Kobak cruises through the pastoral landscape that is Peru: The Scandanavia of Southeastern Clinton County

Peru is a nordic training mecca.   In the winter, Peru is just 20 minutes from MitcHELLbeiner Skistadion,  and only 45 minutes from Mt. Van Hoevenberg (the happiest place on earth).  But, Peru is best known for its tremendous dryland training opportunities. There are the classics, like the BIG HILL and the infamous HILL OF DEATH rollerski routes.   But, Peru offers so much more.  Great pavement and low volume traffic makes Peru a rollerskiing paradise.  The roads of Peru range from mildly rolling to massively steep.  When the sanding trucks hit the roads in November, Peru still offers plenty of pre-snow options.  Peru is home to Mt. Etna (aka Butt Mt.) and its spectacular summit overlooking the Champlain Valley into Vermont and peeking into the Adirondack High Peaks region (17 of the 46 ADK high peaks can be seen from the summit).  The climb up Butt Mt. starts with a long dirt road approach, followed by a steady ascent to the top.  Peru's highest peak, Terry Mt., has a modest grade service road to the summit.  Peru Nordic members can often be seen on this road in October/November doing long bounding intervals.  And, of course, River Road hosts the world famous Peru Bounding Stadium.  This short steep farm road takes exactly 1 minute to bound up, making it the perfect location for LT+ bounding intervals.  The training excitement formally kicks off with the annual Hill of Death friendly on September 16.  The Peru boys meet at Kobak's house, then rollerski over to Tommy Gun Moffet's place to pick up the Saratoga Biathlon Club.  Then, a no-holds-barred grunt-fest to the top of the Hill of Death ensues.  This year, post-race festivities at Chris Rose's house will include the premier of the eagarly anticipated feature film, INERTIA.