President’ Message: February 2008

A few years have passed since the area has seen the bounty of snow this year has given region wide. Fourth of July has provided excellent skiing conditions as usual, due in large part to the hard work of Van Bennett, Glen Truscott and the rest of our trail groomers.

What is more unusual is the fact that lowland areas like Farragut and the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes near Cataldo have consistently provided excellent skiing this year. Reports coming back from trips to Frater Lake, Indian Creeks and the Priest Lake Nordic Center all have the common theme of great snow conditions. The cold spell last week was a bonus to those who like to run fast on their skis. Both Fourth of July and Farragut were exceedingly fast.

I had a fast 12-kilometer run at Farragut Saturday morning before the big snow came in. The best moment of the run, however, occurred on the short orange trail. I was skiing it just to cool down after a longer run. I soon skied up on a father skiing patiently behind a little girl, maybe four years old. All decked out in a pink snowsuit. Looking down the trail I could see mom, breaking trail and encouraging from the lead. They were starting her out right with only skis and no poles to confuse the basics. The little girl was ebullient about the experience. She was so happy to be outdoors and so happy to be skiing with mom and dad. It took me back to another little girl, now grown into a woman, and the little red wooden skis that still wait patiently in my basement to introduce another young one to the Nordic skiing sports.

As I skated around the trio, the importance of introducing our sport to young kids early came home to me. As they grow up, you can pretty much bet on them getting into the thrills of alpine skiing and boarding. However, if my experience is any example, they eventually come back to Nordic skiing. This realization came to me about four winters past, when my daughter’s Christmas visit was quickly coming to an end. She wanted to ski Fourth of July before she left for Boise. As we passed the Junction and skied out Havin Fun through the clearcut, shortness of time required us to turn around at the mile and a half post. Turning back up the trail she remarked to me, Dad, I really miss cross-country skiing and plan to do more up by Idaho City this winter. She continues to make Nordic skiing a part of her winter activities. So you parents and grandparents, now is the time to plant the seed of Nordic skiing or snowshoing, now when they are young and their enthusiasm seems boundless. You will introduce them to our sport and the wonder of the woods in the winter.

It has been a busy month with day trips to Frater Lake, Indian Creek, the Priest Nordic Center, a few moonlight skis and the Rock Soup Event.

The coming month has a trip to Winthrop scheduled and the Best Hand Ski Event.

The Panhandle Nordic Skiing & Snowshoe Club will meet at 7 PM Tuesday, February 5th at the Fernan Ranger Station in Fernan. Parking is at the rear of the building. Walk down to the basement door to enter the meeting room. We will have a short business meeting, there will be a break to arrange trips and visit with each other followed by the program. Marc Kalbaugh will acquaint us with some computer based map systems that can be used to plan trips. These products now readily available on line or for a low cost can help you map distance, estimate elevation gains and even visualize the topography in three dimensions. These tools are applicable to winter or summer trips whether these be biking along a paved trail, skiing into a cabin or hiking to a mountain lake. Hope to see you at our February meeting.