Community

A big crowd of North Tahoe’s close knit cross-country ski community came to Tahoe XC on a wet Wednesday evening to celebrate JC Schoonmaker’s World Cup success. JC is a fourth generation Tahoe City local who started skiing at Tahoe XC as a boy. He returned to town to tell the story of his recent World Cup racing experiences and pass on tips to the next generation of cross-country racers. He was joined by his girlfriend, fellow World Cup cross-country skier from Sweden, Emma Ribom.

It’s always amazing seeing the transformation from brown dirt, to a blanket of white that can happen in just a day. While hiking and mountain biking on these trails is a joyful experience, there is nothing like that peaceful feeling you get gliding over snow. Snow just has this special ability to soften and quiet the world, it’s like moving meditation.

There is a classic tune that encapsulates what is going on in the heads of skiers every fall: “Anticipation! Anticipation!” (Carly Simon by the way is the one that does a much better job of it then the version I just belted out). What kind of winter will it be? A big one? A drought? A normal winter? When will it arrive? And when will it end? And will I have to shovel the dang roof again? Of course everyone has their theories.