. It is not glamorous work – but we all appreciate the results!

Brushing the trail at Upper Kurt’s

Hauling wood for the decking on the main trail just above the junction with the Upper Kurt’s Bridge Work Boys before winter’s deep freeze

Wash out areas: A major initiative this year was to install culverts, bridges and decking in places that frequently wash out during winter rain events. At the time of this newsletter four culverts have been installed and a bridge has been set in place over a beaver run on the 3.5km trail. A 3x15m section of decking was built and installed before the end of November. Other wet spots are being addressed with the help of used pallets and wood chips that are being carried by wheelbarrow to the sites where they are needed. The work that has been accomplished will not only make for

Installing culvert across 7.5 trail just beyond Gully Junction


7

better skiing but will alleviate a lot of the labour with snow floats that has plagued trail repair crews in previous years. It only remains to be seen how successful this autumn’s work has been once trails have been packed and track set. Levelling: A very wet autumn severely hampered the trail work that had been planned since last spring. None of the levelling of troublesome sections of the system, using a back hoe, were addressed. Trail Brushing : We purchased a new brush scythe unit and four new fully-trained volunteers have made a very serious dent in the shooting alders! As of the end of November, brushing is complete. Volunteers: As happens every year when the going gets tough the tough get going. The Executive can only give their heartfelt thanks to all the “Grunt Crew” both veterans and newcomers for the generous contribution of their time. It is they who ensure that each year we have trails to ski on and each year trails that are in better shape than the previously. Snowshoe Trails:

This past summer, the beaver dam which we all cross over to start on the snowshoe/hiking trails, was closed for a few weeks due to a deluge of water from lands above flooding out the access, owing to a dam further upstream being breached. Paul Sajatovic, the general manager of Conservation Sudbury, hired a company to have this remedied at great cost, for which we are very thankful. In a short time, the trail was reopened to users, thank you very much Paul and Conservation Sudbury for your prompt attention to this matter!!

Our snowshoe trails have been shaping us nicely this fall, thanks in huge part to Graham Swan, who has been playing “Battle of the Beavers” for some time now. Where the Mt. Ramsey loop comes closest to Lake Ramsey, beavers have been in high gear, and the chainsaw was required to remove some twenty fallen trees or partially fallen ones which could prove dangerous, particularly given the wild winds we have been experiencing this fall. We have a new volunteer who has been busy trimming and refreshing arrows and signs.

Ski Cottage: Anyone who owns a camp will understand our ongoing challenges, but as you can see we have had some good resolutions….


8

• The issues with the Cottage’s frozen sewer line towards the end of last season were identified and fixed over the summer, in full measure thanks to initiatives directed and paid for by Paul Sajatovic of Conservation Sudbury. In short, we suffered a back-up due to the winter’s rain events rapidly filling the perforated septic tank, which then froze in the line as temperatures fell. We now have a relined and surface sealed system. Again, our sincere thanks are due to Paul.

• Our volunteer renovators/decorators who have done great things for the Ski Cottage in past years will be at work again this year constructing a dropdown table/shelf in the kitchen to hold our dishes on pot luck evenings – as we officially run out of flat space with our overwhelming but joyful attendance!!

• Laurentian University’s Department of Active Living generously donated a very fine pencil sketch drawn in 1980 of Kurt Gelbhaar, after whom Kurt’s Trail is named. We leave it to our resident interior decorators to decide where it should be in the Ski Cottage.

• The entrance steps have been moved to the north-east end of the Cottage deck to ensure that the sewer pipe into the septic tanks will be well covered with snow should a back-up ever occur again. The section of the pipe that runs under the building will be insulated with hay before the weather turns really cold.

• The area above and immediately surrounding the septic tanks has been roped-off and should not be used as part of the parking lot.

Friends of Lake Laurentian Conservation Area -Sheilah Arena

Things continue to percolate at Friends of Lake Laurentian, a membership-based organization whose mandate is to enhance these beautiful 2400 acres on which lay our cross-country ski and snow shoe trails. We held a hugely successful Summer’s End Romp event on Sept 21 with over 450 people attending, including many newcomers and many wonderful families. Our newest patrons, deemed our ‘local heroes’ were announced and they include Herve and Ursula Sauve, Bob and Nancy Rogers, Bill Lautenbach, and Marlies and Dieter Schoenefeld. They are shining


9

examples of folks who emulate all that we stand for: conservation, preservation and the enhancement of our world, making it a better place for the good of all. We couldn’t be more proud and more honored to have them be our ambassadors for Friends of Lake Laurentian!!

We still continue our monthly events (Check out Christmas Crafts on Dec 7th 10am-12 at the Nature Chalet) and are planning new and exciting ones for next year. As well, we continue to work on the trails and our signage plan, which encompasses our ski and snowshoe trails as well. To read more about us and join in on the fun, follow the link to Friends of Lake Laurentian on the Conservation Sudbury site.

******

Photograph by Rosemary-Joy Swan using high dynamic-range imaging (HDRI) Message from the Executive The Club is still seeking assistance with Publicity duties. If you would like to assist, please contact any member of the Executive. Likewise, contact any of the Executive if you have questions or suggestions for the Club. We all benefit from your ideas. Looking forward to seeing you on the trails, at the Ski Cottage or at one of the many events at Lake Laurentian Conservation Area.

Thanks for your participation and support! From the Bioski Executive, for 2013/14:

Graham Swan, President. 673-1692. Email: [email protected] Sheilah Arena, Vice-President. 806-0776. Email: [email protected] Secretary. Position vacant.

Bioski Cross-Country Ski and Snowshoe Club

Evan Hoar, Treasurer. 523-2610. Email: Kathy Brankley. Newsletter and Member [email protected] Beckett, Adviser & [email protected] Gerard Courtin, Adviser & Member THE LAKE LAURENTIAN CONSERVATION AREA IS A JEWEL IN OUR CITY AND WE

HAVE THIS NATURAL PLAYGROUND AT OUR DOORSTEPS

AND SHOW IT OFF TO OTHE

Country Ski and Snowshoe Club - December 2013

2610. Email: [email protected] and Member Communications. 522-1556. Email:

[email protected] Peter Beckett, Adviser & Member- at- Large. 566-8732. Email:

Gerard Courtin, Adviser & Member- at- Large. Email: [email protected]

THE LAKE LAURENTIAN CONSERVATION AREA IS A JEWEL IN OUR CITY AND WE ARE PRIVILEGED TO


LET’S USE IT LET’S ENJOY IT

AND SHOW IT OFF TO OTHERS

10

1556. Email:

Email: [email protected]

THE LAKE LAURENTIAN CONSERVATION AREA IS A JEWEL IN OUR CITY AND WE


Documents

Bioski Newsletter December 2013 Newsletter...A 3x15m section of decking was built and installed before the end of November. Other wet spots are being addressed with the help of used