Welcome Archive!
Perisher X Country (PXC) welcomes you to this MEGA edition of PXC NEWS. This edition will give you all that you need to know to get you up to speed for what is happening in the 2019 winter ski season. This newsletter is also focused on what is happening within PXC, with special reference to the volunteers and to those who have a keen interest in helping grow the sport of cross-country skiing. PXC is a sub-committee of the northern division of Ski & Snowboard Australia (SSA) and is responsible for growing the participation in XC skiing in Perisher Valley and beyond.
Firstly , thank you to Mike Edmondson for this lovely image of camping in the Ramsheads, taken recently.Perisher X Country (PXC) is all about promoting the activity of Cross Country Skiing to a wider audience so that one of the best-kept secrets around is not a secret anymore. Please encourage everyone to go to the PXC website (Contact Us page) and subscribe to PXC NEWS.
MEGA PRE-SEASON EDITION
On the Queens Birthday weekend, not only was the Peak Music Festival raging at Perisher but you could do some great XC and downhill skiing too. There was brilliant weather on both Saturday and Sunday with Monday finally getting ugly with rain. The annual Long Weekend Juniors training event was held on plenty of snow, for a change, helping them adjust to the differences between their dry land rollerskis and snow skis. There were also plenty of local skiers out on the trails, enjoying the unexpected skiing opportunities.
While we have been fortunate to enjoy an extraordinary Long Weekend and more with groomed and tracked trails, the majority of June is typically still within the pre-season period. Rain severely affected the early 60-70 cm of beautiful snow. Hopefully new snow will arrive as per ordered before the end of June when we get started with the first event - the "Paddy Pallin Juniors" on the 29th of June.
A summary of the the Newsletter contents is as follows:
- Gold Partners
- Twilight Skiing, 16,17 or 18th of July
- XC Ski Week
- PXC Cup/ Mug
- PXC Skier Host
- PXC Volunteers
- Sverre Kaatin Nordic Shelter
- PXC AGM
- Junior Development Team
- Come & Try, 6th & 13th of July
- Nic Bendali World Loppet Project
- Event ON-Line Entries
- Final Note
Gold Partners - 2019-2020
It has been fantastic! A number of local businesses have gotten behind PXC with monetary and material support. Gold Partners have given a minimum of $500 of funds, goods or “in-kind” towards supporting the expenses and projects of PXC. Gold Partners are highlighted on every page of the website and given special mention throughout the ski season at various functions for their support. Please support these great businesses whenever and wherever you can. They are as follows in alphabetical order;
Monies and material support go towards printing promotional material, maintenance and improving the PXC website, running promotions, promotional prizes and purchase of capital items typically used to conduct trail maintenance.
Twilight Skiing, 16,17 or 18th of July
The poster says it all..
If you would like to have a printable pdf copy, CLICK HERE
XC Ski Week - 3rd to 10th of August
If you have not already booked your accommodation there is plenty of room at Island Bend with the "Royal Island Bend Ski Club". All you need is a tent and plenty of warm clothes. Otherwise, get your booking in to your favourite accommodation ASAP.
The important thing is to be there, whether you are in a ski club or coming as an individual, there is plenty of fun to be had.
The Brass Ski trophy for the Clubs Competition is back for the second year, with last year’s winner, Cooma Ski Club, being severely handicapped this time around. Thanks to Cliffy at the Sundeck Hotel for co-sponsoring a prize voucher worth $1000 to be spent by the winning club at either the Sundeck Hotel or the Tathra Hotel.
There are plenty of tour, racing and social events. Whether your pleasure is having coffee out on the high plains, sipping cocktails at the Marritz or having a Candlelight Dinner after the Night Relays, there is plenty to do for all.
So you don't feel too guilty about all this indulgence, there are also great challenges to be had from participating in the KAC Classic and other historic events like the Boonoona Open and the Charlotte Pass Open.
XC Ski Week boasts 11 wildly different events and activities in 8 days plus the final Presentations where approximately $5000 worth of prizes are given away to people in the room.
So get your leave approved, find a place to stay and get along to 2019 XC Ski Week.
Information and entry to XC Ski Week activities - click here
 
For a most attractive PDF of the XC Ski Week flyer - click here
PXC Cup/ Mug
The second annual running of the 10km/4km PXC Cup will be held on the Saturday the 13th of July. To make the course a little flatter and kinder, as like last year, the unique remote starting point will be after the first hill on the outgoing 2.5 km trail.
This event was developed to fill the void between the Cooma Ski Club early season 5km Classical and Skate citizen races and the beginning of XC Ski Week. It is a great opportunity for all to get in another race before XC Ski Week is with us.
Enter to have a chance of winning one of the limited edition PXC MUGS and other good prizes - CLICK HERE
PXC Skier Host
This year the Skier Host duties will include taking new skiers on a small tour to show them around as well as being available in the Nordic Shelter.
The operation of this service is dependent on having volunteers available to show those new to skiing, or new to the area, around the trails and the Shelter. When Skier Host is operating a sandwich board will be displayed to be easily seen as people reach the Nordic Shelter.
We are looking for volunteers to don the Skier Host jacket to help out with this worthy activity. Duties amount to being available for an hour on either Saturday or Sunday on most weekends in July & August. It would be great to be able to give new skiers the best start possible. Please email Wayne at info@perisherxcountry.org to let him know which day/ weekend is best for you, to get involved.
PXC Volunteers
Volunteers run our favourite sport. The Nordic Shelter is managed by Volunteer-Extraordinaire Geraldine and her devoted team. All XC events and activities that occur at the Perisher XC Centre are run by an army of volunteer commanders and foot-soldiers.
All of that work is underwritten by donations of funds, goods and services.
Please do your share by grabbing a shovel, helping at the BBQ, wielding a pencil on event day, helping out a visitor, or just picking up random rubbish.
All assistance is appreciated. If you can help out in some way, email info@perisherxcountry.org
Getting Involved in PXC
To see a note from the Chairman about how you can help with the ongoing running of PXC, CLICK HERE.
More people doing a little is far better that only a few doing the lot.
Sverre Kaatin Nordic Shelter
It has been a big summer at the Nordic Shelter. Monthly work parties (and extra private work parties by some driven volunteers) have resulted in sparklingly repainted toilets, more storage in the North Kitchen and a huge amount of cleaning, sorting and disposing of collections of redundant stuff. Take some time to appreciate the historical display of Kangaroo Hoppet posters in the North Room – just the hanging of them is a work of art!
You won’t be able to miss the real art covering the walls of the Shelter. Garry MacDougall, Evelyna Helmer and Aimee Watson have created lovely works to be enjoyed and purchased, with a portion of the sales to be donated to the Nordic Shelter.
When you visit the Nordic Shelter this winter, have a chat with Geraldine, the Shelter’s volunteer manager. You are likely to find her at the BBQ. Thank her for the work that she does – daily Grooming Reports at 5:30 am, shovelling all of that fresh snow out of doorways
Worth mentioning that whilst you fill up with a sausage sandwich or a vege burger at our BBQ, PXC also has some great items for sale. These being the PXC Peaked Caps ($20), our non-leak water bottles ($10) and the very special cloth based map of the trails ($15). All sales goes towards fund raising to support PXC and its promotional (and other) activities.
PXC AGM
The PXC AGM and workshop was run on the 28th of April at the Silver Room at the AIS in Canberra.
Thanks to Finn Marsland and SSA for organizing and providing the room/ venue. Much thanks to the 14 people in total who were present. The AGM started at 9.10 am and concluded at 9.50 am with the workshop component starting soon after. After having lunch at the AIS all business was completed by 1.50 pm
The elected committee members are as follows:
Chairman – Wayne Pethybridge
Secretary – John Sim
Treasurer – Leslie Ludwig
Website & Social Media – Robert Eddy
Infrastructure – Peter Ward
Since this time the committee has introduced Peter Cunningham as the Infrastructure convener with Peter Ward still remaining on the committee as the representative for SSA Northern Division XC
There certainly is a vacant role in the area of "Promotions". A new person to assist in this area would be ably backed up by those doing these tasks presently..
To see a copy of the 2018 Chairman’s Report Click Here
The Chairman’s Report lists of a lot of the good things that were achieved in the 2018 winter.
The present committee is made up of a number of long-term supporters of XC skiing and in some cases have been in active roles for decades. It would be great to get new blood with new ideas in who can take us from where we are now to a new place going forward. PXC has gone forward but on the back of too few. We owe it to the longevity of PXC to find new people to get involved. Many people doing small tasks is better that a few people doing the lot. A special committee is looking at what are the key bite size roles that new people can get involved in.
Wayne Pethybridge - Chairman.
Kids Skiing Faster!
A number of programs are being run to encourage young XC skiers to improve their XC skills and have some fun.
Regular XC dry-land training occurs weekly in Sydney through NSWXC programs. Recent special training events include the recent Long Weekend Camp in Jindabyne and Welcome the Winter Coaches in Sydney. The Winter Program includes intensive training at the Perisher XC Centre during the school holidays with continuing flexible training throughout the winter. This special program will be overseen by Head Coach Garrett Russell (USA), assisted by Fabian Schaad (SWI), and supported by a great group of local coaches. For information about the NSWXC programs check out this link - www.nswxc.teamapp.com/.
Snowy Mountains Nordic is a local Jindabyne group that offers training, activities and family involvement. The group conducts dryland and on-snow training and special events like the Paddy Pallin Jr early in the winter and the SMN Family Cup at the end of the season. Contact kate.rocky@bigpond.com for more information.
Dryland XC training in ACT occurs at the spectacular rollerskiing facilities at Stromlo Forest Park. Contact fmarsland@skiandsnowboard.org.au to find out more about activities here.
Come & Try - 6th & 13th of July
Two bites at cherry with this initiative aimed at people who are new to XC skiing!
Considering most people who get this newsletter are already XC skiers, here is a special opportunity to tell your friends (and others) about two Come & Try events. This is a great way to be introduced to XC skiing, being taught by professional instructors and getting to see what goes on at the Perisher XC Centre. There will be plenty of friendly faces and a BBQ lunch as well.
Snow permitting, the 6th of July event will start at 8.30 am for a 9 am departure. If you are driving up, leave Jindabyne by 7.30 am to get up the road in a timely manner and get a space in the top (main) car park. If there is a chance that there is snow on the road you need to leave Jindabyne by 7.00am.
The 13th of July event starts at 1.00 pm so please be there at least 30 mins before.
All participants get a sausage sandwich and salad lunch as part of the deal.
Both K7 Adventures and Wilderness Sports provide professional instructors for the C&T days. The events are mainly by Peter Cunningham and his merry bunch of volunteers from the ACT under the umbrella of PXC/ SSA Northern XC Division.
Click Here to see a wee flyer of the event.
To enter for the 6th of July Come & Try day Click Here
To enter for the 13th of July Come & Try Click Here
Nic Bendali World Loppet Project
Nic Bendeli has participated in many World Loppets and is not shy of taking part in other adventures whether on foot or on skis. Nic has been working on a project that showcases Australian’s long history in World Loppet races, over four decades, in the form of a poster.. Click here to see a draft of Nic's poster.
Nic is asking past participants to send him their choice photos so he can add them to this poster. His plan is to have the finished product displayed in the Nordic Shelter. This poster heavily portrays Bruce Wharrie, Marg Hayes, Nic and others who have got to the end of many, many World Loppet events. Nic's email address is bendeli.anumc@gmail.com
Event ON-Line Entries
Go to the PXC website Local Calendar and XC Week Calendar pages for links to On-Line entry and event information for many of the scheduled events. Event organisers love competitors who register on-line and avoid the chaos of late entries on the day of the event.
Log in with your SnowID number, sort the available events for Cross Country and Upcoming, and then look for your desired event with the title prefixed with “pxc”.
If you don’t already have a SnowID number, this is how it works:
How to Access On-Line Entries
To register for on-line events, you must be a Ski & Snowboard Australia (SSA) member with a SnowID. Obtain your SnowID with your FREE SSA Snowracer registration.
Remember your SnowID. It makes it easy to sign up for events. For example your personal information will be auto-filled in to the event registration.
To register for an event, first obtain your SnowID and Snowracer membership here: (https://www.snowracer.com.au/registration/). You will be sent a username via email. Set your password by following the link on the email. This username and password will be required when you click on “REGISTER” above to enter this event. Once you have logged in, complete the additional information requested.
Bonus Benefit! Snowracer membership provides FREE personal insurance on the day that you are participating in an event. This insurance is for non-medical expenses to the value of $500 and covers items such as refunds for your entry fee and lift tickets, lost accommodation or car repatriation. More details regarding the policy are available here.
For all enquiries regarding Snowracer and SnowID, please refer to info@skiandsnowboard.org.au.
Final Note
As the chief story teller/ writer of this newsletter - I am doing the finishing touches before hitting the button and sending this out to all. Tomorrow, Tim Greville and his volunteers from Snowy Mountains Nordic are kicking off the first event of the ski year, the Paddy Pallin Juniors. I hope they can fit it in before the forecast nasty weather arrives.
A big thank you to the chief proof reader and editor "Leslie Ludwig" for finding the time amongst every thing else to apply the required polish where needed.
I hope to see you all up there with all trails open soon,
Wayne P
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