The second major snow of the season starts in a few hours, just in time for Thanksgiving. This year has been unusual for the great early season cross-country ski conditions. This morning I skied 17 km at SnowFlake Nordic Center just outside of Duluth, Minnesota (thanks, George Hovlund).

When I ski, in the true NorthstarNerd tradition, I tend to be a bit techie! I often record my races (see SkiCam man photos), or use my Garmin to measure and compute a trail's difficult rating. As a serious competitor, a skier needs to know more than just distance. Thus, I measure the total elevation change divided by the distance traveled.

The conditions this morning were fantastic for classic. SnowFlakes difficult rating is 20.29. As a frame of comparison, the Birkie Trail has a rating of 59.44, and the Mora Vasaloppet has a rating of 30.67. Having noted that, SnowFlake is worth a visit! However, the hills are mild.

You can view all my other ratings via this page. You may also be interested in my MinnSki Portal (Nordic Skiing in Minnesota)

Finally, click upon the image given below to view the Garmin data for my SnowFlake workout.

Enjoying a week's vacation. The sun just came up over Lake Superior. Snow is headed our way. Should improve the cross-country ski trails!

(click to view at full size)

I took a day off today. What does the Northstar Nerd do on a vacation day?

The first item of business was to enjoy the 10+ inches of snow that came down on Saturday. By 8 am I was out at the SnowFlake Nordic Center, run by Olympian George Hovland. I had a great time doing some early season cross-country skiing. See the download from my Garmin and SportTracks software (see my tutorial). Click upon either image to view full sized.

After my morning ski it was time to take a hike with my wife along a Lake Superior wilderness trail near Two Harbors, Minnesota. After a nice late lunch, it was time to nerd out in the afternoon and install a new automatic temperature sensor in my Duluth home. LaCrosse Technologies has a very inexpensive internet based humidity / temperature sensor with no management / service fee which sends me an alert by email and text message if the temperature in my home drops under any desired amount (my home is set for a 50 degree warning). My next project over Thanksgiving will be to install a wireless web cam for the home as a security device.

Click upon either image to view full sized.

The first big snow of the year is starting to come down. Apparently we're due to receive 8+ inches by tomorrow morning. My Nordics Skis are ready to cruise!

After my trail run this morning, I decided to check my stats for the year. I've almost made it across the USA. Google informs me it is 3,400 miles to cross my country at its widest point. I think I'll make the equivalent!

• Cycling: 4,258 km (47,169 elevation gain)
• Trail Running: 479 km (21,565 elevation gain)
• Nordic Skiing: 647 km (26,052 elevation gain)
• Grand Total: 5,384 km (94,786 feet elevation gain)

If you prefer miles? 3,345! Here's the satellite photo of this morning's Nordic trail run on the Lester / Amity Trails near Lake Superior. (click to maximize)

Minnesota just recorded the lowest barometric pressure ever measured in the lower 48 of the USA. All I know is the storm with its accompany winds were crazy! Here is a video and some photos taken during the storm up at Grand Marais on the north shore of Lake Superior. Wow!