Newsletter of

The Bitterroot Cross Country Ski Club

Box 431, Corvallis, Montana 59828

The calendar says it’s almost time to unveil the 2002 - 2003 edition of our Chief Joseph cross-country ski map. I would like to give our BRXC members a sneak preview of our new commercial sponsors, as well as remind everyone of the continuing commercial sponsors who have faithfully supported the Club over the years. The new commercial sponsors this year are:

The commercial sponsors who are continuing their sponsorship this year are:

I want personally to thank all our sponsors for their support, and I urge all Club members to be sure to express your appreciation directly to the sponsors for their support when you patronize their businesses. Also, if you’re needing or wanting a garment with the BRXC Ski Club logo, Montana Shirts is set up to do our logo via transfers or machine embroidery.

It's time to start planning for the upcoming Continental Divide Classic to be held at the Chief Joseph trails. The race date is Saturday, December 14, 2002, with a start time of 11 a.m. This is a classic only event with 10K or 20K distances. Registration takes place in the Warming Hut beginning at 9 a.m. race day. There will be a post-race feed and raffle in the Hut. The course will be posted on the Hut bulletin board a couple of weeks prior to the race, in case you want to do a few practice runs!

Last year's race was a lot of fun both for those who were participants and/or spectators. Our great early season snow provided the groomers the opportunity to make a beautiful race course. Proceeds from this event will go to the grooming fund which we all know is a very necessary cause. So let's all rally the troops and generate interest in this fun event!

For more information on the race (or to volunteer your services race day), contact Tony Neaves at 375-0852 or e-mail him at cyclesmith@msla.net

The meeting, on October 10, 2002, was held at the First Presbyterian Church, Hamilton.

President Sonny LaSalle called the meeting to order at 7:09 pm. There were 64 people in attendance. The Treasurer’s Report for the month was $585 Income, $1478 Expenses, $856 in Checking Account and $5508 in savings at the credit union.

Leo Joron made a motion that the membership period run from November 1 to October 31st, and Leo made a second motion that we no longer issue membership cards due to the expense. Both were voted on and approved.

Annie Creighton announced that the Ski Hut Extravaganza would be February 7, 2003. The raffle tickets will be available at the November meeting. They will be $1.00 each or 6/$5.00.

Tony Neaves announced that the 2002, Second Annual Continental Divide Classic Ski Race would be December 14^th at Chief Joe. The annual ski lessons weekend for the public will be on January 18 & 19, 2003.

Don Shaughnessy gave a report on the Relay for Life that was held in August. There were 41 teams participating with a total of $77,715 donated. Our BRXC Ski Club team was #8 with donations of $2,311. Good job, team members.

Arlee Staley from the Wisdom Ranger District was at the meeting to discuss the Hut winter host system. She brought with her the sign up sheets for the winter months. We were given the opportunity to sign up for our selected dates. There will be an effort to fax over the sign-up sheet before each meeting. A reminder that if you cannot attend our monthly meetings the Hut reservation call-in program will start on October 21, 2002 at 7:00 a.m. The number to call is 689-3371.

The recently cleared trail through Picnic Meadows needs a name. Give your suggestions to Gordon Reese.

Our November 14^th meeting will be our annual membership meeting. The members donate the door prizes and you need to be present to win

Jeremy Lurgio presented our program for the evening on some extreme, awesome and bold backcountry skiing in the Bitterroot. The slides and stories were outstanding. Thanks to Gordon Reese and Diane Boyd for our good programs. November’s program will be Tony Neaves and Annie Creighton on ski gear

Winter is coming, and we are all hoping it will happen soon, right? The only drawbacks this time of year are that we are getting chased indoors by earlier darkness and the evenings are a whole lot longer! Time for some indoor projects and entertainment.

Now that computers have become more common in most households, it's quite entertaining to check out some of the information available to us in the nordic department.

For local info, our club's website: www.bitterrootxcski.net is a great start and will get better as more folks take advantage of its potential. Next, the Missoula Nordic Ski Club site: www.missoulanordic.org which you will find has many pertinent links. Skiing info for the Bozeman and West Yellowstone region is at the following addresses: www.bozemanxc.org, www.rendezvousskitrails.com and www.westyellowstonecrb.visitmt.com. To get more general info around the state, check out www.wintermt.com.

If you are looking for some very deep reading on everything from racing to equipment and more opinions than you thought possible about one subject, look up these sites: www.xcski.org, www.dreamofit.com, www.xcskiworld.com, www.fasterskier.com, www.nordicequipment.com, www.alpinasports.com and lastly www.ernordic.com. For an in depth view of precise ski tuning, go to www.ultratune.net where you will find the brain of Nat Brown. He is regarded by most people in the industry as one of the best ski tuners in the nation! He has put out a very good book on ski care and tuning.

Since my next subject is for the gear heads out there, I want to point out that the big S.O.S. fair in Missoula will be on November 16th & 17^th. It can be hit or miss, but there are always a few gems to be found.

If you are looking at new gear this year, here are most of the companies’ sites: www.madshus.com, www.rosignol.com, www.fischerskis.com, www.atomicsnow.com, and www,salomon.com. You could also do a search for these companies to get info on back-country gear: Voile equipment, Black Diamond equipment, Scarpa boots, Crispi boots, Life Link equipment, etc. etc!

A topic to look into and that will make your head spin is WAX! Every company believes that they make the slickest stuff and if you are not on their wax, you won't slide at all! Here are a few of the wax sites we know about: www.swixsport.com, www.tokous.com, www.jenex.com, and www,holmenkol.com. If I remember right, the swix site has a place where you can enter temperature and humidity, and it will spit out the correct wax to use for those conditions!

If you can absorb even one tenth of the information from this list, you will be able to hold your own in even the most intense techno-babble conversation! Have fun, and think snow!

In the September newsletter, the telephone number to call at the Wisdom Ranger District to make a reservation to be a “Cabin Host” for this winter season was incorrect. The correct (and only) number to call is 689-3371. This correct number is now included in each issue of the newsletter along with data concerning the officers, website, etc.

Renew Your Membership Now!

Individual - $10.

Family - $20.

Supporting Individual - $25.

Supporting Family - $35.

Life Member - $100.

POB 431, Corvallis, MT 59828

Name(s): _____________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________

City: ________________________________________ State: ____________ Zip: ___________

Phone: ____________________

E-mail:_______________________________________

Type of Membership: ____________________________________________

Amount enclosed: $__________________________

Newsletter delivery preference: (Check all that apply) Send by USPS _____;

Send by e-mail _____;

I’ll get it on the website _____.

President: Sonny LaSalle 375-0871

lasalmom@montana.com

Vice-President: Mel Mooers 961-3163

m.mooersmt@juno.com

Treasurer: Jeane Lippert 642-3379

Secretary (acting): Judy LaSalle 375-0871

Hiking: Ed Curran 961-5446

edann@cybernet1.com

Income: Mary Ellen Reese 642-3007

Instruction: Bob Brophy 363-2381

Membership: Leo Joron 961-8359

lpj@bitterroot.net

Newsletter

Editorial: Art & Kerstin Seifert 961-4411

ajseifert@earthlink.com

Production Peg Hampton 363-1866(Msg.),

363-1887(H)

Mailing Leo Joron (see above)

E-Mail Toddy Perryman 961-4959

brxcski@logonfrog.net

Outings: Jayne Brindle 363-4192

clp@bitterroot.com

Mel Mooers (see above)

Programs: Diane Boyd 961-4058

director@tellerwildlife.org

Publicity: Diane Williford 363-6290

Races: Tony Neaves

Annie Creighton 375-0852

montannie2@yahoo.com

Trails: Gordon Reese 642-3007

Webmaster: Pat Patterson 961-4192

clp@bitterroot.com

Individual - $10.

Family - $20.

Supporting Individual - $25.

Supporting Family - $35.

Life Member - $100.

POB 431, Corvallis, MT 59828

Name(s): _____________________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________

City: ________________________________________ State: ____________ Zip: ___________

Phone: ____________________

E-mail:_______________________________________

Type of Membership: ____________________________________________

Amount enclosed: $__________________________

Newsletter delivery preference: (Check all that apply) Send by USPS _____;

Send by e-mail _____;

I’ll get it on the website _____.

President: Sonny LaSalle 375-0871

lasalmom@montana.com

Vice-President: Mel Mooers 961-3163

m.mooersmt@juno.com

Treasurer: Jeane Lippert 642-3379

Secretary: Marion Deeths 363-7508

Hiking: Ed Curran 961-5446

edann@montananet.com

Income: Mary Ellen Reese 642-3007

Instruction: Bob Brophy 363-2381

Membership: Leo Joron 961-8359

lpj@bitterroot.net

Newsletter

Editorial: Art & Kerstin Seifert 961-4411

ajseifert@earthlink.com

Production Peg Hampton 363-1866(Msg.),

363-1887(H)

Mailing Leo Joron (see above)

E-Mail Toddy Perryman 961-4959

brxcski@logonfrog.net

Outings: Jayne Brindle 363-4192

clp@bitterroot.com

Mel Mooers (see above)

Programs: (vacant)

Publicity: Diane Williford 363-6290

Trails: Gordon Reese 642-3007

Webmaster: Pat Patterson 961-4192

clp@bitterroot.com

Warming Hut Reservations (USFS Wisdom) 406-689-3371

Website: www.bitterrootxcskiclub.net