Posted on 12/10/2004 6:52:34 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
From snowmobiling on alfalfa to strapping on cross-country skis with wheels, Minnesotans are finding ways of coping with a frustrating lack of snow.
It's been a mostly brown December in the southern half of the state, and northern Minnesota hasn't recorded snow depths of more than 8 inches this season.
"We're not living up to our winter reputation," said Joan Hummel, a spokeswoman for Explore Minnesota Tourism, the state's tourism office.
It snowed Friday morning in southern Minnesota, but the flakes were quickly melting, so residents will have to keep waiting for thick snow cover. In the meantime, they'll keep pretending it's there.
"People are getting creative," said Bob Sass, manager of Midwest Mountaineering.
At the Minneapolis outfitter, winter sporting equipment has taken on a snowless twist: People are skijoring (cross-country skiing behind your dog) with mountain bikes and roller skiing (cross-country skiing on wheels).
Also growing in popularity is Nordic walking, which involves using polls and basically imitating a cross-country ski stride.
"People just need to get out of the house in the winter," Sass said. "They'll find ways to do that even if the weather's bad."
According to state climatologists, brown Decembers aren't all that unusual.
"December's usually not your best snow month anyway," said Pete Boulay, assistant state climatologist.
Peak snow depths rarely occur before late January, and Boulay likes to remind people that winter doesn't officially start until Dec. 21.
Still, Boulay gets e-mails from depressed snowmobilers and other winter-lovers who have high (and maybe too high) expectations for a white December.
Others have prepared for dreary days of brown and gray while waiting for the snow to fall. Hummel said Minnesota businesses and tourist resorts have made themselves "weatherproof," offering such things as dog-lovers' weekends, wine tasting and other snowless activities.
In northern Minnesota, where there's less snow than usual, people are learning to cope with a little less.
"As soon as they see a couple of flakes fly, they really get excited," said Jenny Moorman, director of Lake of the Woods Tourism. Most of northeastern Minnesota has 3 to 6 inches of snow. A foot is needed before snowmobile trails can be groomed, but people are out there anyway, she said.
In southwestern Minnesota, some snowmobilers have decided they don't need snow at all.
Snowmobilers raced on alfalfa at Luverne's Winterfest last weekend. It's coarser than grass and doesn't cause the snowmobile to dig into the dirt, said Lyle Stroeh, president of the Rock County Sno-Masters club that hosted the drag race.
"They were ready for winter, so we did it anyway," Stroeh said. The club had already bought insurance to race during Winterfest and couldn't postpone it. Keeping the race short prevented the slides on the bottom of the snowmobiles from overheating and melting.
If history gives any hint of what's to come, Stroeh and his crew won't be running sleds on alfalfa for much longer.
"The bottom line for snow lovers is that we're still in early December," Hummel said. "Anything can happen."
Liberals-
1.ewackos whine about every possible problem and attempt to shut down what they can
2.feelings of concern for unemployed lead to increased taxes
3.New animals/bugs discovered (under what would have been under snow) and skiing areas shut down to protect endangered species.
Conservatives-
1.Innovation.
2.Ability to ski year round.
3.Increased revenue...
Makes for rough sledding when there is no snow.
No longer a concern for the libs here in central MN (a part of the geographic majority RED in Minnesota), 3-4 inches of powder yesterday afternoon and last night with more in the forecast today. Fire up that exhaust belching 700 CC mother-earth scarring internal combustion fun machine....YEE-HAAAAAAA!
Also have enough ice on the smaller lakes to burn some more fossil fuels, auger a couple holes and test the nerve endings in the mouths of a few fish! GLOBAL WARMING RULES!
Seeing the reference to swowboarding on alfalfa made me harken back to the days of sledding down hills where cows had pastured.
A frozen pasture pizza could launch a sled into low earth orbit at the proper speed.
A common lube before the advent of petroleum...
"A common lube before the advent of petroleum..."
The feedways in barns that had been licked smooth as glass over the years by the cows toungues - throw a little of any kind of hay on it and it was defintely slicker than snow.
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