The best way for regular skiers to join a club is to ask your nearest ski shop about possible groups in your area or call the Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council between 9 a.m. and noon Mondays through Fridays at 561-4075. For more information on the American Blind Skiing Foundation, call 680-8287.
Downhill ski equipment costs from $300 for a complete beginner package of boots, poles, skis and bindings to $1,500 for top-of-the-line equipment. Rental equipment is always available at ski resorts. Cross-country equipment is less expensive, priced at $75 to $300 for skis, cross-country boots and poles. For local cross-country skiing rentals and maps, contact the Cook County Forest Preserve District at 261-8400.
DOGSLEDDING AND SNOWSHOEING
”Mushing,” says computer programmer Barbara Halley, ”is exactly what you expect it to be: It`s hard! But once you get going it is so much fun.”
Last winter, Halley traveled with a group sponsored by Northwest Passage to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota.
”The dogs love people,” Halley says, ”but you have to deal with the fact that they want to go all the time. If you`re not ready, they`ll take off without you.”
From Jan. 26 to 30 and Feb. 10 to 15, up to 20 area free spirits will travel to Minnesota to ride teams of six huskies through snow, slush and wilderness. They will also camp in tents and igloos, cross-country ski and snowshoe.
Contact Northwest Passage at 256-4409 for additional information on the two coming trips. The $350-$390 fee includes all expenses and equipment except skis.
”It`s something you always dream about, but never think you would ever get the chance to do,” Halley says. ”It`s the best trip I`ve ever been on.” ICE HOCKEY
The younger generation is ”a bunch of jelly cakes,” says Frank Quinn, who runs informal hockey programs for men, women, children and disadvantaged people at the Northbrook Sports Complex in Northbrook. ”You`re all afraid of anything below 32 degrees.”
That is the reason-along with poor maintenance of outdoor rinks and uneven weather-the seasoned New England native believes outdoor ice hockey is unpopular in the Chicago area.
”It`s a shame,” Quinn says. ”Outdoor hockey is much better than indoor. It`s the way I was brought up. You sit in the snow bank, change your skates and sit around a fire to get warm.
The growing popularity of indoor hockey can be attributed to the great accessibility to rinks. The National Novice Hockey Association (NNHA), in its fourth season in the Chicago area, plays league games at 13 rinks from south suburban Crestwood north to Highland Park. This organized, national program, which began eight years ago in Washington, D.C., comprises 720 players on 29 teams.
”The NNHA has brought a lot of people out of the stands and onto the ice,” says Elliott Root, the group`s Midwest region administrator. ”People who have never played before are realizing hockey can be a lot of fun.”
The association runs beginner, intermediate and advanced, or open, divisions. Individuals who have never played hockey are introduced to strategy and skill development before being thrust into competition. There is an age minimum of 21 for men and women. For more information contact the association at 734-5600 or 1-800-4-HOCKEY.
A complete supply of hockey equipment-pads, hockey skates, helmet and stick-can cost $300 to $1,500, according to Gunzo`s Sports in River Forest, equipment supplier to the Chicago Black Hawks.
ICE SKATING
Perhaps the most romantic winter activity of all is ice skating around a moonlit pond arm in arm with that special person.
And then falling, looking like a buffoon.
When ice thickness is a minimum of 4 inches, the Cook County Forest Preserve District permits ice skating at the following sites: Buffalo Woods and Crawdad Slough in Willow Springs; Hidden Pond East in Hickory Hills;
Papoose Lake in Palos Hills; Cermak Quarry in Lyons; Hambone Lake in Palos Heights; Powderhorn Lake in Calumet City; Wampum Lake in Thornton; Schiller Woods in Schiller Park; Deer Grove in Palatine; Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village; and Barrington Road Pond in Hoffman Estates. There`s also skating at Daley Bicentennial Plaza, 337 E. Randolph St.; phone 294-4790.
Vinyl and leather ice skates normally cost $16 to $40.
ICE FISHING
Sitting over a hole in the ice with a small fishing pole hoping the big catch is lurking down there somewhere can be a chilling experience.
”We froze and had a lot of fun,” says Kris Brahm, who used to ice fish with friends at two small ponds near his Lombard home. ”We`d bust a hole in the ice with a hammer, fish and sit around a tar can filled with charcoal.”
Many ice fishermen use $250-$350 motor-driven ice augers to cut through ice. A $25 hand-powered ice auger usually will suffice.
John Allen, a public information officer for the Illinois Department of Conservation, lists the following rules for ice fishing:
– An ice fishing license ($7.50) is required and can be purchased at bait and fish shops and municipal clerks` offices.
– Ice fishermen may not use more than two poles, or two tipups, with two hooks on each line.
– Holes cut in the ice are limited to 12 inches in diameter or less.
– Shelter structures on ice are limited to portable construction of metal or wood framework covered with canvas, paper, plastic or similar fabric.
– Each shelter shall have the name and address of the owner attached. After March 1, the shelter must be removed when not in use and not left unattended.
– All poles and tipups must be constantly attended and kept under observation by the fisherman.
The following lakes in the Chicago area permit ice fishing for groups when there is a 4-inch thickness of ice: Busse Main and Busse South in Elk Grove Village; Bode Lake in Hoffman Estates; Axehead Lake in Park Ridge; Beck, Beleau and Big Bend Lakes in Des Plaines; Maple Lake and Saginaw Quarries East and West in Willow Springs; Saganashkee Slough and Tampier Lake in Palos Hills; Papoose and Horsetail Lakes in Palos Park; Arrowhead Lake in Palos Heights; Wampum Lake in Thornton; and Powderhorn and Flatfoot Lakes in Calumet City.
For more information on ice fishing, contact the Cook County Forest Preserve District`s conservation department 261-8400.
PRACTICAL ADVICE ON COPING WITH THE COLD
Heard the advice, ”If you think you have frostbite, rub snow on it”?
Well, if you have, don`t.
Winter is the time for plenty of false information and dangerous myths-like this one-about coping with the cold weather.
Dr. Claude Zanetti, director of pulmonary and hyperbaric medicine at Edgewater Hospital, says that by taking proper precautions and understanding sensible treatment you can protect your body against hypothermia and frostbite and safely enjoy winter activities.
Hypothermia occurs when the body temperature drops below 95 degrees. It is signaled by drunken, clumsy behavior. When the body temperature falls below 90 degrees, Dr. Zanetti says, victims can become delirious and suffer heart failure. Frostbite is a localized hypothermia, which can result in the loss of an extremity.
To prevent and cope with these cold-weather afflictions, here are Dr. Zanetti`s suggestions:
– Avoid alcohol. ”Alcohol is the biggest underlying risk factor and cause of hypothermia. It dulls the senses, and you don`t know when to get out of the cold.”
– Dress appropriately for the weather. ”Wear layered clothing instead of one heavy garment for better insulation. Mittens with down feathers are better than gloves because the fingers can warm each other. Be sure your head is covered. You lose 25 percent of your body heat from the head. Don`t wear too many pairs of socks. If boots are too tight, circulation can be cut off. Try to cover any areas of exposed skin from wind.”
– Don`t get wet. ”Some people will exercise and sweat. Their clothes will get wet, and they`ll have problems with evaporative heat loss. The clothes will no longer serve as insulation.”
– What to do if you have frostbite: ”Limit cold exposure and move into a warm area. Put extremity in warm-not hot-water to bring the temperature up.” – What to do in cases of hypothermia: ”Get victim out of the cold. If you can`t do this, then make sure they are in something dry. Perhaps you could put them in a sleeping bag with another person whose body could help warm them. In extreme cases, hospitals would use an inhaler to help warm the victim internally.”
Any individuals experiencing major difficulties should go to the nearest emergency room for treatment.
