Comments on: Home http://panhandlenordicclub.com Cross-country ski and snowshoe club, North Idaho Sat, 18 Feb 2012 02:23:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Geoff Harvey http://panhandlenordicclub.com/#comment-3585 Geoff Harvey Sat, 18 Feb 2012 02:23:08 +0000 http://panhandlenordicclub.com/?page_id=5#comment-3585 Snow Holding Up Remarkable Well at Fourth of July Pass This second and third week of February has been typified by cool, rainy weather in the Coeur d’Alene Area. Unlike the week before, the warmer moister air and some mist has reached up the mountains to Fourth of July Pass. If you have followed the web camera on the pass, bare wet pavement was observed most of the time. However, skiing or snowshoeing the area, which is a hundred to five hundred feet above pass level in most locations, provided a different picture. You only were required to climb up to the top of Loose Moose or less than halfway up Twisted Klister or Skywalker to have a light snow as opposed to mist settle around you. The groomers were out on Friday preparing the inner loop and Elderberry for the coming weekend. Taking the afternoon off, I skate skied much of the inner loop and then out Skate Away and Skywalker-Moon Runner to the Killarney Mountain Junction. It rained off and on but the snow held up well. On returning to the parking lot down Loose Moose, the newly set track and the groomed skate lane was new and untrammeled. Skiing Saturday off Fernan Saddle, I did not visit Fourth of July, but on returning Sunday morning there was a skiff of new snow on the lot and on the tracks set Friday. After a ski to Killarney Mountain and return via the Eagle Run to Elderberry, I was happy to see Friday’s grooming out to Ian’s Hut. I was happier to see the stove placed there during a short break. With the snow machine track to the benches and the set track from their back to the parking lot, I made the five miles back in full stride and rapid time. As I skied this well groomed track it was little different in condition from two days prior and two thoughts occurred to me. First, the snow and grooming were in great shape given the weather we have seen in the lowlands, but which was obviously not the weather the snow we had seen on the mountain. Second, it was obvious that few were skiing the area. It is easy to look out your window and see the rain and assume the worst for conditions in the mountains, but if the temperature is in the low to mid-thirties as it was most of the weekend, the higher you go, typically the better the snow you encounter. Maybe you had better things to do last weekend like carbo-load Saturday and run the Langlauf Sunday, but if not and you cancelled for the weather, you missed out on relatively good conditions, albeit a little slow. Snow Holding Up Remarkable Well at Fourth of July Pass
This second and third week of February has been typified by cool, rainy weather in the Coeur d’Alene Area. Unlike the week before, the warmer moister air and some mist has reached up the mountains to Fourth of July Pass. If you have followed the web camera on the pass, bare wet pavement was observed most of the time. However, skiing or snowshoeing the area, which is a hundred to five hundred feet above pass level in most locations, provided a different picture. You only were required to climb up to the top of Loose Moose or less than halfway up Twisted Klister or Skywalker to have a light snow as opposed to mist settle around you. The groomers were out on Friday preparing the inner loop and Elderberry for the coming weekend.
Taking the afternoon off, I skate skied much of the inner loop and then out Skate Away and Skywalker-Moon Runner to the Killarney Mountain Junction. It rained off and on but the snow held up well. On returning to the parking lot down Loose Moose, the newly set track and the groomed skate lane was new and untrammeled. Skiing Saturday off Fernan Saddle, I did not visit Fourth of July, but on returning Sunday morning there was a skiff of new snow on the lot and on the tracks set Friday. After a ski to Killarney Mountain and return via the Eagle Run to Elderberry, I was happy to see Friday’s grooming out to Ian’s Hut. I was happier to see the stove placed there during a short break. With the snow machine track to the benches and the set track from their back to the parking lot, I made the five miles back in full stride and rapid time.
As I skied this well groomed track it was little different in condition from two days prior and two thoughts occurred to me. First, the snow and grooming were in great shape given the weather we have seen in the lowlands, but which was obviously not the weather the snow we had seen on the mountain. Second, it was obvious that few were skiing the area. It is easy to look out your window and see the rain and assume the worst for conditions in the mountains, but if the temperature is in the low to mid-thirties as it was most of the weekend, the higher you go, typically the better the snow you encounter. Maybe you had better things to do last weekend like carbo-load Saturday and run the Langlauf Sunday, but if not and you cancelled for the weather, you missed out on relatively good conditions, albeit a little slow.

]]> By: Geoff Harvey http://panhandlenordicclub.com/#comment-3584 Geoff Harvey Sat, 18 Feb 2012 02:22:41 +0000 http://panhandlenordicclub.com/?page_id=5#comment-3584 Expanded Skate Skiing Available at Fourth of July Park N Ski Area For a number of years our groomers at the Fourth Of July Park N Ski Area have created a central skate ski lane along the Having Fun, Swoop, High Road Elderberry, and Skate Away Runs. The traditional Nordic track has been placed at the edge on one or both sides of these runs. Locations along these runs are narrow in places and curves often cause the track setter to wander out into the skate lane. The result is limited skating in tight locations and the 11.4 kilometers available was not sufficient. This year for the first time, the Nordic Club has an agreement with the U. S. Forest Service that allows the Nordic club to close Forest Service Road 614 near its base while the road is being groomed for skate skiing for 6.8 kilometers (4.25 miles) out to Rose Creek Saddle. The new route is typically groomed Wednesday or Thursday to put it in good shape for the weekend, weather permitting. Although the snow was late coming this year, our trail groomers closed the gate in mid-January and began grooming out to Rose Creek Saddle. In the future, the club hopes to expedite access to this route, but currently skaters can use a route from the parking lot around Having Fun, the Swoop, along the High Road and Skate Away to Skywalker (FSR 614). From this point it is 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) to Rose Creek Saddle, 11.2 kilometers round trip. Another 1.2 kilometers (three quarters mile) of Skywalker is groomed down to the lower Twisted Klister Junction. The route provides a 15.2 kilometers (30 kilometers round trip) skate with this new addition. The distance does not count the 3 kilometer run out Elderberry. The Twisted Klister system to the east of Skywalker is dedicated to and receives a lot of snowshoe and skiers with dogs use. This use spills onto Skywalker as an alternate route out or back. Fortunately this is a main forest road and is quite broad. Signs have been posted asking snowshoe and skiers with dogs to remain to the side and out of the skate lane. Hopefully this will be effective. In actual fact, the upper end of Twisted Klister or the Makin Tracks terminus is about at the endurance level of most snowshoers. Beyond this point few currently venture far out towards Rose Creek Saddle. In the future, the club hopes to replace the trail between Elderberry Run and Eagle Run to support skating. This addition will provide a loop that accesses the Skywalker and Skate Away Routes by another route. In the interim, come out and enjoy the expanded skate opportunity at Fourth of July. Expanded Skate Skiing Available at Fourth of July Park N Ski Area

For a number of years our groomers at the Fourth Of July Park N Ski Area have created a central skate ski lane along the Having Fun, Swoop, High Road Elderberry, and Skate Away Runs. The traditional Nordic track has been placed at the edge on one or both sides of these runs. Locations along these runs are narrow in places and curves often cause the track setter to wander out into the skate lane. The result is limited skating in tight locations and the 11.4 kilometers available was not sufficient. This year for the first time, the Nordic Club has an agreement with the U. S. Forest Service that allows the Nordic club to close Forest Service Road 614 near its base while the road is being groomed for skate skiing for 6.8 kilometers (4.25 miles) out to Rose Creek Saddle. The new route is typically groomed Wednesday or Thursday to put it in good shape for the weekend, weather permitting.
Although the snow was late coming this year, our trail groomers closed the gate in mid-January and began grooming out to Rose Creek Saddle. In the future, the club hopes to expedite access to this route, but currently skaters can use a route from the parking lot around Having Fun, the Swoop, along the High Road and Skate Away to Skywalker (FSR 614). From this point it is 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) to Rose Creek Saddle, 11.2 kilometers round trip. Another 1.2 kilometers (three quarters mile) of Skywalker is groomed down to the lower Twisted Klister Junction. The route provides a 15.2 kilometers (30 kilometers round trip) skate with this new addition. The distance does not count the 3 kilometer run out Elderberry.
The Twisted Klister system to the east of Skywalker is dedicated to and receives a lot of snowshoe and skiers with dogs use. This use spills onto Skywalker as an alternate route out or back. Fortunately this is a main forest road and is quite broad. Signs have been posted asking snowshoe and skiers with dogs to remain to the side and out of the skate lane. Hopefully this will be effective. In actual fact, the upper end of Twisted Klister or the Makin Tracks terminus is about at the endurance level of most snowshoers. Beyond this point few currently venture far out towards Rose Creek Saddle.
In the future, the club hopes to replace the trail between Elderberry Run and Eagle Run to support skating. This addition will provide a loop that accesses the Skywalker and Skate Away Routes by another route. In the interim, come out and enjoy the expanded skate opportunity at Fourth of July.

]]> By: Tom Burke http://panhandlenordicclub.com/#comment-3479 Tom Burke Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:38:22 +0000 http://panhandlenordicclub.com/?page_id=5#comment-3479 Volunteers Needed-Idaho Special Olympics- Regional Snowshoe and XC Ski races-Saturday 2/4/12-10am-Noon@Shoshone Park, Mullan, ID- Please come up to help w/timing and enjoy a great event in a great setting. Shoshone Park is east of Mullan toward the fish hatchery and adjacent to the old railroad bed that runs up to Lookout Pass so bring snowshoes or skis too. I look forward to seeing you Saturday morning. Tom Burke 665-0611 Volunteers Needed-Idaho Special Olympics- Regional Snowshoe and XC Ski races-Saturday 2/4/12-10am-Noon@Shoshone Park, Mullan, ID- Please come up to help w/timing and enjoy a great event in a great setting. Shoshone Park is east of Mullan toward the fish hatchery and adjacent to the old railroad bed that runs up to Lookout Pass so bring snowshoes or skis too. I look forward to seeing you Saturday morning. Tom Burke 665-0611

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