Skijoring

Are you an older skier looking for new tricks? Did you begin Nordic skiing after the disenchantment of a frenetic lift-served slope? Maybe you started telemarking, or skating or teleskating and yet you are still searching for your niche on skis. Steve Crone has a suggestion for you. You need to try skijoring.

For a joy beyond description you need to borrow a little steam from your faithful four-legged friend. Skijoring utilizes the high spirit of the canine cruisers to inject the thrill of speed and the harmony found in the human/dog partnership into the serenity and joy of the natural setting of Nordic trails. An added beauty of this new sport, actually a descendant of Norwegian freight transportation, is that you don't have to invest a small fortune to outfit yourself with new gear. Nordic gear, a harness for you, a harness for your dog (collars can be deadly), and a skijoring line, which is simply a regular line with a bungee attachment. That's it! You and your best friend can be off, grooving in sync down the trails.

Where does one start this new sport that fuses the grace of descending in a telemark/Nordic turn, the intensity of a high speed husky and the powerful liberation from gravity in a skated stride? The wide groomed trails of the Telemark Inn in Western Maine are the perfect setting for starting your pilgrimage to skiing-Mecca. You can start slow and take a lesson from proprietor Steve Crone, and his Siberian Huskies. You might wait until you've practiced on a few trails before adding Steve's turbo-charged secret to your experience. Steve's secret is Baxter, the German, short haired pointer streak of lightning.

Better yet, bring your own canine companion and shore up in the remote wilderness lodge surrounded by 20 kilometers of groomed trails with unlimited back-country possibilities. Horse-drawn sleigh rides, snow-shoeing, nighttime skating parties and healthful, wholesome cooking complete the winter scene.

So grab your skis, get your dog and embrace the heightened rapture of skijoring!