S K I    T R A C K S

Newsletter of the Bitterroot Cross Country Ski Club

Box 431 • Corvallis, Montana 59828

D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8

POT LUCK MEETING!

“Dryness, Dryness everywhere and never a snowy storm,

Dryness, Dryness everywhere and how the skiers

snow and I, for one, am down about it. It is no comfort

(I had to delete the term “cold comfort”) that we are not

alone in our misery. The Yellowstone Ski Festival held

at West Yellowstone this Thanksgiving weekend didn’t

have enough snow on the Rendezvous Trails to ski.

They ended up bussing folks to an area 5 miles from

town and an additional 1,000 feet higher! Folks, when

West Yellowstone doesn’t have 10 inches on the

ground at the end of November, it’s dry.

A “Hazardous Weather Outlook” was just posted by

NOAA last night. While I’m eternally hopeful, reports

like this make me concerned about the “cover-of

Sports-Illustrated-effect.” The Effect, as it’s popularly

called, is a well-known atmospheric and sports

phenomena occurring whenever a sports team gets on

the cover of SI as #1 or NOAA calls for a winter snow

storm. Although scientific debate rages about its cause,

it is well documented in the literature and taken as

gospel by all skiers and sports fans.

The leading theory of the cause of the Effect is that

the hopeful thoughts of the faithful, in a process still

poorly understood, most likely generate a reverse

atmospheric, counter-harmonic effect transmitting and

focusing millions of negative ions upon specific, hoped

for outcomes which, in turn, create the opposite of the

hoped for result. Occasionally, occurring in individuals,

the effect is most striking in cases of desired outcomes

by like minded groups. The Effect does have several

important corollaries, minor theories and exceptions,

but I will save those for future newsletters.

While pure science should never attempt to be

practical, I do think there is a message here, which

stripped of its scientific jargon becomes my message for

the month, which is, just don’t think about “it” and “it”

just might happen.

In the meantime, there will be good food and a

great show at our December 11 meeting to occupy your

time. The potluck starts at 6:00 pm. Be sure to bring

food. Mike Hoyt will show us some of his wonderful

pictures of his many hikes around the Bitterroot.

Let’s Hear it for the Loose Caboose!

Loose caboose owner Malcolm Lowe has supplied

3,000 paper cups and a supply of Hot Chocolate mix and

Spiced Cider mix for the Warming Hut that should last

the season. Solo donated the cups and Mr. Lowe donated

the drink mixes.

The Loose Caboose has four locations in Missoula so

consider paying a visit to one of them when in the area.

Our thanks to you, Malcolm. Every sip will be

appreciated.

/s/ Mel Mooers

I hope by the time you read this, we have received

sufficient snow for us to have started grooming. This

will be the latest start since I became involved in that

operation. In ‘03 & ‘05, we first started to pack a base

on November 14. The elk hunters didn’t like it but

they walked in our tracks instead of “post holing” in

the compacted snow.

Kay and I took advantage of the four inches of

fresh snow on November 21st and skied on Broadway,

Moose and Timber/Solitude which are roads and lack

the rocks, stumps and other hazards. It was great to get

out and enjoy the area again. Do your Holiday

shopping early so you can take advantage of the snow

once it comes.

The Extravaganza is our biggest fund raiser and the money goes to pay for the grooming expenses. Last year, thanks to Linda Stoudt, we made about $1,300. The tickets are $5 each or 6 for $25. You can buy tickets at the meetings, Valley Bike, Chapter One or by contacting Carol at 821-0950 or e-mail (battcher@wildblue.net)