Skiers of a certain age might remember the Beach Boys singing, “We’re waxing down our surfboards, we can’t wait for June.” Come July in Wisconsin, skiers might have a chance to wax their skis and race.

Lurking under wood chips at the Telemark Resort is a huge stash of snow that CXC harvested in March. “It’s there. It’s a matter of how long” we can keep it, said Yuriy Gusev, CXC’s executive director.

They want to see how fast it melts through May and June.  If the snow stockpile is in good condition at the end of June, CXC plans to keep it for fall, opening a short loop for skiing sometime in October. Coaches living at the resort are monitoring the condition of the snow.

CXC deliberately stored their snow in the worst possible place, an exposed field with no respite from the sun. It’s a good test to see how long their stash will last.

Before they covered it, there was probably enough snow for a one to one and a half kilometer loop, including both skate and classic lanes. “For sure one kilometer,” Gusev said.

However, if he thinks the snow won’t last until October, Gusev plans to hold a race during the summer.  It would be ad hoc: there’s no firm date for a race at present. “We’ll have some fun,” said Gusev.

- Peter Minde

Making the pile...

As part of its 100th anniversary celebration, L.L. Bean announced Monday that it is donating $1 million to Maine Winter Sports Center’s Healthy Hometowns program. Until now, the program has been solely skiing-oriented, providing children in communities throughout Maine with the equipment, coaching and opportunities needed to get involved in skiing. L.L. Bean aims to help the program to grow to a year-round one with its donation, and expand its reach state-wide — “offering Maine kids more opportunities to get outdoors and participate in activities like paddling, hiking, cycling and cross-country skiing.”

L.L. Bean will make its public presentation to MWSC at 10:00 am Tuesday morning at its headquarters in Freeport, Maine.

Most skiers in the continental US and much of Canada struggled through a challenging winter with extremely low snowfall in most regions leaving trails bare and race organizers scrambling.

The current FasterSkier banner, an aerial photo of the SuperTour Finals venue does a good job of encapsulating the season.

But low snow was not universal in North America, with Alaska not only enjoying excellent skiing, but actually setting a new record for total snow in Anchorage.

Reader Tim Kelley passed along this information that was reported in the Anchorage Daily News (ADN).

“I just wanted to pass this news on to show that weird winters can swing both ways,” Kelley wrote to FasterSkier in an email.

A snowstorm on Saturday in Anchorage gave the city 134.5 inches for the year, besting the mark of 132.6″ set in 1954-1955 ADN reported.

The average annual snowfall in Anchorage is 71.4″.

While 2011-2012 was just inches ahead of the former mark, the amount was over 20″ more than the fifth highest total set in 2003-2004.

The winter’s bounty allowed Kelley to complete what he terms “the first ski around Anchorage.”

“The idea of skiing around Anchorage is to ski a circle around as many homes in the Anchorage Bowl as you can,” Kelley wrote on his blog.

He completed the the 60-mile loop in late March, starting and finishing at his home.

He skied on a combination of “backcountry skier skinning-tracks, ski-touring tracks, snowshoe and walker trails, snowmobile tracks, roads, sidewalks and groomed bike trails.  No groomed ski-only trails were used.”

Kelley has a number of excellent photos from the ski on his blog as well as a detailed description of the route.

The GPS map of Kelley's route.

Looking down on the city.

The current banner photo was taken by Ian Case, a former regular on the domestic racing circuit.

Ian’s father has a small Cessna and the pair flew over the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, the site of the 2012 SuperTour Finals, on the Friday before the prologue.

In an email to FasterSkier, Ian wrote:

It is pretty stunning what they have done there – from the sky everything is brown in every direction as far as the eye can see and even the shaded trails around Craftsbury are obviously devoid of any white, so it was pretty incredible to see the ribbon of race course snaking around, and not just a short loop either.

I’m sure you’re well aware of the situation there but somehow seeing it from the air made it more unbelievable and really put in perspective how insane (in a great way) it is that they have been able to succeed with such an undertaking. The day we flew over it was something like 60 degrees and very sunny, as you can tell by the overblown glare on the white areas.

Got to watch the prologue in person on the trails the next day which was fun, but seeing things from the air was more eye-opening than actually being there, in terms of the conditions.

Here are a few more shots.

Here is a great video of Canadian Nationals by Zacharie Turgeon of the Skinouk Ski Club. Worth a watch.

Championnats canadiens 2012 from Zacharie Turgeon on Vimeo.

CRAFTSBURY, Vt. — After breaking away with fellow U.S. Ski Team member Tad Elliott, Kris Freeman went on to defend his 50 k mass start title at U.S. Distance Nationals on Saturday, beating Elliott in the skate race by 3.2 seconds.

The two USST and SSC Vail skiers built up nearly a minute gap on the chase group after skiing with the pack for about 37 kilometers. Tim Reynolds (Craftsbury Green Racing Program) pushed the pace with Sylvan Ellefson (SSCV/Team HomeGrown) in the final laps and edged Ellefson at the line to finish third.

Top 10

1. Kris Freeman (SSC Vail/USST) 1:50.25.9

2. Tad Elliott (SSC Vail/USST) +3.2

3. Tim Reynolds (CGRP) +1:01.6

4. Sylvan Ellefson (SSC Vail) +1:02.1

5. Simi Hamilton (SVSEF/USST) +1:14.2

6. David Norris (Alaska Winter Stars) +1:19.7

7. Russell Currier (MWSC/USBA) +1:23.6

8. Eric Packer (Dartmouth) +1:24.8

9. Pat O’Brien (CGRP) +1:32.3

10. Karl Nygren (CXC) +1:36.2

Men’s 50 k results

CRAFTSBURY, Vt. — Kikkan Randall used her sprinting strengths on the last of 20 laps in the women’s 30 k freestyle race at U.S. Distance Nationals on Friday, beating fellow U.S. Ski Team member Jessie Diggins to the line by 1.1 seconds.

Randall finished in 1:19.30, and Liz Stephen (Burke/USST) placed third (+14.3) after leading for several laps. The three teammates set a fast pace from the beginning with Holly Brooks and Chelsea Holmes. Brooks fell off the back around lap 14, but held onto fourth (+2:19.5) and Holmes pulled off fifth (+3:52.6).

Top 10

1. Kikkan Randall (APU/USST) 1:19:30

2. Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST) +1.1

3. Liz Stephen (Burke/USST)+14.3

4. Holly Brooks (APU) +2:19.5

5. Chelsea Holmes (SVSEF) +3:52.6

6. Susan Dunklee (CGRP/USBA) +4:31.8

7. Chandra Crawford (CNST) +4:37.0

8. Rebecca Dussault (independent) +4:46.0

9. Sadie Bjornsen (APU/USST) +4:46.9

10. Alexa Turzian (SVSEF) +4:50.2

Live timing/results

Jay, Vt. – A day after dislocating his shoulder, Noah Hoffman (U.S. Ski Team/SSC Vail) was the fastest man up the SuperTour Finals 1.8 k hill climb at Jay Peak on Wednesday, winning the event in 13:10.7.

Kris Freeman (USST/SSCV) started first and held his lead to take the overall SuperTour Finals title. He was the third fastest (+13.3) after Brian Gregg (CXC) in second (+10.2).

Another U.S. Ski teamer from Ski and Snowboard Club Vail, Tad Elliott was fourth in the pursuit (+18.4).

Simi Hamilton (USST/SVSEF) was fifth (+48.0).

Top 10

1. Hoffman (USST/SSCV) 13:10.7

2. Gregg (CXC) +10.2

3. Freeman (USST/SSCV) +13.3

4. Elliott (USST/SSCV) +18.4

5. Hamilton (USST/SVSEF) +48.0

6. Bjornsen (USST/APU) +49.0

7. Yoshida (Japan) +51.8

8. Norris (Alaska Winter Stars) +1:05.5

9. Tarling (Dartmouth) +1:10.2

10. Prestsaeter (University of New Mexico) +1:10.8

Men’s results

JAY, Vt. — U.S. Ski Team member Liz Stephen topped her women’s competition in the 1.8 k hill climb at Jay Peak on Wednesday, winning the SuperTour Finals event in 15:06.7.

The first across the line and the second to start, Jessie Diggins (CXC/USST) to win the SuperTour Finals mini tour, finishing 6.6 seconds off Stephen’s time.

Chelsea Holmes (Sun Valley SEF) was third fastest (+13.9).

Top 10

1. Stephen (Burke/USST) 15:06.7

2. Diggins (CXC/USST) +6.6

3. Holmes (SVSEF) +13.9

4. Brooks (APU/USST) +28.1

5. Dussault (Independent) +38.2

6. Patterson (UVM) +59.1

7. Dunklee (CGRP/USBA) +1:05.4

8. Crawford (CNST) +1:18.1

9. Obayashi (Madshus Japan) +1:31.1

10. Dreissigacker (CGRP) +1:46.5

Women’s results