Human powered grooming

World Cup Joined: 01 Dec 2006 Posts: 580

I'm interested in low-tech solution to prep a fresh dump for skating.
I've never done anything but ski up an down a stretch of trail to compact it some.

My latest though is inspired by the donut and surfboard shaped inflatible sleds used by kids lately. These offer an even pressure distribution, and might even spread out snow better over the trail than the wind can.

I foresee one person on the sled, donut, truck innertube, or even rubber boat. One or more skaters in line or 2 pedestrians (either side of the trial) dragging it over the soft snow. Perhaps working down from a large compacter to multiple passes on much smaller, more firmly inflated sleds would work best.

Originally I had thought of a wheelless chariot. A plastic plate ~1.5m wide, hout strengthed on the back, and a handle going up for the person to hold on to. This would be toucher to drag along, but would compact snow better in one pass. I however fear it would be uneven, due to start-stop action not to be prevented. Might be might for a final pass though.

From my recent local experience with fresh dumps on dry soil, I think it's worth it to not wait with grooming until 20cm has been dumped. Especially for human powered grooming with low staff.

Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2009 12:39 pm Post subject :

From my experience you will not produce nearly enough pressure/area to pack it dense enough for skiing. It may be a good first step before skiing in a classic track.

To pack hard enough for skating I'd recommend a roller with substantial mass. A heavy lawn roller might work. Otherwise there is always side-stepping with skis (find a wide set for this) or boot packing the initial dump.

I'm getting flashbacks of boot & ski packing the Jump-outrun on a 45+ degree incline Confused

kaNUK

Posted: Thu Dec 24, 2009 2:55 pm Post subject :

Well, knocking the air out of the snow will definitely help to keep the tips from catching when you skate and I think it will speed up the process of making your own trail. You'll still need to compact it with weight, either by skating it, or other means. I wonder if a roller with knobs would work better than a simple flat roller. Perhaps take less mass to pull around?

You could probably make something simple with a plastic barrel and bolt some wood blocks to it. Then filling it with snow or ? (neighborhood kids?) to add as much weight as you desired.

Razz

I'm all for human powered trail grooming because there are so many great places to ski that won't allow any kind of motorized equipment to get the job done.

Posted: Sat Jan 02, 2010 5:39 pm Post subject :

Or just purchase one? $135

http://www.humanpoweredtrailgrooming.com/

World Cup Joined: 01 Dec 2006 Posts: 580

Amazing, thanks! Seems it's not that easy to make, unless you know the exact dimensions...

Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 3:17 pm Post subject :

That thing looks sweet! Be some nice resistance training!

xcskiforum 10K Joined: 02 Feb 2010 Posts: 5

Has anyone bought one or know someone who has?[/quote]

Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 11:55 am Post subject :

Nope not me. Maybe one could attach it to a team of dogs. Yeah, that's it!

xcskiforum 10K Joined: 07 Feb 2010 Posts: 3

I recently saw the human powered groomer as well. It looks great. I've been grooming my own skate lane for the last few years. All I use is a piece of plywood with a row of screws along the edge about 1 inch apart. This way it can refresh some of the ice that eventually shows up. It can also make it very difficult to pull. I hook it to a harness I wear then put the snowshoes on and go. The loop is about 450 meters. I have to do at least 2 laps to get it good, and 3 laps is more than enough. If the snow is really deep, I only use snowshoes for 4-6 laps then I grab the plywood. I've only had to do that once this year. Overall it works pretty well. I found that adding weights makes it really hard, and you don't get much better results. Stomping it down with the snowshoes works best, and that's a pretty good workout as well. If there is some fresh snow it's actually very easy to pull the plywood around, and you will get good results. There are only two of us that ski on it, so the "course" doesn't get too beat up. It makes skiing convenient. Some days I just don't feel like driving to ski.