Skiing at Chester Bowl

"I passed the cone test. Rode the chair lift the same day. And I ski raced and got a medal the next day!" exclaimed Marit (age 4) after she received her 1st medal at Chester Bowl downhill ski race today.

Marit's 1st ski medal!

Theo and Marit ready for Chester Bowl ski races!

 

Riding the chair lift with Mommy after she passed the cone test at her ski lesson.

Chester Bowl is a local public park with a chairlift and three ski runs. Started in 1905 by a bunch of Norweigan's, the Duluth Ski Club brought the sport of ski jumping to the Northland and Chester Hill was identified as a perfect site. It officially opened on Christmas Day in 1906 and there used to be a large toboggan slide, speed skating oval, and ice rink as well. The ski jump drew crowds of over 9,000 spectators and hosted many national events. A number of Olympic ski jumpers trained there between in the 1960-70s. Unfortunately, after being blown over a few times in major windstorms and rebuilt over and over, the ski jump was torn down for good in 2005 and is now a community ski hill. The City of Duluth grooms the trails and the Chester Bowl Improvement Club organizes summer camps and winter skiing with the helps of hundreds of volunteer parents, such as Seth and I. 

Old picture of the Chester Bowl ski jump from the 1930s

Marit spent many hours watching her big brother skiing from the ski chalet last year and was very motivated to pass the cone test on Saturday at beginner ski lessons. The cone test involved 3 large traffic cones set up on the "bunny hill" that parents have to carry their kid or side step up to the top of (no magic carpet or tow ropes) and then the little skiers have to weave around and stop at the bottom doing the "pizza" move to prove they are ready for the big hill.  This was her 3rd beginner lesson (and we had also taken her the night before for extra practice). She passed the test on her first attempt but they had her try a few more times to perfect her skier stance (hands on the knees, leaning forward, and knees bent in a wide pizza stance). Once she passed, she got to ride up on the hills only ski lift with one of the ski cadets for private lessons. Saturday, she skied from 11:30AM until 3:30PM with only a 15 minute snack and potty break. One of the runs is a terrain park with jumps, rails and boxes. She immediately recognized one of the boxes from watching a video I took of Theo going off of it the week before. 

Marit asked, "I want to go on the big box."  I convinced her to try the smaller one first but the next run she insisted on the tryin the big box. The first two tries she made it to the end but fell on the landing but the third time she landed it!  Watch the video below:

Chester Bowl hosts ski races every Sunday afternoon and if you can ride the chair lift, you can sign up for the ski race. So on the next day, both Marit and Theo were signed up and anxious for their ski race. The conditions were perfect; temperatures in the 30s, the snow was soft and fluffy, the sun was peaking through the clouds and there was hardly a breeze in the air. Theo was up first and bombed down the course in his "Race car driver" pose.  He dropped over 2 seconds from his race time last week and finished 5th out of 20 in the 6-7 year old boy age group. 

Marit and Theo riding the chair lift together (2nd from the left)

Theo "Snowflake" Benziger racing to the finish

Theo crossing the finish line

Theo cresting the final hill in race #2

Marit also bombed the hill (see video above) and despite trying to pizza had so much speed that she accidentally crashed into the green fence at the bottom trying to stop. After a few tears, she stood up and asked me to put her skis back on and up the chair lift she went to get back in line for run #2. She finished 4th out of 9 in the girls under 5 years age group and they both received a "winner" medal in the awards ceremony. "Everyone's a winner at Chester Bowl" and they really are! 

Marit #5 lining up for her 1st ski race

Marit in the starter box

Getting dressed to go skiing

Marit on her second day of skiing this season

Here are some pictures of the snowfall we had in the past 2 weeks. If you are going to live in the cold climate in the north woods, you want snow and lots of it. Until recently we hardly had any (see pic below from Christmas) but then had 2 nice storms that dumped over 18 inches (see 2nd pic from New Year's Day). I've been out cross country skiing a half dozen times at Lester Park, running with friends and downhill skiing with the kids. It's awesome!

Very little snow on December 25, 2018

A lot of snow on January 1, 2019

Beautiful snow covered trees in Pattison State Park

Winter is beautiful!