While the vast majority of people have developed an all-consuming hatred of snow this winter, it’s safe to say that the frosty substance’s rep may have gotten a bum rap, so to speak.
After all, if you know how to use the snow to your benefit—say, cross country skiing—come the next blizzard, you might even find yourself singing a rousing rendition of “Let It Snow” just like the members of the Long Island Cross Country Ski Club (LICCSC).
Centerport resident Kim Schultze has been with the LICCSC for so long that she couldn’t even guess the number of years off of the top of her head. She said that the group meets monthly in Plainview every November through March—ski season, of course. But even in the off-season, Schultze said that the group still gets together from time to time due to the friendships forged between members.
“We’re just a group of people who enjoy going out and skiing, getting out to nature and socializing. We’re not a competitive club…everybody’s more involved in the social aspect of the sport as they are the sport itself,” she said. “We like having local snow—which we’re getting plenty of it this year—but otherwise, we take about eight group ski trips a year, but even during the summer we’ll usually meet for picnics or other things.”
The Long Island Cross Country Ski Club originally started in 1978 as an offshoot of the Massapequa Bike Club. Linda Maria Frank of Massapequa Park, a life-long skier, was one of the group’s original members as well as a past-president.
“I’ve been skiing for at least 40 years…I had dropped out of the club for a number of years, but I re-joined it in 1998, and I’ve been very active in it ever since,” she said. “Being in the club has been a lot of fun…I was able to develop my skiing to the point where I could ski just about any trail, regardless of the difficulty level. During the winter I ski upwards of 15 kilometers a day.”
Frank, a retired forensic science teacher turned mystery novelist who’s known for her popular Annie Tillery Mysteries series, said that the LICCS held their early meetings at the Massapequa Park Village Hall. However, when they eventually needed to find a regular place to hold their meetings, they ended up making their home base at the Plainview Public Library, where they’ve been meeting ever since.
“It’s a good group of people, we have members spanning all ages groups, and we go on really nice skiing trips together,” she said. “Most people who do these kind of physical activities are generally very happy people, and this is a very jolly, social group.”
Andy Suntup of Coram has been a member of the LICCSC since 1999. He first joined the club as a complete novice to skiing, and soon his affiliation with them had him tearing up the slopes in no time.
“I had never skied before, and someone told me about the club and I thought it sounded like fun, so I joined up,” he said. “The members of the club are the nicest people…I’ve developed a lot of true friends from being here. You get to go away and have fun with a lot of different people, and you can learn a great deal about skiing. But it’s the camaraderie that’s most important…we just enjoy each other’s company.”
Suntup notes that the members of the club are only too happy to share their knowledge of skiing with new members, as well as point out the best slopes to hit, the best lodging, equipment and anything else a novice might need to know when undertaking the sport. Monthly club meetings, he said, consist of refreshments, chatter about skiing trips, guest speakers from the winter sport and physical fitness fields, and planning group activities.
Linda Ilan of Plainview is a 20-year veteran of the LICCSC, and said that she used to be an avid downhill skier until she discovered cross-country. Ilan talked about the techniques involved with the sport and how it can fit into just about anyone’s lifestyle and level of fitness.
“It’s called skiing, but it’s totally, totally different…it’s halfway between walking and ice skating,” she said. “You go through woods, rolling hills, and all the while you have to propel yourself…it’s a different sport than letting gravity take you. But you can go at the pace that you want…we have people who are very good skiers, and others that go along slowly. The point is just to press down and glide, glide and glide some more. It’s wonderful.”
To find out more about the Long Island Cross Country Ski Club, visit their website at www.liccsc.org.
