Mike Xiong attacking the trail

Amidst the swarms of orange and purple making up the South, Southwest and Washburn high school ski teams, a few blazing red suits can be spotted in the crowd. Patrick Henry High School in North Minneapolis has been making a name for themselves on the rolling hills of Wirth- by the power of two. While some high schools boast Nordic Ski team roosters toppling one hundred, Joe Clifton and Mike Xiong make up one of the smallest programs in the state. “They’ve got a lot of determination to ski when they don’t have the overwhelming support of teammates or student body. But the fact that these two are sticking with it is a testament to their spirit and drive. From that energy the program is bound to grow,” said Nordic Ski Foundation director John Munger.

Both Joe and Mike are accomplished athletes. Joe is a marathoner at heart, but decided to ski as a freshman at the suggestion of his father. This year as a sophomore, he won the Twin Cities Conference Distance Challenge at Wirth. Mike, currently a freshman at Henry, learned to ski on the Anwatin Middle School Team. This has been his first experience racing against older and more experienced competition.

In the early weeks of the ski season, Mike and Joe ran and trained on their own. However, the advent of snow brought the Patriots to Wirth where they teamed up with Washburn for coaching. Eric Adams, the coach at Washburn welcomed the Patriots to join his squad- who said the coaching collaboration has been a great union. “Mike and Joe are exceptional athletes and real team players. They come to our pasta parties and practice with our team- but they fully represent Henry on the trails.”

Joe Clifton moving up on the course

While Mike and Joe enjoy the camaraderie they experience with the Washburn team, they are hopeful the Henry Program will begin to reestablish itself. Joe, who skied solo last year, has enjoyed having another teammate he can see in the halls. “It is nice to have classmates that ski and to have that connection in school.” Mike is confident that 5 of his former teammates on the Anwatin Ski Team, and his brother, will ski for Henry next year. Henry’s Athletic Director, Guillaume Paek, used to teach at Anwatin and knows the strength of the ski program there. Paek concurred that he is enthusiastic to see the program grow. Joe chimed in that if his friends can get over their dislike for cold, Henry is equipped with rental skis to run a solid program.

Hopefully there will be more skiers joining the Patriot ranks in the future. With the Nordic Ski Foundation running 6 elementary school programs and two middle school teams in North Minneapolis- a new wave of enthusiastic and skilled skiers will be streaming into the North Minneapolis High Schools. “Once upon a time Henry had one of the best Nordic Ski programs in the city,” remarked Bob O’Hara, Meet Manager for High School Sports. “The Anwatin and Nellie Stone Johnson Ski Team Programs will really help rebuild the Nordic ski program for this part of the city.”

Skiing before snow, Program Coordinator Margaret Adelsman pulls Jabril in his first skiing experience on grass.

Jibril is in third grade; has muscular dystrophy; uses a power wheelchair for mobility; and has participated in the City of Lakes Cross Country ski program at Nellie Stone Johnson every Tuesday for the past two months.

When we heard the Nordic Ski Foundation would be running a cross-country skiing unit at Nellie Stone Johnson for our third graders, Julie Ellingson, the Physical Education instructor, and one of our Special Education Assistants brought it to my attention, and we wondered what we should do for Jibril. Margaret Adelman, the Program Coordinator for the Nordic Ski Foundation, had offered to bring a sit ski for Jibril to use during the unit which we thought would be a neat idea.

So – at Jibril’s annual IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting, Julie and I (his case manager) asked Jibril and his parents what they thought. His protective mother was hesitant at first, as she was afraid he’d get cold. However, Jibril and his father immediately said that they wanted him to participate. So – with the family’s permission and Jibril’s interest, we moved forward with the plan to have Jibril try the sit ski.

Jabril and his team of attendants join the other young skiers on the Minne-Loppet course.

Margaret had the ski ready for Jibril on the first day that the rest of the kids got to try their skis, so it was a very “normal” experience for everyone. Everyone, including Jibril, was a little awkward and yet very excited on their skis for the first time. It took some creativity for the ski to work perfectly for him. Due to his Muscular Dystrophy, he has very limited control of his trunk and neck muscles, along with all the other muscles in his body, so he needed a head rest and some chest supports. With the creativity of the team around him, Jibril soon had a life jacket around him to support his trunk, and a new contraption to support his neck and head. Jibril was asked if he wanted to continue with the ski unit and his response was “YES!”

It took some devotion from our special education staff and Julie for Jibril to continue, as for most of the unit, there was very little snow, so pushing and pulling him on the grass was a tough physical task. However, both women acknowledged Jibril’s desire to participate and had him with his peers every Tuesday for the ski lessons.

Jibril joins a Paralympian from Russia on the trail.

Jibril’s peers have been witnessing him do “everything” that they do all year, so seeing him in a sit ski wasn’t THAT remarkable to them. They certainly thought is was cool and were very glad to have him with them outside for skiing. On the day the Paralympians came to talk to Jibril’s class about being a Paralympic athlete, one of the sit ski coaches from Elm Creek brought 6 sit skis for the Nellie Stone Johnson students in our Physical/Health Disabilities class to try out. Many of Jibril’s “able bodied” peers were able to try the sit skis out as well.

When I met up with Jibril at the Cook County Minne-Loppet last weekend, he arrived with his mother and two brothers. There was a team of 3 teachers waiting and ready with Jibril’s sit ski. Because Jibril’s cab ride was late, we had to hurry to get him out of his power chair, into the sit ski, and to the beginning of the race with the rest of the kids. When we finally got to the beginning of the race, I asked Jibril how he was feeling. His response was “a little nervous”. I assured him that many of the students that day were feeling nervous too. Propelled by the power of three devoted teachers, Jibril began the race with a very big smile on his face and searching eyes for his mother and brothers. Along the race, Jibril was often shouting “Run! Run”. When the race was over, his brothers ran up to him and were speaking to him in Somali. His response to them was “it was awesome”.

On the Monday after the Minne-Loppet, all of the students from Jibril’s class who participated in the race were able to share what the experience was like. Jibril was able to share his favorite memories, just like everyone else. This is experience is exactly the goal of our Physical and Health Disabilities Program at Nellie Stone Johnson; to allow our students to participate in everything their peers do, even if it has to be done a different way.

The group swapped out of their training gear with official USA Team uniforms and Norwegian sweaters respectively. With ski posters in hand, the group traveled the halls poking their heads into rooms and provided a little levity in the hospital air. The athletes were able to ask the kids everything from what sports they like to how long they have been in the hospital to when they would be going home. “It is amazing with what comfort and ease these kids talk about their surgeries,” marveled Denise Remak who volunteered with the Nordic Ski Foundation to chauffeur the group to the hospital. It was a moving experience, both for the able bodied volunteers and the athletes who thanked both Gillette and the Nordic Ski Foundation for organizing the visit.

Heather Ott, Therapeutic Recreation Specialist at Gillette, said that athlete visits are not only inspirational to the kids but comforting to the families of the patients. “What I think is most meaningful is having our kids and their parents see someone who has been in their similar situation not only succeed in life but excel! Those athletes have spent weeks, maybe months in hospitals having surgeries and doing therapy, and now they are on the other side, enjoy their lives to the fullest. It’s hard to demonstrate to our patients and parents of patients that they are capable of really anything they would like to do, it just may be a little different or require an adaption.”

Sarah Edwards, a former Alpine skier who recently converted to cross country skiing, introduced herself to one patient who said he liked to downhill ski. “Nordic skiing?” Edwards explained how someone manuevers in a sit-ski, “all arms” and the patient’s jaw dropped as he imagined climbing up a hill, “that sounds hard!”

Even if they didn’t sell the youth on cross-country skiing, the athletes provided enthusiasm for the patients to lead active lifestyles. One young boy in the waiting room wearing a MN Wild sweatshirt caught the attention of the Norwegian athlete Trygve Larson. The boy said he loved hockey and a lot of his friends play hockey. Trygve, keen on hockey himself, knocked on his prosthetics and explained “sledge hockey” to the boy and his father, a sport he often plays at home. “This would be perfect for him!” Larson exclaimed. “It is a great sport- because he can actually go out and play with his friends.”

Ott, who attended the closing ceremony for the competition, shared that one of the young boys was still talking about the visit. “Thank you for spending time with us here at Gillette,” she reittereated. Our patients are very lucky to have gotten to meet such superb people and athletes.”

That was just our introduction to the US Team, a group of athletes that became familiar faces in Theodore Wirth Park. The Nordic Ski Foundation had teamed up with the US Olympic Committee to bring this event to Minneapolis, the first time the US has held a major Nordic Ski competition in 7 years. Over 100 athletes representing 17 different countries were here to race for two days in Theodore Wirth Park, with the option to stay on and compete in the City of Lakes Loppet. “It is not often these events take place in urban locations,” said Competition Manager Max Saenger. “It is still a big deal to travel to the United States. The athletes are really excited to be here.”

Announcer Sheryl Golin enjoyed sitting down with the coaches and athletes. “That was so useful,” she commented. “I was able to ask so many questions, both about the competition and more generally, like what the Norwegians do in “no snow years” like this. He said that is why they have to be nice to Sweden- so they can go over and train in their snow tunnels.” Like Golin, and many in the Nordic Ski community, this was their first exposure to both international and disabled competition. Volunteers had a lot to learn regarding racing protocol and course design. “You should be quiet when you see a guide and blind skier pass. The guide is constantly communicating with the blind skier through noises that indicate changes in the terrain on the course,” explained US Team Manger John Farra.

Nels Dyste, Chief of Course for the Paralympics worked many hours with both veteran course designers and the grooming staff at Wirth to create a course that met competition standards. “The thing that surprised me the most was “sprucing of the course”. We used evergreen sprigs to create definition on the sides of the trail for the blind skiers to follow.” Dyste commented that watching the event was “nerve wracking”. “You work hard to make sure there are banks for the sit skiers, and opportunities to slow down. But we knew we were creating a really technically and physically challenging course.”

With most spectators and volunteers in attendance unfamiliar with Paralympic sports- every aspect of the competition brought more questions, and inspiring moments. “I realize that in my life I am never around people with disabilities long enough to “stop seeing their disability”” observed Bruce Remak who was captivated by the event for two days. “But when you are around these competitors long enough, you see them as athletes as opposed to people with disabilities.”

The 20 kids on the field trip had their eyes on one athlete in particular. The day before, in preparation for the event, the students at Nellie Stone Johnson were lucky enough to receive a visit from Kelly Underkofler, one of the U.S. Paralympians competing during the week. Program Coach Allie Rykken had arranged for Underkofler to visit both a third grade classroom of Loppet Elementary School Ski Program participants and an adaptive physical education class. Underkofler has trained on the US Paralympic Ski Team for the past 10 years and has raced extensively around the world.

The students had written questions in advance to prepare for Kelly’s visit. “How do you open a pop can?” was one of the first questions she got from the class. Kelly, who was born missing the lower half of her left forearm, replied with playful energy, “How do YOU open a pop can? She grabbed a container and mimicked how she would snap into a can of soda, “like this.” With laughs and smiles, she quickly won their hearts, and showed the class that while she may do a few things differently, she can still do everything.

“We are so happy to be here,” said Julie Ellingson, the Physical Education instructor at Nellie Stone, over the buzzing kazoos that her students used to cheer. Ellingson has been a long term advocate to adding cross-country skiing to her gym class instruction. Kenija Wallace, a fifth grader student who suffers from transverse myelitis, a spinal chord related injury that affects the stability and strength and in her legs, was inspired by the outing. “Sometimes it’s hard for me to use my legs and it’s hard to keep going.” But the skiers showed Kenija a different side of their story. “There are all kinds of different people skiing, and they all believe in themselves. I love skiing.”

This past Saturday the group of luminary artists and dedicated volunteers were back on the Lake of the Isles making the magic happen for the 2012 event. Visiting the bustling workshop- one would have witnessed the unusual pairing of equipment as playful as in Dr. Suess fable paired with icy water-proof aprons and power tools made for T.V.’s “Deadliest Catch”.

“It’s just really weird what we’re doing out here,” admitted Luminary co-pilot and long term volunteer Charlie Henke. Fiddling with generators hooked to heat the hot water bath, Charlie has been around to see good, the slushy, the bad, and the frosty when it comes to luminary making. “We make improvements on our system every year, but it is still a learning process. Our system continues to evolve.”

A simple process you think? You be the judge. First you fill over a thousand buckets with water. They are staked and frozen over night and are then harvested, or “hatched” the following day. The buckets of ice are dragged to a hot water bath where they are dunked and released from bondage. They are then flipped onto a table where a volunteer hugs them (and lugs them) to planks that feed to drillers who lock the luminary onto a bed of nails before hollowing out the center out to dispel the liquid core. The water is then dumped directly back into the lake to avoid flooding the work space (cleanliness is a virtue). The luminaries are loaded into sleds and dragged to tarps where they laid side by side…until show time.

Ice is predictable, but fragile. “The luminaries sublime,” explained Henke. That means that they go straight from luminary state to gaseous state. Wind, sun- any weather- will make them deteriorate- literally evaporate.” This makes the art of the Luminary Loppet all the more precarious, a magical blend between art, science and faith.

Each luminary is coddled and handled more than ten times during its short lifecycle. That is a lot of luminary love! So the real question we should be asking ourselves is when does the magic of the Park Nicollet Luminary Loppet really happen? The answer lies somewhere between the first few frozen drops of water- and ends in a glorious evening ski.

Collaborating with the City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation, Anthony and Ski Foundation director John Munger have put together a cross-country skiing package that includes instruction, equipment rental and the Luminary Loppet candle lit skiing experience that is part of the City of Lakes Loppet Cross-Country Ski Festival. “We want young people and adults to be involved,” said Anthony who says about 12 folks have signed up for the program. “This is a chance to bring the community together.” A few of the more experienced Major Taylor skiers, Jerry Williams and Jemiah Etch, are pushing the partnership deeper and volunteered as chaperones on the Nellie Stone Middle School Ski Team training trip accomplanying the boys on their first foray into the woods.

Anthony crossed paths with the Nordic Ski Foundation last winter when he brought his kids to Wirth for some winter activity. “I was looking for something for my kids to do outdoors,” recalled Anthony Taylor. “I was impressed to see the amount of African American and Somali youth on skis.” Anthony was eager to get his kids involved. “I think one thing that happens to the African American community is that we assume that if we pursue a sport like skiing, it will not be with other black families. But here, that was not the case at all.”

Anthony is particularly enthusiastic about the instruction that’s being offered to the group. “Cross-country skiing is one of those sports where you can mess around and feel like you’re doing it- but in reality, we all could use some help.” Anthony dabbled in the sport for the first time last season, but is looking forward to honing his skills- strides and glides to last a lifetime. “Like biking, cross-country skiing is a lifelong sport. We are drawing many parallels here- the message being to stay moving your whole life long.”

The groups joins the Loppet Cassical Group for coached instruction on Thursday evenings, 6:30 p.m., and meets informally on Sunday for member led workouts. Instruction is provided on all levels. Rental equipment is available. Contact Anthony at 612-709-9138 or Anthony@majortaylorcycling.com for more information.

Your passport to Wirth’s wintry wonderland is nothing more than a trail pass- a simple yellow tag that flutters at the end of your jacket’s zipper. No stamps, no photos, no sniffing dogs, the pass allows users to access any of the 4 cross-country ski trails in the city: Gross, Columbia, Hiawatha and Wirth. Passes run $8 a day or $45 for the season. This is the first year of the family pass which amounts to $25 per family member after the initial pass is bought.

Mike Baker, the Facilities Manager at Wirth Park initiated the Trail Ambassador Program last year at the suggestion of several longtime patrons who noticed that many skiers using the park did not buy passes. “Essentially, Wirth’s winter program is self sustaining. All the revenue generated from the tubing, cross-country skiing and snowboarding goes back into directly funding the activities in the snow,” Baker explained. “I just don’t think a lot of skiers knew about it,” said skiing enthusiast and instigator of the ambassador program Tony Mommsen who saw the importance of skiers supporting their trails.

In it’s second year, the program has received an overwhelming response. “Last year we had 12 ambassadors. This year I had over 100 people interested,” said Baker. “What has become apparent to me is that cross-country skiers are a huge family, and they want to take care of one another.” The role of the ambassadors is two-fold but simple: to share their knowledge of the trails and tell people the importance of buying a pass. With Wirth offering a world class network of trails totaling over 25 kilometers, getting a season pass here is quite a steal.

“Wearing this orange vest- people actually talk to you,” said ambassador Richard Borst. And that conversation is welcomed. “We love skiing and we want to help people get to know the trail system- while also getting to know the Nordic community,” said Meredith Gerhartstein over a sandwich after her shift. “It is a great way to be involved.”

Thank you for using and supporting the Minneapolis cross-country ski trails! Think snow!

The Nordic Ski Foundation runs cross-country ski programs in six North Minneapolis elementary schools. In a typical winter, the Nordic Ski Foundation, working collaboratively with the physical education instructors, facilitate eight weeks of cross-country skiing instruction with fourth and fifth grade students. The Foundation provides skis, poles and boots that live on site at the schools, and the kids wrap up the season by participating in the Minne-Loppet- a children’s ski race that is part of the City of Lakes Cross-Country Ski Festival. The program also includes a nutrition component where the students learn how to healthily fuel active skiing bodies.

“Are you doing your snow dances?” asked program Director Margaret Adelsman of the Bryn Mawr 4th graders as they assembled in the gymnasium. The kids nodded shyly. With winter sprouting more sticks than snow Margaret, a former college skiing star and longtime coach, has had to formulate new skiing instruction made for “dryland”. “We skied on the grass the other week,” she said, but even that gets old after a while.

Today the kids were in for a treat. Drawing parallels to the upcoming Paralympic Nordic Ski competition coming to Wirth in a few weeks, the class launched into imagining what it would be like to ski with some form of physical disability. “What would it be like to ski without your arms? legs? eyes?” Margaret asked the class. The kids hemmed and hawed. “Impossible?” Silence. “Well, let’s give it a try…”

The kids partnered off and, using scooters, tried to maneuver between cones on the gym floor alternatively losing ability in their arms and legs. Lastly, the students blindfolded one another and were challenged to guide their partner through a ski course involving hills and turns- and ultimately help their partner eat at a feed station at the end of the course.

“What was hard about that?” asked assistant coach Ingrid Remak after each pass. “Your muscles get so tired!” remarked Kue Thao in exasperation. “It was so noisy- it was hard to hear my guide,” said Jennfier Dakota who skied with the program last year. “I panicked. I kind of lost my senses,” said Daveron Granberry. “I was pretty nervous that if I was skiing I might smash into things.” He then went on to compliment his guide for doing such a good job at leading.

Nearing the sound of the bell, there was only one item left on the agenda- a snow dance. In the last ten seconds, the class flailed, bounced and twisted for winter- a dancing storm convincingly strong enough to bring in a blizzard…

The prestige of their final destination did not phase the boys who were mostly just thrilled to headed out on a skiing adventure. Plans for the training trip were made at the beginning of the season, but in the end, couldn’t have come at a better time. With dismal skiing conditions in the Twin Cities, Head Coach Miller was just excited to get his team on snow.

After arriving late Friday evening, the boys rose on Saturday for training before suiting up for their first race. Four of the six boys sported the Nellie Stone blue and yellow and participated in the Telemarker Challenge. The team was outpaced on the trails by the more experienced competition- but that didn’t dampen their spirits. “I was really happy that they were not discouraged,” said head coach Jon Miller who watched his athletes maintain their enthusiasm even as they took some spills on the course.

The kids wrapped up Saturday with a night ski. Under the full moon, the kids laughed and called coyote howls on the trails- and some were echoed by other evening skiers. The kids may or may not have been successful in roping their coaches and chaperones into an evening snowball fight – a full moon and snow will make you do crazy things…

The kids were raving about the trip the entire ride home. “It was great to just get them to snow. They really needed that,” said Coach Miller. “What is ideal is if they come away from this experience just wanting more.” With their appetites whetted for wooded trails and snow, hopefully this is not their only trip to Hayward. A great many Birkebeiner races may lie in these kids futures…