Shortly after the report that started this thread was first submitted, a few
local skiers went to check out the trail and found that while there was a
lot of snow it had not been been thoroughly groomed and that due to
transporting snow across the trail with a snowmobile it had been fairly
rutted.

Telemark - Phil vv, et al were called on the carpet by these skiers for a
less than accurate representation of what was actually on the ground.
Subsequently the trail has been groomed better and is much more in line with
what their current report says.  Skier reports as of Sunday PM say very good
conditions, although the classic track rating may be overstated.

I would say a "big grain of salt" is a big overstatement with regard to how
to interpret the trail report.  As a local skier I can say that last year
and in the previous couple of years the Telemark trail reports have been
reasonably accurate.  I suspect a bit of over enthusiasm about this new
trail and the snowmaking may be responsible for the earlier report (as well
as a desire to generate some business).

The fact remains that the XC Fever trail may be the only groomed cross
country ski trail in the state of Wisconsin at this time.  It is being
groomed daily and snow will continue to be made as conditions permit.

Savvy skiers will realize that this is, in deed, a unique situation.
Telemark was admittedly over ambitious in their statements that this trail
would be ready by Thanksgiving, but it is there now and in the future skiers
will hopefully be able to ski here as soon as they can make snow.  Ski teams
from across Wis. and Minn. have already been coming to the XC Fever Trail to
train.

While it's not much compared to ABR in terms of distance, it's better than
nothing and a big step considering what Telemark's been through and its
generally tenuous state of affairs.

I would caution folks to not be overly hasty in passing judgement on
something like this.  When in doubt, ask me or any of the other locals.  We
have no reason to sugar coat it.

Ron Bergin
Local Skier
Trail Reporter

PS  Re: the NORWISKI trail reports - I'm only the messenger and do not
substantively edit reports or pass judgement on the validity of content.  I
get a wide variety of reports submitted from people ranging from office
personnel who are not skiers and may not even know where the trails are to
high-end hands-on people like Eric Anderson at ABR who are objective and go
out of their way to submit an honest report.

> From: "Greg Fangel" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Reply-To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2002 17:39:34 -0600
> To: "Randy Shelden, Pronet Consulting Group" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "Joseph King"
> <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, "xc" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> Subject: RE: [XC] reading the reports
> 
> My experience over the years is that Telemark "sugar coats" their trail
> reports. The best trail report comes from a skier and not their marketing
> department.
> 
> ************************
> Have a great day!
> 
> Greg Fangel
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of
> Randy Shelden, Pronet Consulting Group
> Sent: Friday, December 13, 2002 5:48 PM
> To: Joseph King; xc
> Subject: Re: [XC] reading the reports
> 
> 
> Yeah and it seems you need to take the report with a "big" grain of salt
> given that they were saying a couple days ago conditions were "very good to
> excellent" for 1.8k of trail.  Can't imagine what the conditions would be
> like if they ever referred to them as just "good" or "ok" or "fair".
> 
> At 11:45 AM 12/13/2002 -0600, Joseph King wrote:
>>> Telemark Resort, Cable -XC Fever Trail closed for maintenance,
>>> will re-open Saturday, Packed Snow Depth: 3 to 6 inches. Too
>>> warm to make snow today. Hauling and pushing snow will allow
>>> 1.8 Kilometers of the XC Fever Trail to open by the weekend.
>> 
>> Savvy readers of the Telemark report will realize that the only potential
>> skiing there is on man-made snow.  When you visit their web site be sure
>> to check which trails are open if you're looking to get out past the 1.8k
>> man-made snow loop.
>> 
>> -joe
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
>> http://www.MadNorSki.org/
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> 
> 
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