An Obligatory January Skiing Post

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Just came back from a place where you find a lot of these:

Depot Signs
 
Maplelag Resort is a literal repository of  railroad depot signs and a bunch of other railroad signage.  In fact 2 of the lodges are named for former lines that served most of the region- Great Northern and Northern Pacific. From what I can discern, most of the signs are from towns in western Minnesota, North Dakota, and the prairie provinces of Canada. However, I do know there is a depot sign for my hometown which is just south of the Twin Cities. I have yet to discover its hanging place at the resort.
My MFS (mostly Finnish spouse) and I enjoyed a few days respite by skiing 80 km at the resort. Yes, this was a vacation but we enjoy being outdoors even when it is 8 below. Plus you really need to ski with all the delicious food that the Maplelag kitchen cooks up for us not to mention the bottomless cookie jar of 5 flavors. The skiing was fantastic- especially after the large snowfall we received on Monday night.
 
Maplelag trailhead
In fact my skiing improve twofold this year thanks to the discovery that I owned skis that required wax. For the last decade I had been skiing without waxing my skis and never knew it. Well, I know the difference now. It was not until after our trip to Maplelag last year. I looked at my bases on my skis and behold they were not scaled like the skis of my MFS. Over the last year I acquired the appropriate waxes (and waxing wisdom) and they were tested on this trip.
The week started out warm- very warm. I needed to use a soft wax. It worked until the weather changed mid-way through a long trek on Roy's Run. It started to rain and sleet and I was getting hardly any grip in my kick. I should have tried klisters, but I had none. I just persevered.
The next day we received a bunch of new snow so I put on sound harder wax. Then the next day it was frigid and I applied the green wax. So there's your waxing lesson. No problems. It is just those warming temps that can be trouble and call for klister. Klister is like a glue and can be really messy to apply.
Maplelag is a top-notch ski resort. They do a phenomenal job grooming the trails and provide an excellent lodging and dining experience to boot.


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