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Prairie’s Edge Nordic Skiers

 PENS News  

·        6/3/2008   NEW   PENS at the Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival
Keeping true to our Nordic heritage, PENS members will be giving roller skiing and CAT skiing demos at the Scandinavian Hjemkomst Festival in Moorhead.  The demos will be held at 11 a.m. on both Friday, June 27th and Saturday, June 28th on the paved trail near the Stave Church.

·        6/3/2008   NEW   PENS Relay Team runs in the Fargo Marathon
Well, the snow finally stopped falling and spring came to the FM area to stay.  After one of the longest ski seasons in recent memory, board members Arnie Ostgarden, Jeff Quam, Erik Berg and John Pfund hit the pavement to run the Fargo Marathon on May 17th.  A great time was had by the team – the event really is well organized.  The PENS team came in 29th out of 258 teams with a time of 3:47.

      

Arnie, John, Erik and Jeff                    Arnie on the first leg.            Jeff and Erik at the exchange.   John finishing in the dome.

·        5/2/2008   Re-Cap of PENS Annual Meeting, Ski and Social
The annual meeting took place on Sunday, March 16th at the Edgewood Chalet. The afternoon started with a group ski with 9 skiers hitting the trails. This was followed by the meeting with a light lunch catered by Divots. A fun time was had by all – see photo of Jeff and Erik below!  Some nice door prizes were given out, including some donated gear from Paramount Sports (thanks Craig!) and two Paramount gift cards purchased by PENS.

    

·        3/9/2008 PENS Annual Meeting, Ski and Social Announcement
The PENS Annual Meeting, Ski and Social is scheduled for this coming Sunday, March 16th, 2008.  We will be meeting at the Edgewood Chalet.  The Chalet is now closed for the season but we will have the building opened for the club by 1:45 p.m. and start with a group ski (groups will go out both classic and skate) from about 2 to 3.  Looks like the snow should hold through the week so conditions will be good!  The Annual Meeting and election of the board will start at about 3:15 with a social and food to follow.  Soup, snacks and beverages will be provided.  Hope to see you there!  A final agenda will be sent out later in the week.

·        3/9/2008 Classifieds Page 
We’ve added a Classifieds Page where we can post your ski related items for sale.  So before you pack those unused ski items away one more time, send PENS an email with your items wanted/for sale along with your contact info, and we’ll get it on the list.

·         3/9/2008 PENS Ski Outings 
This weekend saw a quite a few skiers getting together for group ski outings.  Both Saturday and Sunday a handful of skiers gathered to ski together at Edgewood.  Thanks to Phil Sarnoff for leading the groups!  The trails were groomed for the Sunday session after the day long snowfall on Saturday. Thanks to the Parks for getting out and grooming the trails right away. 
On Sunday, a group of PENS skiers ventured out to Lake 5 for a day trip.  Here’s the report from Jay Richardson:  Gorgeous day in the woods–bright skies, no wind, 20 degrees and four inches of fresh snow. The trails were soft yet firm, the skiing was fast and fun, and the burgers at Billy’s totally ROCKED!  Jeff, thanks for organizing; Beth, thanks for sharing your fantastic XC ski park.  Photo from Jay:

·        3/3/2008   2008 Ski Event Recap 
This past weekend brought the major regional ski event season to a close.  Many PENS members have been able to participate in events including City of Lakes Loppet, Mora Vasaloppet, Minnesota Finlandia, American Birkebeiner, and this past weekend’s events, the Rainbow Rendezvous and Maplelag’s Lotvola Cup.  The races closer to home saw a large number of FM area skiers participate with 9, 7, and 15 skiers respectively at the Finlandia (Bemidji), Rainbow and Maplelag events.  See SkinnySki.com for results and lots of photos. 
If you weren’t able to make it to one of these fun events, mark you calendars now and set a goal for next year!  The PENS board is planning now for more club activities for next season.  Anyone interested in helping with our goals of increasing opportunities for youth skiing and having more social, educational and ski outings for the club membership is welcome to come to our March Board Meeting tomorrow night at Divots at Edgewood GC at 6:30 p.m.  We will also be planning the March Annual Meeting.

·        3/3/2008   P-P-P Cancellation
The Pole-Pedal-Pant race at Rainbow this coming weekend has been cancelled.  Detailed announcement.

·        2/14/2008  Winter-ific Day Postponed 
The Family Winter-ific Day at Edgewood featuring free ski rentals has been postponed from 2/10/2008 to 2/17/2008.

·        1/28/2008  PENS Day Trip Feburary 2nd 
Join PENS members for a day ski trip to beautiful Rainbow Resort (http://www.rainbowresort.com/index.html). Rainbow has a variety of trails for all abilities of skiers. Doug and Linda Schumann of Rainbow have offered PENS members a 20% discount off their daily trail fee of $10. If you are not yet a member, you can join that day.
The day trip will be led by PENS board member Jeff Quam. Please RSVP to Jeff at jaq@702com.net if you would like to go. The group will meet at Jeff's business in Moorhead, JAQ's Garage at the NW corner of Hwys. 75 and 10 to car pool at 8:45 a.m. with departure planned for 9:00 .
Lunch and refreshments are available for purchase at the resort. If you are interested in an overnight stay this weekend, please contact Rainbow directly to see if there is an opening, and let them know if you are a paid PENS member!

·         1/20/2008  PENS Ski Clinics at Edgewood Chalet:
-This Tuesday, Jan. 22, Erik Berg and Jeff Quam will be giving a Classic technique ski clinic at 6 p.m.  The forcast is for a high of 10, so it should be a nice night under the full moon.
-The following Tuesday, Jan. 29, - POSTPONED to Feb 5th due to expected cold temps this week - the same duo will be giving a Skate technique ski clinic at 6 p.m.
-The clinics will be geared to the beginning to intermediate skier looking to get some pointers and honing their skills.  The clinics are free to paid PENS members or are available for non-members for a $10 fee for each session.  (Non-members will be required to sign an event waiver form.  The waiver and membership application form will be available at the sessions.  Dues are $20, so a paid membership pays for the cost of both sessions!)
-Bring your own equipment or rent.  Classic skis are available for rent at the chalet (rental not included in clinic fee).  Skate ski rental is not available.  Headlamps are recommended, but would not be necessary for the more experienced skier for the classic clinic since it is a full moon.  LED headlamps are available for as little as $10 at local retailers.  Contact PENS@cableone.net if you want more info on headlamps.

·         1/15/2008   Full Results of the Winter Blast XC Ski Race now available on the Parks website.  Also see the Race summary on Skinnyski.com along with a photoset from Rebecca Smith.

·         1/14/2008  The Edgewood Winter Blast Ski Race took place Saturday, January 12th.  The race saw the biggest turnout in it’s history with about 66 skiers participating in the races.  Thanks to Fargo Parks and Rec for putting on a great event!  And thanks to PENS members Arnie Ostgarden, Bruce Ray and Rebecca Smith for helping out and cheering on the racers.  Here is a preview of the results:  PENS member Justin Hayes was the overall winner in the men’s 10k skate and 5k classic events.  Member Linda Cooper won the women’s 10k Skate and Jane Sederquist took top female honors in the 5k skate and 5K classic. Mike Reponen skated to victory in the 5k men’s skate event. 
-This event saw some good TV coverage with a race preview on WDAY on Thursday featuring PENS member Jeff Quam and Renny Fuglestad.  Fox News and Channels 4/11 both covered the race on Saturday. 
-A short PENS meeting was held after the race.  Door prizes were drawn from the paid PENS members registering for the race.  Three LED headlamps were given out, going to Justin Hayes, Paul Froeschle and new member Allison Wallace.

·         1/8/2008   Ski lessons taught by PENS members began this past Sunday and run through the end of the month.  Approximately 35 students are in the classes with half the participants in the 6-14 youth classes and the other half in the adult classes.  The mild weather made for a busy day at the chalet with lot of action at the rental counter.
A PENS board meeting was held after the lessons to set standing board meetings and work on plans for our support of the Edgewood race.  The first Tuesday of the month at 6:30 at Divots in the new Edgewood clubhouse was selected.  This coincides with our Tuesday night ski at Edgewood.

·         1/4/2008   The Edgewood Winter Blast ski race is scheduled for Saturday, January 12th.  See the Fargo Parks Website for details and the registration form.  If you can ski around the outer trail at Edgewood, you can easily participate in the 5k classic race and experience the fun and camaraderie of a citizen ski event.  You don’t have to race – just ski at your own pace.  Plus you get a free lunch!  A reminder to the more experience skiers: the skate and classic races are scheduled such that you can do both events.  The last time the race was held there were about 50 participants.  With this year’s snow the turnout should be even better!  There will also be a short PENS meeting after the awards are presented.

·         1/3/2008   XC ski lessons at Edgewood taught by PENS members are starting this coming Sunday, January 6th at 1pm.  Anyone willing to help with the logistics of getting 20 kids outfitted and out the door to ski are encouraged to come out and help!  Both on-snow helpers and helpers in the chalet are needed.  An organizing meeting for instructors led by Erik Berg will start at 12 pm in the Chalet.  Also, there will be a short PENS board of directors meeting after the lessons.

·         12/29/2008  The first Official club meeting was held on 12/16/2007!  See the minutes for the summary of the meeting.  Here are the officers and directors that make up the 7 person board:
     John Pfund, President (and webmaster)
     Erik Berg, Vice President (and ski lesson coordinator)
     Rebecca Smith, Secretary/Treasurer (i.e the one who does most of the work)
     Jeff Quam, Director (and trails/grooming liason to the Parks Departments)
     Arnie Ostgarden, Director
     Dan Thureen, Director
     David Swenson, Director
    

·         12/14/2007  The club Bylaws, Membership Application, and Agenda are ready for this Sunday’s meeting at the Edgewood Winter Chalet at 1 pm.  We hope to see you there!

·         12/13/2007  PENS has been in contact with Fargo Parks, and they are hoping to groom Rose Creek before the weekend, and get some trail signs up especially at Lindenwood to try to keep the walkers off the groomed ski trails.

·         12/12/2007  Moorhead Parks reports that they will begin grooming this week with some trails ready for the weekend.  Also, see the Links page for a couple of new additions in the local retailer section.  Two new independent running stores have opened in Fargo this year.  Both carry some apparel that would be suitable for skiing.

·         12/11/2007  Don’t miss the PENS meeting this Sunday, December 16th, at the Edgewood Chalet.  Bring your skis and ski before or after the business meeting at 1pm, if it is not too cold.  We will be reviewing the steps taken so far to incorporate the club including the bylaws and officers.  We have two spots to fill on the board of directors so there will be an election for those positions.  We are also ready to formally accept memberships in the club and collect dues.  We hope to have a ski waxing demonstration and as always if you have questions about your equipment, bring in your gear!  An agenda, the bylaws and a membership application will be sent out later this week.

·         12/9/2007  Cold temperatures have put a little damper on the skiing this weekend, but the trails are in great shape for this early in the season.  See the Trail Reports page for links to updates on most of the trails in the area.  If you have an update on a trail that is currently not posted, please email the report to PENS.

·         12/6/2007  Two more inches of fluff have added to the over one foot of snow on the ground.  See the Where to Ski page for an additional “bonus trail” in the Fargo Parks system.

·         12/3/2007  SNOW! And more to come tomorrow.  See the trail reports page for links to grooming updates and trail reports.  Please post your outings on the links to skinnyski.com or send your reports directly to us at PENS to post on this site.  Take a look and try skiing somewhere new this year.  The Calendar page has also been updated as much as possible for the season.

·         11/19/2007    The Season Kickoff Meeting was held this past Sunday at Edgewood GC.  Eight hearty souls came out in the snow and wind, and wisely decided to socialize and brainstorm for the coming ski season in the warmth of the new clubhouse.  Once the snow subsided, a handful of the group made their way around the outer loop of the Edgewood ski trail to pickup branches and trim brush along the sides of the trail.  The good news is that the trail has been widened and graded for most of the whole loop, making for a very smooth surface.  It is mostly loose dirt, so hopefully we get a good coat of freezing rain to seal it up before the snow comes!  The group also scheduled some upcoming meetings.  On Tuesday, November 27th, we will be having an informal meeting to finish up the draft of the proposed bylaws of the club at 5pm at Atomic Coffee in Downtown Fargo.  Then on Sunday, December 9th CHANGED to December 16th, a meeting is scheduled at the Edgewood Winter Chalet at 1 pm to review the bylaws and elect two directors.  This has been a long time coming, so please come out to give your input during this important formative meeting for the club!  A draft of the bylaws will be sent to the email list prior to the meeting.

·         November PENS Newsletter

·         10/29/2007  PENS member Gary Brekke gives the following update from the Lindenwood Park Ski trails:  Greetings!  I walked Lindenwood - Dike East ski trails yesterday morning picking up sticks and trimming face slappers ... There are three large trees down on the Lindenwood stretch that the Park district will have to cut ... they mowed from Dike East to Lindenwood and that stretch looks ready for snow ... short sections of the Lindenwood trail would benefit from mowing too ... besides the downed trees things looked good and the trail is drying up enough for biking ... Enjoy the slide from fall to winter!

·         10/12/2007  PENS is again teaching youth and adult Cross Country ski lessons through the Fargo Parks in January.  The class offerings have expanded this year with the addition of a skate ski class.  PENS members lead by course director Erik Berg (PSIA certified in XC Skiing) will be providing the instruction.  See the Fargo Parks University of the Great Outdoors page for more information and on-line registration.

·         October PENS Newsletter

News Archives

Other items of interest:

If you are interested in individual instruction, Jay Richards at Maplelag Resort is a PSIA certified cross country ski instructor. 

Want to learn more about how to wax skis?  Check out the step by step video instructions on the SWIX website:  SWIX School

 Contact PENS