City of the Lakes Loppet and The Minikahda Club

Let me begin by saying I'm not a cross country skier.  I do own a nice set of skis, but I feel like a deer on ice when I strap them on.  I just can't seem to master trying to skate up a hill without catching a tip and falling face first into the snow.  It's much easier to just ski down than ski up.  Yes, I admit I would rather spend my time taking the lift to the top of the hill or mountain and let gravity help me make it to the bottom.  I also have to admit that when I found out the City of the Lakes Loppet was going to be using the ski trails here at The Minikahda Club, I didn't think it was that big of a deal.  Well, I was wrong.

We have been grooming trails here at Minikahda for over 15 years.  Over the years we have refined our system, upgraded our grooming equipment, modified our trails and even expanded into a heavily wooded area on the golf course, providing a ski trail distance of close to 4K.  Not only do we provide trails for skiers but for walkers (yes dogs are welcome) and for snowshoe enthusiasts.  Some country clubs invest a great deal of time and money into ice skating rinks and platform tennis and yes The Minikahda Club provides these activities as well, but I believe, for a group of amateur trail groomers, we provide a very nice ski trail for our members and guests.

It really is an honor for our staff to know the City of the Lakes Loppet has chosen to add our trail system to the races.  One of our members, Tom Haeg, who is also Chairman of the Nordic Committee, was greatly involved in getting our trail system included in the Loppet and has been a big help in preparing us for the event.

Our staff will be grooming our section of the race trails as the City of Minneapolis crews have enough to deal with on the miles of trails they are preparing. Assistant Superintendent Isaac Kasper, has been doing the majority of the grooming this season and will have it dialed in for this weekends event.  I'm hopeful the competitors will feel favorable about the condition of our trails. I for one will be a spectator, watching up close as some incredible athletes ascend upon the golfing grounds of The Minikahda Club, and cruise past me at speeds I can only reach on my downhill skis.

Below is a link to the Loppet as well as the overall map which includes Minikahda's portion of the race.
City of the Lakes Loppet

City of Lakes Loppet Ski Map

Thank you to Skinny Ski for the wonderful comments regarding our trails.  

skinnyski.com article

Winter Projects

This winter's weather has certainly been colder than normal but thankfully the staff has been able to get our normal winter tasks completed.  Here are just a few items that Rick, Johnny and Alyssa have been busy preparing for the upcoming season.

 The MGA yardage plaques for each tee have been repainted and sanded.  This year we also updated all of the yardages with new plates.  Always a nice touch when putting out the accessories every spring.

The staff did a nice job once again with the junior tee yardage markers.  Typically new decals are required annually.  These markers are placed flush with the turf surface and consequently the markers get damaged from mowing equipment and cart traffic.

Cooler stands, stained, painted and ready to go!

New Cart Blocks!!!

(the old cart blocks)

 Typically, every winter we look our accessories and try to decide where we can make some improvements.  Last winter we invested a huge amount of time and not too much money to completely rebuild our cooler stands.  With 9 coolers stands the cost to replace them would have totaled over $8000.  We were able to rebuild them for a 1/4 of the cost.

We have gradually replaced all of our wood items with Ipe wood.  First it was the tee markers and benches following the restoration.  Last year it was the cooler stands and this year we felt it was time to replace the cart blocks.  The current cart blocks had been in use for at least the past 15 years.  The wood and stain didn't match any other wood or stain we currently have on the course.  We would prefer a uniform and consistent look throughout the course.

 We purchased the Ipe wood from a local lumber supplier and make about 525 new cart blocks. Alyssa cut the blocks as well as beveled every top.  These cart blocks are obviously smaller than our old ones but should certainly be more manageable for our staff.  And I like that they are now consistent with all our wood products on the course.

Staining will take a few days.  This wood absorbs the stain quickly so the blocks will require 3 coats of stain before they can go on the course this spring.

This is just a glimpse of the work the staff has completed this winter.  There are only 50 days until it's officially spring and there are still more tasks to be completed before the beginning of the season.