Photos: heaven on the Ann Sipfle Memorial Ski Trail in the Arb

It’s been a winter wonderland here in Northfield and much of Minnesota since Thanksgiving. I took some photos yesterday afternoon along the Ann Sipfle Memorial Ski Trail in Carleton’s Cowling Arboretum.

I blogged about the trail back in December of 2005 on Northfield.org and in response to my inquiry about Ann Sipfle, I heard from Northfielders David & Mary Alice Sipfle who wrote:

Ann Sipfle is our daughter. She grew up in Northfield, and was a sophomore at Bryn Mawr College when, in November 1977, on a family vacation, in Vermont, she was killed by a drunken driver.

I also mentioned in that blog post that I had purchased my skis from Sun Dance Outfitters, a chalet-like store on 2nd St. where the entrance to The Crossing is currently. When I saw Carelton’s librarian Sam Demas today near the Waterford Bridge end of the lower Arb, he remembered hearing about the store and that recently retired Carleton library assistant Nancy Casper had worked there.

(Bonus: two photos of my niece, Ellen, sledding at St. Olaf’s Old Main hill on Friday afternoon and skating at Way Park on Saturday morning. Did I mention we’re in a winter wonderland?)

See the 2007 photo album or this slideshow of 8 photos. Below it is the 2005 album and slideshow of 14 photos… with better berries.

 

5 Comments

  1. Lisa Guidry said:

    Great pictures Griff!

    December 31, 2007
  2. Sam Demas said:

    What a great day it was for a ski! Just one small correction, Griff: I don’t “remember” the store Sun Dance, because I didn’t live in Northfield back then. But I’ve heard about it from Nancy, who loved working there, and was delighted to make the connection when admiring your skis yesterday.
    Happy trails,
    Sam

    December 31, 2007
  3. Griff Wigley said:

    Thanks, Lisa.

    Sam, glad you chimed in. I’ve corrected the text above to read “… remembered hearing about the store.”

    December 31, 2007
  4. Bill Metz said:

    I am an avid citizen user of the Arb cross country ski trails and I am grateful for Carleton and David and Mary Alice Sipfle for maintaining the trails. It is a great gift to the community.
    The beauty of the Arb attracts more than skiers to the trail. Runners, walkers and dog walkers also use the trails, which, unfortunately, creates an issue for the skiers….foot prints and doggie doo in the middle of the trail. So, I have two requests for the non-skiing users. One is obvious, pick up the doggie doo. The other is to walk as far to one side of the trail as possible, not down the middle and never directly on the parallel ski tracks. This will make the use of the arb and all it has to offer a pleasant experience for all.

    January 3, 2008

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