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From the Ground Up. . .

 


Back from another skiing weekend up north, I settled into the painting chair Monday evening for about 35 minutes of very basic brushwork.  While I don't always start with the green bases (typically Citadel Warboss Green), much of the time it makes sense to include these as one of the early steps along with flesh areas, blacks, and browns before moving further into the painting process.

Single coat coverage over light basecoats is usually not an issue with Citadel paints.  But I see this morning that another coat of green is in order, so I'll tackle that quickly this evening before moving onto the black areas: hats, cartridge pouches, shoes/gaiters, and finally the few sword scabbards among the officers, ensigns, NCO, and possibly the drummer (I never remember).

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The skiing weekend was amazing by the way.  Besides my own activities Friday, Saturday, and half the day Sunday, I assisted with the 5k race Saturday morning.  There was also a much faster 15k race for, well, the racers out there! 

Before you ask, the temperature was -14 degrees Fahrenheit (about -25.5 C. to the rest of the world) at 7:30am when I arrived with squeaky snow everywhere.  It warmed up but not by much, hovering at about 0 F. (-17.7 C.) for much of the beautifully sunny day. 

When you move around as much as one does in cross-country skiing, you stay surprisingly warm, hence several thin layers of clothing rather than heavy, bulky items that restrict your motion. Of course, modern synthetics that wick moisture away from the skin really help, because you do perspire without necessarily being aware of it.

Ok, but what did you actually do, Stokes?

Well, my particular function was as a "sweeper," and I basically escorted the slower skiers, ensuring that no one ran into trouble, and that the course was clear once everyone had finished.  I then skied the route once again afterwards, removing that cones, signs, and v-blocks that guided the participants along the route.

The best part was the various skiers participating in both the 5k and 15k events.  A good mix of men and women, boys and girls.  There was a blind skier with his guide out in front calling out instructions to him, along with people battling various stages of cancer, and plenty of older, but extremely fit skiers.  Several pairs of high school-aged skiers and their parents also tackled the routes together.  Spotted a few obvious children all suited up and clipped into their skis too.  All of them quite fast.  And of course the 20-30 something racers who were amazing to watch before they disappeared into the distance up ahead.

The final skier in the 5k was an old skinny guy named Richard, who won an award for the 80+ age group!  I skied most of the 5k route with him.  He was very slow, but he was out there on his skis navigating some challenging terrain, which included the final very long climb up to the top of Homerun Hill and the terrifying descent on the other side back to the start-finish line.  We enjoyed a good chat about this and that as we skied along.  It was all good fun, and hopefully I'll still be able to do it at 80+ myself when the time comes. 

And a word of advice.  If ever you have the chance to take a ski tour during a full moon, do so.  The term 'magical' doesn't do the experience justice.

Ok. So, what's next? 

Well, heading north again mid-month for another extended weekend on skis atop groomed snow, and I've already reserved my motel.  In the meantime, some local skiing with the Grand Duchess is planned for Friday and possible Saturday given our nice snow cover here.  But before then, let's make some headway with the final 20 or so Anhalt-Zerbst figures above, eh?

Ok, gotta shower and dress for 10am online office hours in just 45 minutes.

-- Stokes

The start and finish area near the Forbush Corner Nordic Center shop, yurt, garages, and and ski school about 7:45am.

One of the many ascents along the Badlands Trail, one of the Young Master's favorites, Saturday afternoon hours after the race had finished..

The top of Homerun Hill after the long climbe up the back of 240 Loop.  Yep, I go down in the tracks, and breathtaking is an understatement.  That's the heated yurt off in the distance.

And one more photograph of the snow-covered woods for good measure.  This particular Kodak Moment occurred along either the Badlands, or Ridge Trail




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