Re: races/fun ski events?

Linda,

There is an excellent x-country ski club in Holland Patent called the Wolverine Ski club. Here is some info from their website about them:

About us - WSC is a member club of the New York State Ski Racing Association Nordic Division (NYSSRA Nordic, Inc). Based out of the Trenton Fish and Game Club in Holland Patent, NY. WCS offers once a week learn to ski programs for all levels including; Bill Koch Youth Ski Program for 13 and younger, Juniors 14-19, senior and master 20+. We also offer a kids ski program trough the Holland Patent school. other local schools and colleges are welcome to get involved with our club.

Here's a link t0 their website: http://wolverineskiclub.com/

They schedule races and events throughout the ski season. I hope this is what you're looking for.

BREIA

races/fun ski events?

First off thanks to BREIA for providing such a wonderful place to ski. My four children and I have been to Egypt Road every weekend since Christmas. Even before we had this latest snow we had a great time.

Does anyone know of any events/xc ski races that are being held in the area? My children enjoy youth runs/races in the summer and I think they would love something similar with xc skiing? Any info would be appreciated.

Linda

Central New York Trails Day

Central New York Trails Day
Sponsored by the NYS AHPERD Central North Zone

* On, Saturday, January 22, 2011, from 10:00am to 1:00pm Central New York is featuring three (3) trail systems for families to use for snowshoeing and/or cross-country skiing. Each trail will offer free equipment to use with some instruction.

* Our mission is to promote outdoor adventure activities that can be enjoyed by the entire family and expose individuals to the public trail systems available in Central New York.

* Our goal is to promote life-time fitness activities that can be enjoyed by family and friends. We hope that your family will explore a new trail each week while creating a positive healthy and active lifestyle through enjoyment of the outdoors.


1. BREIA Trails in Alder Creek, 9338 Egypt Road, Boonville, N.Y. 13309 will provide snow shoes. Hot chocolate and granola bars will be served. Meet at the warming hut to pick up equipment. For more information call Elaine at 733-7978.

2. Maxwell Field, 301 East Sands Street, Oneida, N.Y. 13421 will provide snow shoes and cross country skis. Meet near the concession stand at Maxwell Field. Hot chocolate and granola bars will be served. For more information call Bonnie at 813-3331.

3. Ilion High School, 1 Golden Bomber Drive, Ilion, NY 13357 will provide snow shoes and cross country skis. Meet at the main gym of the school. Hot chocolate and granola bars will be served. For more information call Jane at 895-7471 ext. 5403.

This is a FREE event offered to all who are interested in coming out to enjoy some aerobic winter fun!
Hope to see you on January 22nd!

Great Skiing on MLK weekend

Dear BREIA,

Just wanted to say thanks for a fantastic weekend of Skiing. A bunch of us came up from the Philadelphia area (well, I actually flew all the way back from San Francisco to join) and it was well worth the trip. Nature cooperated by dumping huge amounts of snow before our arrival and during the day on Saturday. Trail conditions were great fun for a beginner like me as it offered a safe, powdery chance for us to all get back into practice on the trails at Jackson Hill. Then on Sunday, we had a great sunny day to pick up some speed on the groomed trails. Several of us skied down from the Jackson Hill warming hut to the Pixley Falls end of the canal trail. A great morning of skiing, beautiful views and we were all completely wiped out by the end of it all. What a great time. BREIA is really a great facility and we all feel lucky to be able to enjoy it so much. This was our 5th year taking a group trip (maybe our 6th) and each year is something special.

Thanks for the good memories.

Thanks

-Andy

RE: Dogs and a "superior" cross country skiing experience

Dear BREIA,

I can understand Jim's sentiments in his well-argued letter. I like
skiing on my own fields with my dog. But at BREIA? I don't think
so. One problem is that not all dogs are as well-behaved as I'm sure
Jim's is. I have nearly been tripped up by a dog on more than one
occasion, and I have seen children and others intimidated by large
dogs running far in front of their owners.

And even well-behaved dogs can create problems. I know I'm not the
only person who, before the present rules, returned home with dog
feces on his skis. Finally, when conditions get soft, especially as
the spring comes on, dogs really can wreak havoc on a groomed trail.

Perhaps there is an argument for adding the Domser Road spur to the
dog-permitted Canal Trail. But I don't believe that this is BREIA-
owned land and it might be that the owners would object. They might
wish to have the trail on their land operated under the same rules as
the rest of the non-State-owned system.

Most serious cross country ski areas, drawing on their own experience,
don't permit dogs. It's best for BREIA, too. Don't despair, dog
owners. The Canal Trail is ready and waiting.

David

Dogs and a "superior" cross country skiing experience

Dear Breia,

Thank you for your informative response to my earlier post. I have skied at Breia for many years, both when dogs were allowed and more recently, since they were banned on all trails except the Canal Trail. I must disagree with your contention that dogs seriously degrade the condition of the trails.

In my experience, there are many factors that determine trail conditions - amount of use by skiers, weather conditions, and yes, dogs. Fortunately, the trails at Breia are groomed quite regularly and to be honest, I have never felt that the trails were in poor condition because of all the paw prints, or fecal matter. In the three or so years since the ban on dogs was instituted I have enjoyed skiing with my dog along the Canal, and without her at Egypt Road and Jackson Hill, and I do not recall ever thinking that the trails were "superior" at the places were dogs were not allowed. I typically ski at Breia about 10 times per year.

I had always assumed that the ban on dogs was partly related to the problems that dogs can cause as they interact with each other and with skiers who are not comfortable with dogs. I think those are very legitimate concerns and for those reasons I believe it is a good idea to ban dogs in some areas.

I am sure that some skiers at Breia are keen to have the best possible trail conditions (although many of those skiers may be going elsewhere to enjoy "skate" skiing). However, many of the skiers I see at Breia appear to be "casual" skiers who might be willing to share more of the trails with dogs. In particular I would like to see the Domser Road area opened back up to dogs. This area, which connects to the canal trail, is not heavily used, and is often in less than pristine condition anyway. I would be interested to read on this blog the thoughts of other skiers about dogs in this area and also possibly along the Great trail, another trail which is not heavily used and which often is not in perfect condition.

Thank You
Jim

Thank You!

Last Sunday, January 9, 2011, I drove to the BREIA ski area from 
suburban Rochester, NY to meet Central NY friends and to ski the Egypt
Road trails. Because this was my third visit over the past few years,
I felt it was about time the land owner(s), the people associated with
BREIA, and those associated with the private family foundation
providing funding be told how appreciative I am of the opportunity to
ski the trails. My group endeavored to do our part by following all
rules. In return we were rewarded with a glorious and healthful day.
What a treat.

Thank you!
Vince

Re: dog friendly

Jim,

No we don't allow dogs on any other trails of the BREIA system. The reason they're allowed on the Canal Trail is because by state law BREIA cannot restrict activities on state land. The Canal Tr. is state property and is a state right-of-way. To be honest we'd prefer if folks didn't ski, or snowshoe with their dogs on the Canal Tr. for the simple reason that dogs seriously degrade the grooming that BREIA provides at a not small expense. Years of experience have proven that it doesn't take long for dog traffic on a groomed trail to destroy the grooming. Also, if you look on the BREIA website and on signs at all the trailheads you'll notice the message: No Dogs In Winter (Except Canal Trail). This policy is in effect so that BREIA can provide a superior cross-country skiing experience for the thousands of skiers that use our system annually.

In regard to your second point, we try to insure that the Trail's End parking lot is plowed out in a timely fashion. As mentioned in an earlier post, the Pixley Falls Park lot is not being plowed by the state.

Best Regards,
BREIA

dog friendly

Hi

Had a great time skiing on the canal trail this weekend with my wife and our dog.
We really appreciate that you allow dogs on this trail. I was wondering if dogs
are also allowed in the Domser Road area.

Noticed all the nice new bridges on the canal trail. Glad to see that the system
is being maintained so well.

Finally, we parked at the southern end of the canal trail on Sunday and even
though it was not plowed, getting in and out was not too bad, even in our little
Honda Civic.

Jim

I need clairification of the Breia trails closings

The website displays "the entire Alder creek trail system...then goes on to list several trails. The Great Trail, Cherry Tree trail, and Creekside loop, are not spelled out. Is the whole of the Egypt road section closed? or just the trails noted.

Thanks for all you do!

Mike

Parking?

We wanted to ski the canal trail shortly after noon on Saturday (1-8) but were disappointed to find the lower lot unplowed and even though the bridge has been replaced at Pixley falls a baracade is set up out by the state highway. Really miss being able to park there.
Finally parked in the lot just up from the tracks on Egypt Road and had a wonderful ski on that freshly packed and tracked trail.

Skiing at Egypt Rd.

Hello BREIA,

Just wanted to say that the skiing was terrific yesterday during the snow storm( 01/07/11). My group was out there prior to the system being groomed and the skiing was perfect. We spent the majority of our three hours on the Egypt Road trails enjoying powder conditions. The only problem we had was that the snow stopped falling. Thanks for this great trail system.

Scott