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Jon Farra was kicking himself a bit Thursday afternoon as he watched the heavy snowfall outside the Maine Winter Sports Center office in Caribou.
Almost a month ago, MWSC vice president Farra traveled to Rumford to bring back a snow gun that would be able to make artificial snow in preparation for the Eastern Cup Series opener, a cross country skiing competition which the Nordic Heritage Center in Presque Isle will host Dec. 15-16.
As of this afternoon, however, the snow gun may not be needed despite Farra’s endeavor. There could be about 12 inches of snow on the ground by the time the event starts.
The problem of an artificial snowmaker sitting around with nothing to do, while the real stuff continues to fall, is a good one to have, Farra said.
“Obviously, natural snow is ideal,” he said. “… Right now it’s cold and it looks like it’s going to stay cold for the next 10 days. We’re feeling pretty confident.”
Farra said more than 200 competitors are expected to participate in the Eastern Cup opener. There could be even more if word of Presque Isle’s snowfall spreads.
In the past six years the opening event held at other locations has been canceled at least twice because of lack of snow. Nordic Heritage Sport Club officials viewed the snow gun – an 8-foot, 3-wheeled Standard PoleCat – as a kind of insurance policy or backup plan in case there wasn’t enough snow for the December event.
“It’s an expensive proposition, especially for a non-profit club, but I think the gamble is a good one,” Farra said. “We just decided, if we’re going to host an event we’re not going to cancel it. We can’t be one of those places on the East Coast that says, oh we can’t do it, we don’t have any snow.”
The snow gun expenses are substantial. Most cost around $20,000, although the NHSC has engaged in a rent-to-own contract with Vermont-based Snowmakers Inc. Then there’s the generator needed to run the machine, which can run $700 per week to rent, and diesel fuel to run the generator.
Farra met an employee from Snowmakers Inc. at Black Mountain, also a MWSC facility, on Nov. 5 to bring the gun back to Aroostook County.
The snow gun is being stored at a farm in Presque Isle owned by Paul Cyr. The land has access to a McCain Foods-owned 18-inch water main with a hydrant on-site, a setup which is prime for snowmaking. Still, the snow would have to be trucked four miles from Cyr’s farm to the Nordic Heritage site.
Eventually, the club would like to dig a well at its facility to create snow and maybe even put in a system that would deliver artificial snow to the trails.
Plentiful snow, whether real or artificial, is key as events like the Eastern Cup fill the gap between the fall and winter seasons, before snowmobilers arrive en masse.
“The economic impact on our community is pretty substantial,” Farra said. “When you can get [several] hundred people here for a weekend staying in our hotels, eating at our restaurants, buying our gas, that’s a critical piece.”
The Eastern Cup is an event put on each year by the New England Nordic Skiing Association and is considered one of the most competitive series in the country, Farra said.
“It’s the primary means by which cross country skiers in the East qualify for national championships and elite racing teams,” he added. “It’s the highest quality of competition in the East.”
There are four weekends of racing at different sites in the East. Sites must submit bids to NENSA.
There will be races for skiers ages 14 and up with 1-kilometer freestyle sprints on Saturday, Dec. 15 and classical races (10K for men, 5K for juniors and women) the next day. There will also be youth and citizen races.
The Nordic Heritage Center is one of two MWSC facilities in Aroostook County. The MWSC also operates the 10th Mountain Center in Fort Kent.
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