So thanks to all of the web site readers, we greatly appreciate your traffic! And we'd be remiss without attempting to point out at least some of the dozens of contributors this season:

• The Skinnyski Race Team members, Ben Popp, Per Nelson, Brian and Abbi May, Jill Troutner, Jay Richards, and especially Scott Sjoquist and Boston Scientific/SCIMED who helped support the team. The team had some fantastic results and gave us a fun viewpoint into their race experiences. We're especially proud of their win, with the help of John Munger, at the 24 Hours of Telemark.
• Dave Johnson, Jay Richards, Eric Anderson, Doug Schumann and the dozens of others who kept us swimming in great trail photos.
• All the skiers who contributed trail reports, providing us with up-to-date information on where to ski (or not ski!) during the tough season. Big kudos on the reports from Woodland trails, Afterhours, and the Eau Claire area trails, which helped introduce some of us to these great trails. And special recognition to Mark Lahtinen for his insightful and usually quite humorous trail reports.
• Thanks to the Nelson gang, Josie, David, and Grant, for sharing with us some of their amazing ski stories!
• Denny Nelson for volunteering his time and effort to collect interviews of a number of key figures in High School coaching.
• Thanks to all the Minnesota High School nordic coaches and the faithful parents who kept us up-to-date on all the racing news.
• With the terrible early snow conditions, a big thanks to all those folks who organized short-notice races, as well as ski areas like Trollhaugen and Hyland Hills for open-skiing.
• And of course, a huge thanks to all our sponsors -- the folks listed in the Gear and Lodging sections. Without their financial and product support, we would have shutdown long ago!

With close to 800 survey respondents, we'd like to really thank all of those who took the time to help provide some invaluable information on our web traffic profile. It's taken a while to "crunch" the data, but we've finally finished. Before we dive into some of the numbers, remember this: The survey was voluntary, and only ran for a few weeks very late in the season (late March into April).

Profile

General

• Female visitors moved up from 21% to nearly 24%
• The site seems to be expanding its reach, although not necessarily in Wisconsin:
  • Minnesota 67% (no change)
  • Wisconsin 18.6% (down 1.4)
  • Michigan 3.2% (up 2.1!)
  • Illinois/Iowa 3.2% (down 0.6)
  • Other regions 7% (no change)
• And in Minnesota, the outstate crowd is picking up;
  NE and Central Minnesota increases helped to drop the metro percentage to below 50% this year, down to 46%
• The younger crowd (under 25) grew significantly, from 11% to almost 19%
• Those rating themselves as 'expert' skiers rose from 47% to 52%, while the novice crowd grew as well, from 4% to 6%

Trails

On the questions of most frequently used trails and top grooming, the metro area influence weighs in heavy. Como remains the most frequently used, with a number of Hennepin Parks pulling the remaining top spots. The lack of decent snow in the Cities this season was reflected in the grooming selections. Baker, which received a few snow clippers, was able to take the top position, but then it's some of the big guns: ABR in second, followed by Birkie trail and Giants Ridge.

With the poor snow conditions, many skiers explored new trails this season. The top choice in new found pleasures: Woodland Trails. Away from the metro, many skiers cited ABR and Telemark as new trails they enjoyed this season.

Lodging

Equipment

Shopping

Racing

In one of our new questions this season, we asked about factors in choosing a race. As in the real estate market, it's all about location. Here's the top five factors:

• 36% Location (how far away the race is)
• 10% Conditions (snow, grooming)
• 10% Schedule (does it fit in with the skiers plans)
• 9% Atmosphere (fun race, good organization)
• 9% Trail (course, terrain)

Seventy percent of the skiers said they pre-register, and over 80% said they would use online registration. Only about 20% of those with children said they would use a race babysitting service.

Quiz

1. What age group (0-19, then 10 year spans) reported the largest ski ownership per skier?

2. Of those citing Giants Ridge as their favorite lodging, what percentage was under the age of 25?

3. Baker Park was the top choice for grooming. What percentage of those voters were from the metro area?

4. For master skiers (those 30 and older), what age group does the most races?

5. And who (age group) trains the most?

6. What time of the year do most skiers buy their equipment? (Off-season, fall, early winter, mid-season, late winter)

Improvement Suggestions

• "Please make it snow more next season..."


• • "A new organization. Sometimes it is difficult to find the informaion I want."

  • "There are dozens of sites with "professionals" to manage and update information that are not done as well and as consistently as the two of you do with skinnyski.com."

  [Most comments were the latter, thankfully -- Ed.]

• "Further expansion into eastern Wisconsin of reports and events."

  [We need your help to do this -- skiers, send in those reports and event listings -- Ed.]

• "Chat room with free beer"

  [...then we'd have to card everyone... -- Ed.]

• • "More consistent coverage of college races. It would really help HSers be aware that there is competitive skiing beyond HS."

  • "Please, please, please cover the area's collegiate ski races. There is no consistent site to find race results. The schools have their own websites but the results are never complete until about a year later. If our daughter doesn't call us after a race we have no clue how she did. It was VERY frustrating this year."

  [Loads of comments along this line -- and we hope to provide this addition next fall. -- Ed.]

• • "Encourage all the stores to list sale stuff."

  • "More advertisements of good deals"

  • "I'd like to see more "advertising" (I know it's not that) from outstate stores. I don't get to the Twin Cities very often and spend most of my money outside of the TC area."

  [We strongly encourage our network stores to keep us informed of sales and specials, and we post the ones we know of. But we can use your help -- encourage your local store to send in updates, and become a network member if they're not already -- Ed.]

• "Maybe put some pressure on the people in charge of that ski tunnel."

• "Access to race results, trail reports, & classifieds, etc. directly from the front page; maybe through drop-down navigation"

  [We did add the drop-down shortcut menu on the front page about mid-season? -- Ed.]

• "awards for the worst birkie performances, and i would like to nominate myself."

• "Removing old trail reports - especially when conditions are changing rapidly."

  [The most frequently requested improvement -- again, we hope to provide a solution for next season. -- Ed.]

• "Not so many pictures of Kelly Wubbels!!! We train together for both skiing and biathlon... but just because she's faster than me doesn't mean that she should get more pictures on skinnyski.com!! :) "

Comments

• "What a dumb survey!!! My wife and I are avid skiers. We travel north many weekends to ski." (Anonymous)

• "I don't have any suggestions, only PRAISE. Keep up the great job!!! This is a must visit web site for me any time that I go online. I especially appreciate the dealers that offered wax advice during the races this season. A big thanks to FAST WAX, SWIX and TOKO. It sure makes that job a LOT easier."

• "You guys do an incredible job of reporting local skiing. Skinnyski has become my first stop resource when looking where to ski and what races are going on. Especially when conditions are changing daily it is good to be able to hear what other comments people have to say about the local trails before heading out."

• "I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your web site. You have brought the skiing community together giving us access to each other and to race information. In seasons when snow is limited I can get on your site and find a race to go to for the weekend. Also, I can check race results to see how I rank with my peers. This enables me to attach a name to a face which then enables me to meet more people that share the same interests and lifestyle as I do.
What I am trying to say is thank you for giving my lifestyle an avenue which allows me to learn more about something that is very important to me. You have done a great service to the ski community and we appreciate it."

• • "I love hearing race reports. Especially Brian May's reports. Perhaps it is a Walter Middy thing, but I really get a great sense of the play by play action of the race by reading his report from his perspective. Keep them on your team!"

  • "The skinnyski ski team has been a nice addition. I really enjoy reading the postings of the race reports and race coverage. It would be fun if there were skinnyski workout groups as well. Groups would post their workout schedule on the website and people could lookup where a group is training near them."

• "We have big plans to expand our trail system by 6-8K and also expand the warming area into the whole ski hut by building a seperate garage. The use that we got this year - as a direct result of skinnyski.com - has demonstrated to the people that control my budget that this is a worthwhile place to fund."

• "I'm originally from MN and raced for Stillwater High School. When I moved to Flagstaff, AZ I really missed the sport and bumped into your website. There aren't many skiers that race in Flagstaff and the snow hasn't been the greatest this year however the Flagstaff Nordic Center where I worked part time has an excellent trail system when there is snow and being at 8000+ feet of elevation makes it quite a challenge. I enjoy seeing familiar names on your site and in the results of races."

• • "Kudos to Dave Johnson for his work on your site."

  • "I really like the interview[s] with noted skiers in the area (Bill Simpson (my old high school coach), Mel Silbernick, etc)" [interviews contributed by Denny Nelson]

• "Thanks a million for all the work you put into this. It's wonderful for us with OCSD (Obsessive-Compulsive Skiing Disorder)"

• "I'm fairly new to cross country skiing, and except for this winter, I've increased the amount of skiing I do each year. Checking out this web site almost daily during ski season has kept up my enthusiasm for the sport. I particularly appreciate the trail reports and trail maps. I've printed many maps and take them with me, especially when trying a new trail. I also appreciate the links to gear information, like waxing techniques."

• "As a resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and president of the Pa. Cross Country Skiers' Association, I thoroughly enjoy the website...although I must say at times I become envious of the number of races in your area, as well as the snowfall you have (discounting this winter of course). I thank you for your work involved to keep up the site....you are a link to the wonderful sport of xc skiing, and we folks down here in Pittsburgh sure can use them."

• • "You must tell your sponsors that skinnyski is integral to the regional ski community and that their affiliation with it/support is important to skiers and to their business clientale. It's an awesome resource and the sponsors should stay involved."

  • "To new prospective sponsors: anybody who is into nordic skiing in the Twin cities uses skinnyski; if you want access to these skiers and their business, skinnyski is a must in your advertising strategy, the same as hosting wax clinics and other things. I buy at sponsor stores at least in part because of this."

  • "Best website I've ever seen, any topic, anywhere. I'll support any advertiser who supports skinnyski. We really need this website, especially in this age of poor snow, short notice. We have to adapt to changing conditions, and information is vital for this."

  • "As far as sponsors go, please let them know that even those of us who are not active skiers but have young skiers in our households spend a LOT of money on ski equipment and weekend lodging!"

• "It is amazingly good. I wish more races had web sites to link to yours, and I wish more people did trail reports, so we could get even more timely information in a winter like this last one, but basically KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK! My family and friends are always starting conversations with the words: 'Did you see Skinnyski today?' "

• "Thanks very much for your dedication. Now, take some time off!"

Survey Drawing Winners

• Kestrel 3000 Pocket Weather Meter. This gadget is the perfect waxing accessory for the ski nut (or coach!).
  Winner: Richard Clark
• Fischer Big Stix ballcaps, water bottle carrier.
  Winners: Kent York (ballcap), Jim Dufresne (ballcap) David Kettula (bottle carrier), Wyatt Dumas (bottle carrier).
• Swix products, including a plexi sharpner, a bar of CH10, ballcaps, and waxing manuals.
  Winners: Susie Newman (sharpener), Mike Ivey (CH10 bar), Marian Delaney (ballcap), Vern Winge (ballcap), Dave Landgraf (ballcap), Chuck Howe (ballcap), Bruce Henke (ballcap), Eric Anderson of Ironwood, MI (waxing manual and poster), Bruce Schoenberg (manual/poster), Christopher Keleher (manual/poster), Teresa Gonske (manual/poster), Kyia Malenkovich (manual/poster), Geoff Fenelon (manual/poster), John Strand of White Bear Lake (manual/poster).
• Fast Wax aprons, sample packs, and Base Prep kits (Six bars of wax in each kit -- these offer a great way to prep those new skis!)
  Winners: Alina Evans (apron/sample pack), Kirby Schuller (apron/sample pack), David Nelson of Medicine Lake (apron/sample pack), Darlene Nickols (apron/sample pack), Clayton Keim (waxing kit), Matt Mcgough (waxing kit), Dan Kueffer (base prep).
• Yoko very nice, lightweight vests.
  Winners: Deb Volser, Mike Meccia, Barry Warner.
• Atomic black ballcaps.
  Winners: Anne from Ely, Mark Moore, Jack Burkland.
• Pioneer Midwest selection, including a pair of Briko sunglasses, a wax scraper, and some kick and glide wax.
  Winner: Mark Ernst.
• xczone.com Tao of Skiing CD-ROMs and Ski Technique video.
  Winners: Nils Halker (CD), Greg Mikunda (CD), Frank Rynalski (CD), Jay Tegeder (CD), David Anderson of Elk River (video).
• Skinnyski t-shirts and 2000-2001 Season Highlight videos.
  Winners: Kurt Schroeder, Ryan Casey, Paul Kordus, Randy Adkins.

Quiz Answers

1. With age comes ... skis! The age group of 70-79, which there were 8 respondents, averaged 11.5 pairs. The next age group: 60-69, with 8.8 pairs.

2. Given its use as the State Meet and frequently college sections, 52% of those citing Giants Ridge were under the age of 25.

3. 90% of those voting for Baker were from the metro area.

4. Slower with age? Maybe, but the skiers in the 60-69 age group had the second highest ski pair totals for good reason -- they were tops for masters racing with an average of 6 races a season.

5. Not surprisingly, the young pups top the list with 0-19 averaging 12 hours, and 20-29 with 10 hours. However, third place is those dogged retirees, 60-69 age group, at 8 hours.

6. Nearly 50% of those surveyed said they buy their equipment in the fall. Less than 5% said mid-season.