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Thursday, February 20, 2003
Plenty of snow, plenty of places to ski
Copyright © 2003 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc. | ||||||||||||||
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The swish of the skis, the snick of the poles. Small clouds dissipate with a regular rhythm from about the skier's head and, like a steam train, she moves swiftly through winter's stillness. A simple but elegant sport, cross-country skiing is for some a way to restore the muscles and stave off the enervating effects of a winter that gets old fast. Early in the season, more than 40 inches of snow in the Portland area yielded a solid snowpack, and it has remained good packed powder. Despite one of the coldest winters in recent memory, skiers are venturing out. "We are probably averaging 350 skiers a day on the weekends," said Jamie Wright of the Pineland Farms Nordic Center. Owner and operator of Gorham Bike & Ski, which administers Pineland Farms' Nordic Center, Wright said business has been very good this first year since Pineland's Nordic trails were renovated by the Libra Foundation as part of last year's multimillion-dollar Pineland redevelopment. "They've spent a lot of time and money building the trails, which are designed for cross-country skiing and racing. There's a great flow to them - the trails have been back-filled and graded with skidders and bulldozers. You can pretty much take a car over them in the summer," he said. With 12-foot-wide skate lanes, Wright believes the trails at Pineland Farms are among the finest in New England. The key, said Wright, was to eliminate camber, which keeps the trail flat laterally. The recent purchase of a $200,000 Pisten Bully groomer, operated by a man who helped groom the racecourse at the 2002 Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, will also contribute to the experience. In addition to the good condition of its trails, Pineland also has the advantage of location. "Sugarloaf and Bretton Woods in New Hampshire all have lots of terrain - Jackson, N.H., has 100K - but we're just half an hour out of downtown Portland," Wright noted. Also close to Portland is Five Fields Farm in Bridgton, an apple orchard turned cross-country ski center that is in its fifth season of operation. "We're into the warmer and more pleasant half of the season now," said Tom Gyger, farm owner and builder of the ski trails. The working orchard is a popular setting for a Nordic ski center, with high elevations and lots of open space. Five Fields Farm is located just northwest of Sebago Lake, situated near Bald Pate Mountain. Nearly all of the farm's 27 kilometers of trails are open. "There's enough snow now that I don't measure it. The year of the great storm, two seasons ago, our last customer skied on April 22," he said. Though last year was short on snow, he said the farm was open 76 days, which is about average. The farm's elevation of 800 feet is good not only for apple growing, but also for snow. "Our historical problem has been trying to convince people in urban areas we can have adequate snow. What people see in their backyard is what motivates them." Nordic centers are particularly reliant on Mother Nature because they don't enjoy the status of downhill ski areas as destination and vacation locales. Nor do they have the marketing budgets. And challenging conditions filter out all but the hardy skiers. That said, Five Fields Farm, in its fifth season of operation, attracts dozens of weekend visitors who know that diverse terrain, good snow and spectacular views await them. "The trail system is designed to be usable all at once. I spent several years doing some measurements before I fully laid it out," said Gyger. Consulting relatives in southern Vermont who have also developed Nordic trails, he began measuring snow depths to find the best routes. The orchard routes were easy, but in the forest he snowshoed the trails over two seasons during March. He attached ribbons to trees and measured the changes in snow depths. If a portion on his route melted out early, he moved the ribbons. Of the more than 700 acres available for skiing, Gyger owns 215. Another 480 belong to a land trust, and some trails cross neighbors' land. Even late in the season, he said, there is little danger of crossing one's tracks or spotting other skiers more than once. At 35 miles north of Portland, Gyger knows that his center is unlikely to attract the numbers of skiers who go to Nordic centers closer to home. But he says his farm can provide things a golf course can't: a house to get warm, a place to exercise your pet outdoors and a wilderness environment. "The special part of it is that we accept dogs. I keep polling customers to see what they think of it," he said. Gyger specializes in trying to give customers what they want. "We have a neighbor who skate-skis and we'll often leave portions untracked for his use. Based on half a dozen phone calls, I'll adjust the tracks," he said. Closer to Portland, Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook has more than 30 kilometers of trails now open for skiing. Often known more for its organic glass-bottle milk than its snow-covered trails, the farm is nevertheless one of the largest Nordic centers in southern Maine. Owned and operated by Warren Knight, the farm is also one of the oldest dairy farms in the state. According to the center's Web site, the sprawling farm with its trademark red barns has a fully equipped rental shop with more than 100 Rossignol ski packages. Refreshments are available in the warming hut, which serves as the ice cream shop in the summer. Trails are groomed nightly, and the farm is also known for extensive skate skiing. A regularly updated "snow phone" provides snow conditions and weather information. Though Gyger believes Five Fields Farm is at an optimum size, there is talk of expansion at Pineland, which covers about 1,700 acres. An increasing number of school groups ski there, and recently Pineland held the Western Maine Conference Championships. "This is the first year, so we don't know what's going to happen," said Wright. "It's up to the Libra Foundation, possibly snowmaking and lights on probably 3 to 5K." Todd Jepson, executive director of Pineland Farms, said plans are tentative. Snowmaking has been talked about, but they'll have to find a dependable water source. "We certainly have land enough, but we make sure (trails) aren't so far out that people have trouble. Our ultimate hope is to find trails more gentle for beginner skiers," he said. According to Wright, Pineland Farms is working with the Maine Winter Sports Center in Limestone to help promote cross-country skiing among kids in southern Maine. The center is already active in northern Maine, promoting Nordic skiing. Also interested in future generations of skiers, Gyger recently joined the WinterKids program, a nonprofit organization in Portland designed to provide Maine schoolkids with the opportunity to enjoy skiing without the costs. "The passport program is for grades five, six and seven. It offers free or discounted lessons, rentals and tickets," said Christy Murray, project director of WinterKids. "It's really savings for the whole family." News Assistant Paul Livingstone can be reached at 791-6308 or at: plivingstone@pressherald.com |
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