By: Justin Freeman
Subaru Factory Team

It’s January, and while I have been on skis a few times in New England this year, the 60 degree weather means it may be a while before I ski again. What’s a skier to do?

1. Keep the faith. Even in bad snow years, there are storms, and there is skiing. Do a snow dance every night, and eventually one of them will work.

2. Buy new running shoes and keep your rollerskis maintained. If your goal is to ski fast, you need remarkably little on snow time to achieve it.

3. Look at the bright side. You have more time to work out when you run or rollerskis: no travel time, no time wasted waxing. Skating on rollerskis on cold wet pavement is great for balance and technique—so is ski walking up frost-covered hills.

4. Network. Somewhere, there is probably skiable snow. Talk to your friends, your rivals, or random people from the phonebook, and find out where it is.

5. Get your ski equipment ready to go. You will feel really foolish if it does snow someday and you realize you have a broken binding or you haven’t scraped the summer wax off your skis and re-waxed them.

6. Plan a trip to a race far away and very snowy. It will keep you motivated, and also (hopefully) guarantee a few days of good skiing when you go there.

7. Look at the bright side (again). It can get hard sometimes, but remember, bad snow makes good skiers. If you can train through a bad New England winter—with its mix of clear sub-zero days, slush, and apparent spring weather—you can train through anything. When you race against a rival who’s been skiing on Extra Blue all season, just remember that skiing good conditions makes you soft, and use that fact to beat him.

Once you do get on snow, remember:

1. Keep running a couple times a week. Cross training keeps you healthy, and staying in running shape could help a lot the next time there is a thaw.

2. Don’t work to hard to get to bad snow. Dryland training often beats endless laps on 800 meters of manmade snow, both for enjoyment and effectiveness.

3. Get creative with your workouts! You can ski a 30 km time trial on a kilometer of snow (done it) or a six hour OD on a steep 4 km groomed road (watched my brother do it). On the other hand, you may be skiing around the base of an alpine area where the best way to get a workout is to drop your poles and play tag (or, if you aren’t hurting the snow, drop your poles and one of your skis and get some serious balance work in playing tag).

4. Enjoy! If one day during a tough winter there is beautiful skiing, forget your workout plan and go for a long, easy ski (or whatever makes you happy) and don’t stop till the sun goes down! You never know when you will get the chance to ski on perfect snow again.

Note: We understand it's cooler, but this is a nice article to keep in your back pocket.

After being in the Midwest last week for the coldest weather in several years we thought it would be fitting to share with you a little secret. We had no bottle freezing issues over the course of the City of Lakes Loppet, and that is largely in part to Nathan's Snow Line of hydration packs. The pack that each of the Subaru Factory Team athletes used during the race was the Flurry. And it is very unusual to see a Factory Team athlete training without the Storm pack.

The Flurry includes: Thinsulate® insulation wrapped around a horizontal bottle holster plus zippered entry from either side equals the perfect pak for an hour of cross-country skiing, running, snowshoeing, or snowboarding. In extreme cold, leave both ends of the holster zipped tightly until you need to drink. In moderately cold temperatures, open either end of the holster to provide faster fluid access.

Canadian Ski Marathon 2007
February 10 & 11, 2007
Lachute to Gatineau, Quebec

Join us on one of the best cross-country ski trails for two days of skiing between
the cities of Lachute and Gatineau. Complete the number of sections of your choice
on our double-tracked trail to win yourself a prize. Everyone’s a winner!

Choose your challenge at the 41st edition of the Canadian Ski Marathon on
February 10 & 11, 2007.  Take part in the new One Day Challenge  and ski
anywhere between 15 km and 75 km.  It is from Montebello that skiers registered
in this category will start their day and win pins depending on the number of sections
they complete.

Also back for 2007, the Mini-CSM, free for skiers 17 and under enabling young
skiers to experience the CSM spirit. Skiers registered in the Mini-CSM can ski
section 5 on Saturday, February 10 or section 10 on Sunday February 11.   It is a
unique opportunity to spend a day with the family and share the trails with skiers
of all levels.

Visit our website at www.csm-mcs.com or call our office at 819-700-6556 to learn
more about the Canadian Ski Marathon.
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ESSAY CONTEST DEADLINE NEXT WEEK!
The essay contest run through SkiPost and the Subaru Factory Team will be due
on February 14th, 2007.

Kids ages 10-16 are welcome to submit an essay, no longer than 1000 words, to weanswer@skipost.com. Please have your name, age, and ski club listed in the header of the essay. Thank you for participating!
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The 28th Annual Yellowstone Rendezvous Race
March 3, 2007
West Yellowstone, Montana

It’s been a phenomenal ski season in West Yellowstone and, believe it or not, the 28th Annual Yellowstone Rendezvous Race is just four weeks away. The race date has been moved up a week (to avoid conflicts with other local events) and this year’s race will take place on March 3, 2007. Online registration is available now and the third registration deadline of February 21 is approaching fast. To register, visit www.rendezvousrace.com today.

If you have any questions about this year’s Yellowstone Rendezvous Race, email them to info@rendezvousrace.com .
Thank you for supporting cross country skiing in West Yellowstone!
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Saturday, February 10, 2007
15k tour between Aspen & Snowmass, CO
Start at 10:00
Two Creeks Area, near Snowmass xc Center
Finish at The Aspen Cross Country Center
Cost: Individual - $35 • Family - $50
Children 17 & under Free!
Food at the finish, snack along the way!
Pre-Register at: www.utemountaineer.com
For More information: www.rmnordic.org
Race day Registration for Bappa Tour at Snowmass xc ski center between
7 - 9:30 am
Shuttle Bus will run every 15 minutes from Aspen XC Center to Snowmass XC center starting at 7:00 am through 9:00 am.
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A Participation Prize will be given to continue supporting xc classic skiing!
One registered skier (age 18 and above) who completes one of the
following races (classic division) will win a Free trip to 2008 China Vasaloppet
50K classic xc ski race held in Changchun, China, on Jan. 2, 2008 (including
international and domestic air tickets, hotel lodging, 50k race registration
fee, fees to historic touring sites including the Great Wall, the Forbidden
Cities -- a trip package value of $2,800).

The races included in this Participation Prize are:
1) City of Lakes Loppet 25k classic race -- Feb. 4, 2007
2) Mora Vasaloppet 42k classic race -- Feb. 11, 2007
3) American Birkebiner 51k classic race -- Feb. 24, 2007
4) Rainbow Rendezvous 16k classic race -- March 3, 2007

The Participation Prize will be drawn on March 10, 2007 and will be
posted on skinnyski.com, www.rainbowresort.com, in SkiPost, and any other interested
website.

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February 17th, 2007
The Steamboat Ski Marathon at Catamount, CO
10k, 22.5k & 45k skate and classic events.  
The terrain is gentle, rolling and open.  The course is located on the grounds of the beautiful Lake Catamount Ranch and Club and offers continuous 3600 views of the Yampa Valley.  There is plenty of challenge for the lead pack with numerous short fast climbs and a nearly 2k gradual downhill finish for the ultimate sprint.

Early registration though January 31st, 2007

Entry form: entry at www.steamnboatxcski.org, click on “ALL RACES/RESULTS”

Contact: Dave at (970) 819-1014 or email to dave@steamboatxcski.org

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NOTE: If you have an event you would like to have in SkiPost please send emails to weanswer@skipost.com

For more information on Subaru's technically advanced all-wheel drive vehicles check out www.subaru.com

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