The Friends of Rydell & Glacial Ridge Refuges Association will be hosting a Snowshoe Lacing Workshop on Saturday, February 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The class will provide those in attendance the opportunity to lace their own pair of Ojibwa-style snowshoes.
Randy Sondrol is a member of the Friends of Rydell & Glacial Ridge Refuges Association group, and he provided all the details on the class. “During the class, the students will be making their own Ojibwa-style snowshoes,” said Sondrol. “The snowshoes are a wood frame with laced webbing in between. They have pointy ends in the front and back, and I like them because when you’re going through the trees and the brush, the pointy front allows you to get through the trees much quicker and simpler. It’s a very hands-on class, and the goal is that you finish at least one of the shoes so that you can reference that when you get home and make the second one.”
The instructors in the class will also provide instructions on the stanning and steeling of the shoes. Sondrol noted the eight-hour event is usually only enough time to make one shoe and that even those with some experience have never been able to finish both during one class session.
The class size is limited to 12 participants, and Sondrol said pre-registration is required. “With the class, a meal is provided since you’re there for 8 hours, but we do require pre-registration with a deadline of February 11,” said Sondrol. “A big part of that is because when you register, you pick what snowshoe size you want, and that helps us order those, and then we can have them on hand.”
The last time we spoke with Sondrol, spaces were available in the class, but he recommends signing up as soon as possible. “As of now, only one person is signed up, but the classes do fill up fast once we send out news releases and do these promos,” said Sondrol. “Every class we’ve ever held has maxed out on students, so if you are interested in making your own snowshoes, I would definitely suggest calling and getting registered as soon as you can because we have had to turn people away before.”
The cost of the class is $125, and that will include everything for the eight-hour class session. For more information and to get a registration form, you can contact one of the instructors Lynda Knutsen at 218-689-2430 or prairiemuskeg@gmail.com please put “Snowshoe Class” in the subject line of your email. The event will be held at the Rydell Refuge located at 17788 349th Street Southeast in Erskine, Minnesota.
