TIDD TECH AT THE NORAM SUPERTOUR 

The new Tidd Tech Generation Two (G2) came away with top honors when the NorAm Super Tour visited Telemark resort in Cable, Wisconsin, January 21-25, 2004. Skinnyski.com has wonderful coverage of this and many other events. For the story on the races, including exciting pictures of the racing action on Tidd Tech groomed courses, check the results section:

http://www.skinnyski.com/racing/results/current/

(PLEASE NOTE: You will have to scroll down until you find a result titled Telemark NorAm Super Tour)

Read on for the story on course preparation for this event: 

Day by Day (or night by night) Course Grooming Instructions for a NorAm Super Tour event: 

Sunday:  Groom all courses, sprint and main race course for Monday inspection

Monday:  Groom all courses, set tracks on main course for Tuesday inspection

Tuesday:  Groom 800m sprint course for Wednesday races

Wednesday:  Buff the sprint course out prior to afternoon starts, groom main course

Thursday:  Groom main race course, setting classic “triple tracks” for Friday inspection

Friday:  Take out tracks and groom main course for Saturday’s freestyle races

Saturday:  Groom main race course, setting classic “triple tracks” for Sunday classic races

This is challenge enough for a facility like Soldier Hollow (site of the 2002 Winter Olympics) with a large grooming staff and plenty of man-made snow to allow snow cat grooming. Toss in a marginal snow base, a small volunteer (but extremely dedicated) grooming crew, wicked steep hills, and incredibly cold temperatures and you have a REAL challenge.

During the race week, temperatures got down to -15F at night, making grooming uncomfortable and the minimal snow base very hard. With the exception of the sprint event, all races ran on a 5.5km loop that included part of Telemark’s famous World Cup Trail. This trail has some very steep, twisty pitches that “push the limit” from both a skier’s AND trail groomer’s standpoint. While the single loop course helped limit the total number of kilometers groomed, it introduced another challenge: The same loop had to be repeatedly regroomed to meet all of the daily changing requirements of course inspections and classic/freestyle techniques.

Experienced groomers know that setting, removing, and resetting classic tracks can be a tough job, usually involving multiple passes, even with good snow conditions. The G2 not only did this extremely well in the cold, hard conditions, but surprised everyone by often renovating and setting tracks in a single pass! This capability results from the G2's precisely controlled renovation teeth which finely and consistently granulate the hardpack and the revolutionary G2 close coupled tracksetter which provides consistently firm down pressure and superior cutting action due to the precise transfer of force to the trackcutter teeth.

A small G2 was used for most of the tracksetting in order to produce the desired “modified best line triple tracks” on the somewhat narrow (and often steep) trail system. The “triples” are beginning to replace the old single set of classic best line tracks on elite level classic events set on the increasingly popular “short loop” courses.  While the triples may not provide skiers with the cornering performance of a single best line course, they enable large numbers of skiers to race simultaneously on a relatively small loop (it is estimated that in the classic races, for example, the 5.5km loop saw over 1000 “skier laps”).

The G2 also proved to be a very capable tool for preparing the 800 meter sprint course. This course was located at the Telemark alpine ski hill, and had a base of man-made snow that had been pushed around by an ailing snowcat. The G2 (with the help of some Tidd Tech Trail Tenderizers) did all of the leveling and final preparation. The G2’s snow transfer blades and solid toothbar design enable it to accumulate snow ahead of the toothbar, allowing an operator to move snow from one area and deposit it in another, all from the seat of the snow machine, using electronic controls. The G2’s free flowing compactor bed and proprietary two-stage dual flex comb resulted in the G2 providing a very firm course which skied fast and held up well.

For a more in-depth discussion of how and why the Tidd Tech G2 is able to handle challenges like those presented at the Telemark NorAm SuperTour, please click here.  For a description and pictures of the G2 and its many features, please click here.  We will continue to keep you posted as the Tidd Tech Generation Two machine sets new standards for cross country ski trail grooming.