January 2012 President’s Message.
A record dry December has not aided our efforts to open the Fourth of July area for the winter season and has made skiing close to home a problem. There is snow cover at Lookout Pass and skiable snow along the Northern Pacific rail grade down to Taft in Montana and the Hale Fish Hatchery above Mullan. Two days prior to Christmas I skate skied the rail grade down to Taft with my daughter and son in law. The snow cover was adequate along the grade all the way down, although it was rather slim on adjacent south facing slopes. Most remarkable was the walk through the Borax Tunnel. Normally large icicles hang from the roof of the tunnel, while water that drips from these icicles refreezes in mounds on the floor. On this trip the Borax was as dry as I have ever observed it during the winter. So the snow that has fallen there has remained frozen in the cold of December.
There is also good skiing closer to home off Fernan Saddle. The road up to the saddle was in frightful shape earlier in December. The approximate two feet of snow that came in late November was never plowed off the road. The last two miles of the road were two wheel ruts down the middle of the road with snow scraping the bottom of the car carriage. In many locations ice filled the two ruts. Going up was simply a matter of keeping moving. However, coming down in those two ice filled ruts was a nerve racking test of the low gears on an automatic transmission mixed with brake tapping and a prayer that nobody was met coming up the hill.
I am happy to report I was up at Fernan Saddle on the day after Christmas and thankfully the road has been graded. There is a foot and a half to two feet of snow at 4,000 feet. If you go to the road system to the south and east of the parking lot, you should be out from under the feet of the snow machines and you should be able to find area to ski and snowshoe. There are two large tank traps placed by the Forest Service to keep motorized vehicles out. These must be circumvented or crossed. There is also a resident moose to whom I recommend you give the right of way. Please be courteous and keep out of the snowmobilers’ way. They pay for the road grading and upkeep of the parking area that makes this close to home area available when the snow forsakes Fourth of July Pass.
The Panhandle Nordic Club is headed into a busy January. The weekend after our Tuesday, January 3rd meeting, the club will be hosting a combination Free Ski Day and Best Hand Ski at the Fourth of July Area on Saturday, January 7th. The scheduling of the Best Hand Event, the club’s single fund raiser of the year, on Free Ski Day, is a departure from years past. Since it is on Free Ski Day, no sticker will be required to park in the lot at the ski area. As usual, we will be manning the Panhandle Hut with hot drinks and treats and have trainers on hand to teach ski lessons (weather permitting) for those interested. In addition, we will be holding the best hand ski with all entrants collecting cards towards attempting to get a prize winning hand as they cover the ski or snowshoe course of their choice. All entrants will receive a complimentary scarf to warm them from the winter cold. Prizes are a departure as well this year with many focused on either trips or passes. A full list is elsewhere on the website. Snow or no snow, I urge you all to come out for the Best Hand Ski or walk in Saturday, January 7th. Please help support the club and its activities.
For a printable version of the flyer go to http://panhandlenordicclub.com/besthand11.pdf
The Panhandle Nordic Club will meet at 7PM on Tuesday, January 3rd in the basement conference room of the Fernan Ranger Station at 2502 E. Sherman Avenue in Coeur d’Alene. After a short business meeting, John Williams of the Silver Mountain Ski Area in Kellogg, will speak to the group concerning the sport of skiing in our area in general, how the demographics of skiers has changed, and the economic impact of these changes on on the area. In addition we can discuss how the club might partner more effectively with Silver Mountain which does not offer Nordic Skiing, to steer its clients interested in the Nordic Ski or snowshoe experience to the Fourth of July Area.
