Which brings us to number 1...
1) No-vem-freaking-ber!! Has there been a November so awesome for the East? I mean ever? Cro-Magnon scientific records dating back to the Pleistocene Epoch show that there was only one other time where there was this much great skiing so early.* Those in HURT-nation that want future Novembers to be so awesome should remember they need to pack up the Executive Director and ship him out to the sub-tropical Mid-West until mid-December so he can bathe in his own tears while all-y'all pile on the early K's. **sob**
*debatable. less-than-accurate.
2) Snow-making - In the last few years we have seen some serious infrastructure built to help our sport. When this club began...there was bupkis. Gore now basically guarantees Thanksgiving skiing and VanHo promises all the snow-cones you can eat as you calculate those fitbit laps. It is AMAZING. A huge thank you to all the folks that make those efforts possible.
3) Groomers - Come on. Toast these hearty blokes this Thanksgiving. From Crandall Park, to Queensbury, to Brookhaven, To Garnet, To Gore, to VanHo and all the other efforts in between. It is frigid work...let's make sure it isn't thankless
4) Kiddos - a new chapter of HURT-nation has opened in the last couple years as some of our club founders find Bill-Koch-aged skiers now hanging around their houses eating their food. Thanks to some great leadership and creativity, Greenfield and Glens Falls are sporting droves of youngins ripping on skis. And this year we get to show it all off at the Bill Koch Festival in March. Be there for this one. It will be a blast.
5) Aiming high - It is worth mentioning how awesome it is to have true nordic vision at the Gore Nordic Center. They didn't just blast in a snowmobile loop like so many downhill venues around the country. They SENT IT. Jerry glasses and all. There are not many places in the East (no, country) that can boast a FIS world-cup level homologated race course. If you are an athlete in this area that wants to chase the dream, the course is laid out for you. You should come share in the vision at our JNQ weekend in January.
6) Mega Laps - In the last few years Garnet Hill has come to play. Massive improvements up there and a welcoming staff makes it a regional treasure. All natural, yes...but keeps and gets snow when others miss out. Conditions almost never disappoint. The have welcomed us year after year for our fan-favorite MEGA relay and we look forward to seeing them again and thanking them for their effort. Mark your calendars.
7) The Stuff - We have such great sponsors of this club. Tokous.com has opened their warehouse of awesome and given us deep team discounts (If you haven't spent time here....you should). Barkeater Chocolates keeps us feeling guilty. Sportspage continually helps bring us the best at low-cost. Stewarts loves or juniors and kiddos. Polar and Rudy are all about the SWAG. They help make our events great and skiers loving it.
8) The Snow - Keep the winters white. Advocate and care for the environment. Push and pressure everyone you know to do they same. I am thankful for each flake and each voice in that chorus.
9) The Families - We have had many "first-families" in our decade and will have many more to come. Whether or not your name is Yarsevich, Huneck, Beyerbach, Dixon, Duclos, O'Brien, Manzella, Halligan, Chrzan, Tomb, Luban, Blood, Underwood, Bordeau, Mares, Frielinghaus, D-H or P-K (and so so so many more) we have been lucky to have many incredible families bring their passion and enthusiasm to this team. While we will be hosting our 2nd annual "Nino Manzella memorial Hurtathon" this year, and it will once again be a celebration of his memory, that event is really about the families that make skiing in our area so great. You will be glad to make this a stop on your race calendar.
10) You - and your ability to read. Thanks to your literacy you can handle these long winded ramblings. Thanks to all of you from all of us (...100's and 100's of us) that work in the HRT newsroom.
-Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.
Hope you can make it to Nordic Fest!
