By Justin Streeter and Chris Wegler (Assisted by Doug Berg)
In spite of its difficulties (see Lance Hamlin’s article), winter is full of many fun articles. Many of these activities can only be done in winter.
First, there’s snowmobiling. Get together with a group of friends and go riding, see the country, tear a trail through the powdery woods, speed across a frozen lake, and go just about anywhere you want. You’ll see Josh Day out there.
If you’re not fond of a noisy machine, there is cross-country skiing. This activity can be done on a casual level, just taking a tour through the woods, or you can find a race just about every winter weekend in Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Michigan. The big races are the Mora Vasaloppet and the American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisconsin. Just ask Doug Berg about ski racing. He does it all.
Another great winter activity is downhill skiing. As you will read about elsewhere in this paper, Randy Nelson leads a Mini-School trip in downhill skiing every winter. Snowboarding is also a great activity to do on the downhill ski slopes, and many young people are into it. Mini-School’s best might be Casey Bakken, but plenty of others will challenge him.
Like cross-country skiing, snowshoeing is a quiet winter activity. It can be done by anyone and is easier to learn than downhill or cross-country skiing. In the last few years, companies have started making light aluminum snowshoes for running and races can be found in this sport. Doug isn’t into it yet, but he knows people who are.
Along with these winter sports, it’s fun to just be outside, making snowmen and snowomen, having snowball fights, and building snow caves. Winter can bring out the kid in all of us. And last, there’s the ultimate winter challenge, WINTER CAMPING. If a person really wants to sharpen his/her survival and camping skills to the highest degree, this is the way to do it. A winter camper finds that snow can be his/her friend, providing a good surface to travel on and providing insulation to keep a person warm.
So Lance, even though winter can be difficult, it can also be a wonderful season. So, don’t be in too big a hurry to move south.