J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 9

I hope by the time you read this you have

been out skiing at least several times. With a

hectic holiday schedule, I have been taking

advantage of the snow around Hamilton which

has been excellent although I miss our perfectly

groomed tracks at Chief Joe. January is bound

to be good!

Odds and ends: We have had a great

response to our request for volunteers for

“lesson day.” We will try to meet with the

volunteers sometime the week of January 12th to

coordinate the lesson. We have responded to a

request for some organizational advice from a

group in Dubois, WY that is forming a club and

thought our Club was the one they wanted to

model. It’s great to be able to share some of the

knowledge we have picked up over the years.

We are also working with the Forest Service to

make sure we get the Gordon Reese Cabin recoated

this summer. This is overdue and vital to

keeping it in good shape.

See you on the trails.

Long-time Bitterroot Cross Country Ski Club member

Leo Joron died December 24, 2008 after a lengthy

struggle with liver cancer. Leo was an active member

of the Club and will be sorely missed. We will have

more information next month.

Trail Report

BABY, It’s Cold Outside..........

Kay and I hosted December 13th and found eight

(8) inches of much needed snow. It was cold and

the area was deserted. We broke out a couple trails

and enjoyed the beautiful winter scene. By 9:00

p.m., the moon was out but it was -24º. While we

did a short groom once when it was -28º, we didn’t

go out on this night. Sunday morning it was -34º

and breezy! The sun came out and by ll:00 a.m., it

had warmed to -31º so we got out of there. There

has been little use of the cabin or the area because

of the temperatures. This has also affected the

snow conditions. The snow is very dry and powdery

and the grooming machines go nearly to the

ground. The snow just gets out of the way rather

than packing the base we’d like. It’s not covering

the stumps, logs and rocks sufficiently for us to set

tracks. On December 19th we found a total of 24

inches of snow and opened up most of the upper

trails and also ran Joseph Creek and Middle Fork

Trails, but there are many hazards still uncovered.

There was a cow and calf moose bedded down on

Joseph Creek near the bottom and they were not

anxious to move.

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

able to bring the trails up to the condition you like

and that you’ve been able to try out the new skiing

equipment you received for Christmas.

DECEMBER 11, 2008

by Kay Fulton

THE ANNUAL HOLIDAY POTLUCK WAS HELD THIS EVENING with great food and conversation.

President George Corn called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. There were 56 in attendance.

Membership Report: Jack Losensky reported there are now 363 paid members. We were at 296 at this time last year.

Treasurer’s Report: Jeane’s Report, via Kay: Income, $2,854; Expenses, $1,727.74; Checking, $3,343.29;

Savings, $5,798.05.

Upcoming Events: Lesson Day will be January 17th. It is being coordinated by Mel Holloway who passed around a sign-up sheet for instructors. The plan is to have a meeting about a week before the lessons and to use a syllabus, which George is putting together.

The Extravaganza will be February 21st. Earl Philips reported for Carol Battcher, the coordinator, who was out of town.

He also introduced Paul Sharp, this year’s chef. Plans for sale of tickets include: 9 businesses and numerous members selling as many tickets as possible. Tickets are $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. The drawing will be February 12th at the meeting. Contact Carol at 821-0950 or Earl at 961-0101 for tickets.

Old Busines: The Cancellation System is up and running, as reported by Earl Philips. There have been a few so far due to lack of snow and cold weather. To be on the cancellation you must contact Earl (phone number is 961-0101) and the e-mail address for cancellation notifications is skihut@montana.com

Trail Report: Mel Mooers reported that they have been grooming the 12 inches and encouraged everyone to keep on with the snow dancing!

Program: Mike Hoyt, an avid “photo hiker” and chronicler of the Bitterroot Mountains (and more) wowed us with his beautiful pictures from many impressive hikes and climbs in our mountains. Thanks so much, Mike.