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Events

Calendar of Events 2023-24

 

November Trail Work every Sat/Sun 9 am Help tune up every trail, glade, shelter, and bridge.

November 26 2023 1 pm Wreath Making Workshop We provide the greens, wire, rings, and techniques. You bring extra colorful add ons to garnish your creation. Donations benefit Mtn. Laurel Learning Cooperative in Thomas

Dec 24 Christmas Eve Snowshoe Discovery Tour 10 am with Chip Chase Natural History Snowshoe Discovery Walk Streamside and vista filled walk with the entertaining White Grass owner. Little over a mile and about an hour.

Dec 24 Full Moon Christmas Eve Ski Tour 7:30 pm Silently gliding through the woods under the special glow of the moon on reflective snow.

Jan 7 2024 Snowshoe Discovery Tour 10 am  Red Spruce Restoration in Canaan Valley with FWS Robert Halle

Jan 14 & 15 Snowshoe Discovery Tour 10 am with Chip Chase Natural History Snowshoe Discovery Walk Streamside and vista filled walk with the entertaining White Grass owner. Little over a mile and about an hour.

Jan 21 Snowshoe Discovery Tour 10 am Walk with local naturalist Frank Slider learning about our local ecology and public lands and much more.

Jan 21 Mtn Laurel Learning Coop Skiathon 10th Annual Fundraiser 2 pm Sponsor a student skier and support MLLC. Most committed FUN- raisers in Appalachia. MLLC participants ski laps for dollars cause that makes cents!

Jan 26 WV Special Olympics Winter Games 9 am Volunteer or come by to see one of the most inspirational days of skiing competition you’ll ever experience.

Jan 26 Full Moon Ski Tour 7:30 pm Silently gliding through the woods under the special glow of the moon on reflective snow.

Jan 28 Snowshoe Discovery Tour 10 am with WV Land Trust’s Rick Landenberger. Subject TBD.

Jan 28  Mtn State 25 Km Marathon XC Race 11 am Rolling skate or classic go fast race with a 2km kid’s course, a 10km mellow division or the full 25km series of loops. $25/$5 kids fee.

Feb 2 Groundhogs Day Ski 9 am All day adventure toward the Dolly Sods in search of clues to the rest of the winter.

Feb 4 Snowshoe Discovery Tour 9 am  Sensational Stories – Moonshine, manslaughter, the crash of the Brandenburg balloon— hear some of the local lore as told in the “Behold, the Land of Canaan” books on the history of the valley. Join Ranger JJ from Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge for this interpretive snowshoe walk.

Feb 10 Backcountry Film Fest 5 pm-9 pm Friends of the Blackwater annual fund raiser event with WG cafe foods and drinks.

Feb 11 Snowshoe Discovery Tour 9 am  Watersheds of Canaan Valley with FWS Samantha Grimes 

Feb 18 & 19 Snowshoe Discovery Tour 10 am with Chip Chase Natural History Streamside and vista filled walk with the entertaining White Grass owner. Little over a mile and about an hour.

Feb 23 Ski Teaching Brush Up 9am -3pm Randy French is coming to town to help add new ideas, enthusiasm, and insights into how to teach cross country skiing. While the emphasis will be on teaching beginners in fun ways, you will have plenty of opportunity to brush up on your own classical, skate and downhill skills as well as looking at movement analysis and distilling down what is happening at an elite level of skiing to what is useful to recreational skiers.. Randy has been a member of the Professional Ski Instructor training staff for over 30 years and will share his love of skiing and teaching with the group. Join us for a fresh and lively day of improving your ski teaching. $40 for the day.

Feb 23 Full Moon Ski Tour 7:30 pm Silently gliding through the woods under the special glow of the moon on reflective snow.

Feb 24 Learn to Skate Day 9am-3pm You don’t need lycra, you just need to want to learn how to skate on cross country skis. Randy French will help you quickly learn to move efficiently in this fun, fast technique. He will share his secrets to the differences between classical and skating so that you can take advantage of the beautiful trails at White Grass. Get an understanding of the differences in skate and classical equipment and how that impacts your movements. Randy French, a member of the Professional Ski Instructors Training squad, has been teaching people to skate ski since the early 1980’s so he can share his knowledge with you to help you enjoy the freedom of skate skiing. $40 for the day.

Mar 10 Mtn State Fat Bike Champs 9 am This is a timed, XC style fat bike race held on XC ski trails with a staff of groomers making sure we have an amazing, groomed surface of that all important white stuff to ride on. The course will be on a mix of rolling lower trails this year, same as last season. It is a relatively flat race course with small descents and climbs in there as needed to try and regulate temperature a bit. The course will be groomed, as warranted by the conditions. 

Mar 24 Full Moon Ski Tour 7:30 pm Silently gliding through the woods under the special glow of the moon on reflective snow.

TBD Annual Jack Frost Celebration Season opener sharing your gifts of potluck food and canned donations to local food bank. Fund raiser, music, bonfire, and jams. Effigy burns at 9 pm. Please leave pets at home for this one.

TBD bb biathlon 1 pm snow shovels versus bb guns. Fast, sharpshooter, skis that fly.

Canaan Hash Harrier Hounds events as they are decided updated as new events are scheduled

EVENT NOTES

EVENTS 23/24 Several interesting Discovery Snowshoe Tours, some clinics, and much more to be determined.  Plan on about every Sunday for our free snowshoe discovery walks. 

Robbie’s Rad Adventures and Chippie’s Care Free Tours Usually Sunday afternoons along easy trails focused on exploration.

Hash Hound Harriers ski hash schedule announced as they are determined.

Full Moon Skiing Trips are around each month’s lunar glare. We usually head out around 7:30 pm. Good snow and surprising visibility. 

DISCOVERY TOURS FROM THE PAST

Animal Adaptations: We humans can don our coats and gloves to stay warm in the winter, but what about wildlife? Some hibernate, some stay active, and some go into a suspended animation to survive harsh conditions. 

Winter Signs: Winter is the perfect time to see evidence of animal presence in the Valley. We’ll investigate animal tracks and scat we find along the way and learn how to identify who left these signs behind.

Trees of Canaan Valley: How well do you know the trees of the valley? Can you recognize them in the snow without their leaves? Learn about our forests and practice some winter tree identification.

This place is a mecca for positivity, inclusiveness, and fun. I can bring my friends who have never skied before and they will have fun and I can bring big mountain friends and they will too. Great rentals, great food, great snow and trails, great music, most of all, great people. It is my spirit home.

— Colin Hughes

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