Author: Jim Pippin

Happy mud season.  I hope some of you were able to take advantage of some skiing in central NY or the ADKs last week after the nor’easter passed through.  Mt. Van Hoevenberg reopened for the weekend to accommodate skiers for one last spin around their trails.  Overall, I think here in Rochester we had a great ski season.  The weather held up well and ended up providing consistent skiing here locally from January and on.  Thank you to Darren and all the groomers who worked hard out there to provide us with all the great grooming.

This April newsletter is a “Recap” edition.  Darren Leach provides us with a nice recap of the season’s grooming operations and Jason Hettenbaugh from Rochester Nordic Racing (RNR) provides a very comprehensive rundown of some of the great results that our local Rochester youth racers accomplished this year.

We have also started our annual off-season planning, off-season trail work preparations and installation of the signs that we proposed to the State and the County last year.  Approvals are still pending.  More about that in future newsletters once details are sorted out.

Thank you all for your continued support this year.  Enjoy the rest of your spring and we will be in touch over the summer.  Please reach out to me if you have any question, concerns, or comments.

Jim Pippin
President, RXCSF

Author: Jim Pippin

I hope everyone has been enjoying the 2022 Beijing Olympics, especially the Nordic skiing events.  Jackie had the pleasure of discussing some of the local Olympians from our area with Ruth Hayes, a legend in the Rochester Nordic skiing palmarès, and has put together a very interesting article from her discussion.  Stina Bridgeman from the Rochester Orienteering Club provides a look at “Ski-O” which is a great way to enjoy an afternoon with friends for fun or even participate in some competitive events. Lastly, local skier Todd Williams and his family share their experience participating in the 2021 virtual Canadian Ski Marathon and provide details for this year’s event.

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Authors: Jaclyn Masci & Ruth Hayes

In the spirit of the Olympics, we wanted to highlight the skiers from our area who have competed in past Olympics. I had the pleasure of speaking with Ruth Hayes recently about these former Olympians. Ruth deserves full credit for the information presented here. She shared incredible stories, some dating back to when these Olympians were mere middle school students. We hope you enjoy this read and come out of it with maybe a touch more pride for our local xc ski community. Many great skiers have come out of our community in years past and, with continued support of the sport, there will be more in the years to come.

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Looking for a new direction this winter?  Try ski orienteering!

Author: Stina Bridgeman

Ski orienteering combines the map-based navigation sport of orienteering with cross-country skiing.  Participants use a detailed topographic map showing ski trails, water features (streams, marshes, ponds), clearings, buildings, and other landmarks in order to navigate to a series of checkpoints.  Unlike summer forms of orienteering, all of the checkpoints are on trails – if you can use a trail map, you can do ski orienteering!  It’s a great way to explore new areas, or to see familiar places with a different perspective.

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The Canadian Ski Marathon (CSM) runs from Feb 5 – March 20. The most important thing to know is that the CSM is NOT a race! It is a celebration of winter and the community of Nordic Skiers. In it’s 56th year, the CSM will be virtual again which makes for a great opportunity to extend the season and set new goals for skiers. Read the full feature from local skier Todd Williams in the attached PDF below. 

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Some snow and cold have finally arrived here this week.  Here’s hoping we get a long cold snap and more snow for us to get out there and start grooming trails.  I have some unfortunate news about our trail signage initiative at Harriet Hollister Spencer State Recreation Area.  The State didn’t get enough time to review our proposal and issue authorization this fall so we could order and install the new signs.  We will work with the State to make sure that happens in time for next season.  We will also continue our discussions with Monroe County Parks and try to complete our trail signage plans for those parks next year/season as well.

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Author: Vince Daniele, RXCSF Donor (Pittsford, NY)

Attention skiers, parents of skiers, and grandparents of skiers.  Are you aware that RXCSF can accept charitable contributions that are in addition to the “Supporter Levels” listed on the website?  It’s true.  You can support the organization by making charitable contributions in several ways, including donating online, or printing the donation form found on the website and mailing the form and a check to RXCSF.  However, if you are 70 1/2 years of age, or older, what may be better than writing a check or donating online is using money from your IRA to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) to RXCSF, which, in addition to helping the organization, can help you reduce your taxes and your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).  QCDs don’t require that you itemize your income tax deductions, which due to the current tax laws, means you may decide to take advantage of the higher standard deduction, but still use a QCD for charitable giving.

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