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It's Birkie week, and the trails are fantastic! With the big day just around the corner, it looks like the amazing staff and grooming crew at the American Birkebeiner Ski Foundation, with a little help from Mother Nature and many dedicated volunteers, has done what most thought was nearly impossible in such a low snow year. With some last-minute touch-ups this week on some of the more exposed south-facing hills and the annual armada of trucks hauling snow onto Main street, Birkie and Korte skiers will once again be treated to the finest show on snow. Race Course Conditions As of press time, skiers can expect near perfect conditions throughout both the Birkie Skate and Classic courses as well as the Korte course and, if given the choice, can use their good skis. Rock skis should not be necessary. There are certainly a few thin spots with dirty snow which are easily avoided if you stay alert. If racers have multiple pairs of skis, medium to firm flexes for skaters in the early waves should be ideal. Skaters in mid- to later waves can expect some sugar snow on the steeper hills but an otherwise firm track, so a medium or universal flex should be fine. Classic skiers will likely have a very firm, durable track. Perhaps the most important factor for striders in the Birkie is a durable kick wax application. The underlying snow base is somewhat abrasive - plan on applying a durable kick wax binder layer. Some will use a thin klister binder - a common set-up for the Birkie. Others will go with an ironed-in hardwax binder. Either should perform well with proper application. Choice of the final kick wax cover layers is best left until closer to race day. With accumulating snowfall expected this week, groomers will be packing new snow and later tilling the new snow with the older base below. This set-up is nearly identical to last year's Birkie, and the 2012 Pre-Birkie, where grooming resulted beautiful track conditions ranging from a virtually 100% new snow surface to a mix of new and older snow. The preliminary forecast for Birkie morning from the National Weather Service Duluth Minnesota Field Office is predicting an overnight low of 10F degrees ABOVE zero, and an afternoon high of 24F degrees on race day. Start temps will likely range from the low teens for the early waves to the mid-teens for the later waves. Skies are expected to be mostly cloudy and relative humidities above 70% at start time are very common in this scenario. Accumulating snow is forecast this week with 1 to 3 inches predicted Monday night and more likely on Tuesday. Snow later in the week is a possibility as well. Please keep in mind, this is only a prelininary forecast. The forecast can and usually does change as we get closer to race day. Check it often to follow any changes or trends that may occur. To keep up on Birkie trail conditions leading up to race day, skiers can go to the Birkie Trail page at skinnyski.com for first-hand reports from skiers and ABSF groomers as well as recent trail photos. Other good resources include birkie.com and the trail page at norwiski.com. Birkie Week At New Moon…  Meet Nordic Ski Superstar Vegard Ulvang at New Moon! New Moon is honored to host Norwegian Nordic ski legend Vegard Ulvang at the store Sunday, February 26th at 10a.m. Three-time Olympic Gold and two-time World Championship Gold medalist Ulvang is a modern-day folk hero in Norway. He abruptly abandoned his Olympic training program in the Italian Dolomites with the Norwegian National Team in October 1993 and flew back to Norway to help search for his brother, Ketil, who had disappeared while running in the wilderness of northern Norway near his family's home. With skis in hand, Vegard led the search through snow storms and rugged terrain for 14 days. Ketil was found dead in June of 1994, having apparently drowned in an arctic lake. Ulvang will be skiing the 2012 Birkie in support of the MS "Ski For The Cure" Program. Details of this great program are found later in this newsletter. Wax Experts And Wax Reports! New Moon will again host waxing experts from SWIX, TOKO, and FAST WAX as well as reps from leading Nordic apparel brands at the store both Thursday and Friday, the 23rd and 24th. They can help guide you with your waxing plan for the big event, and will certainly answer any other wax questions you might have. This is a great opportunity to speak one-on-one with some of the foremost Nordic waxing experts in North America! Free printed copies of up-to-date wax reports from the leading wax brands will be available also. Skiers can review early wax recommendations for various brands this week at skinnyski.com. Remember, these recommendations can change dramatically as race day approaches and weather forecasts get updated. New Moon At Birkie Expo New Moon has also partnered with TOKO Wax and SPORTHILL apparel for the Birkie Nordic Expo on Thursday and Friday, the 23rd and 24th. We'll have side by side booths stocked up with the best from those brands and staffed by brand reps to assist you. Expo hours are 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday. The expo is at the Hayward Middle School again for 2012. Stop by and say hi!  New Moon Birkie SaleOur annual Birkie sale has begun at New Moon! Now is your chance to take advantage of great discounts throughout the store. Apparel, apparel accessories, and ski equipment - it's all on sale. New Moon still has excellent selection in most categories. Overwhelmed with so many choices? No problem - let our staff of die-hard skiers help you find a perfect pair of skis or that training jacket you've been wishing for. Come ski the trails, then stop in and check out the fantastic deals in the comfort of our beautiful log chalet. If you can't make it, call us at (800) 754-8685, or go to newmoonski.com. Check in often, as we'll be adding and updating many sale items throughout the website during the month of February. Special Store Hours—NEW: OPEN Race Day! New Moon will have special hours over Birkie week. Tentatively, we will be open as follows: Monday, 2/20—Wednesday, 2/22 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Thursday, 2/23 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Friday, 2/24 9 a.m.–7 p.m. Saturday, 2/25 (Race Day) OPEN! 1 p.m.–5 p.m. Sunday, 2/26 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Monday, 2/27 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday, 2/28 - Wednesday 2/29 Closed For Inventory In-Store Pick-Up Skiers are always welcome to place orders for their Birkie supplies ahead of time and pick them up at New Moon during business hours that week. This is a great way to ensure that you get what you need. Give us a call at (800) 754-8685, and we'll set it up for you. Birkie Stone Grinding Due to time constraints, we are unable to grind Birkie week. Our grinding program will resume after the Birkie. For more info, view the stone grinding info and grind form. We apologize for any inconvenience. Birkie Waxing Service New Moon is currently accepting skis for our professional Birkie Race Waxing Service. Birkie waxing is offered on a strict, first come, first served basis. View our Birkie waxing menu. It includes low-fluoro, pure-fluoro glide waxing, as well as kick waking options. Final wax choices are made Thursday and Friday. Be sure to send or drop-off your skis scraped and stripped of all kick wax. Dirty skis will incur additional clean-up charges. All Birkie waxing is done off-site and finished skis will be available for pick-up at New Moon Friday after 4 p.m., NO EXCEPTIONS. Other Important Stuff… Congrats To Moonies Santi And Stormer! New Mooner and CXC Elite Skier Santi Ocariz won the 2012 Pre-Brikie 42K! After surviving the notoriously chaotic Pre-Birkie start, Santi pushed the pace with few fellow CXC team members, quickly breaking up the field and allowing for an all CXC podium in the 42K marathon. Cindy Storm, or "Stormer" to her friends, also had a great Pre-Birkie, winning the 26K Women's Classic division! Stormer is known for using Rode Multigrade Violet kick wax for literally any snow temp. Zero degrees at the start... who cares?! MG Violet it is! Good job you guys! Cross Country Skiing… Literally!
Ski For The Cure  Wear the MS Pin, win a prize! Team up with the National and Wisconsin Chapters of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to help fund MS research. Again for 2012, Birkie and Korte skiers wearing the pin will have a chance to win prizes at the finish line from Birkie sponsors including Gift Cards from New Moon! Not skiing the Birkie? No problem—wear the pin proudly knowing that you're helping a great cause. For more information, visit the Birkie Ski For The Cure web page. All proceeds for MS Pin sales are forwarded directly to the MS Society.New Moon offers the Ski For The Cure MS pins in-store and on the web. Good luck and see at the start line! …Think snow! The crew at New Moon |
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