S K I T R A C K S
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January Meeting
Thursday, January 14, 2010
7:00 P.M.
First Presbyterian Church
1220 W Main Street, Hamilton
TRIP TO MONGOLIA
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President’s Message —
Season’s Greetings!! and, thanks to the trail crew, we will all have great skiing during the new year at Chief Joseph Pass. They dragged and groomed the tracks which have never been in better shape. Although there may be inversions and gloom in the valley, the Pass over the Christmas weekend was bathed in brilliant sunshine and the trails were superb.
As I skied on the 26th in those wonderful conditions, it was impossible not to be thankful for the pleasure we get from being outside in such glorious surroundings. I was lucky enough to be skiing with our daughter who we introduced to cross country skiing almost 30 years ago close to that very spot. Ramey and I counted over 30 cars in the parking lot at 12:30 when we started to ski. It was overwhelming to see similar family groups, and groups of friends, share the joy of being together in such wonderful surroundings enjoying the simple, but miraculous pleasure of sliding on sticks.
Hope you’ve been out and if not, get going!
See you on the trails.
/s/ George Corn
TRAIL REPORT
As of December 24th, all trails are finally open and tracks set in time for the holiday week. Thanks to Ginny Deck, Marg Johnson, Karen Griffing and Kay Fulton, who snowshoed out Banshee so we
could open the last lower trail. The base is coming along, but we need more snow so that we can make the side hills better and level out bumps in other places. So keep putting your “jamies” on
backwards!
You can thank Ed Hastings for helping put out the emergency caches and the benches. Ed also discovered that the low temperature readings were suspect when he pulled on the bulb on the thermometer and discovered you could have the temperature as low as you liked. It’s being replaced
to keep anyone from freezing to death just by looking at it.
And let’s not have any more “whizzing” off the front deck in lieu of making the dash. We know who you are!
Have a great New Year everybody and come skiing as often as you can.
/s/ Mel Mooers
DECEMBER MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
December 10, 2009
by Kay Fulton
Following a delightful Potluck, President George Corn called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. There were 60 people in attendance including representatives from The Trailhead in Missoula and Valley Bike in Hamilton.
Membership: Jack Losensky reported that we currently have 264 plus 12 new at this meeting. At the end of last year, we had 346 members. We will, no doubt, take in more members as the season progresses.
Treasurer’s Report: Jeane Lippert is out of town. Ed Hastings has been handling the bank business so did not have all of the details of the account, but he did report that there is a total of $9,200 in the checking account. Approximately 12 of the 28 map sponsors have paid for their ads so far.
Upcoming Events: Ski Lessons, January 16 Extravaganza Drawing, February 11
Extravaganza, February 27
Mel Holloway, coordinator of the Ski Lessons, reported that a sign up sheet for instructors was passed out at the last meeting but that he is still looking for volunteers. You don’t have to be an expert to help since most of the people are beginners. There is a basic curriculum now and there will be a meeting of instructors prior to the lessons. Contact Mel at 381-1334.
Earl Philips reported on the progress of the Extravaganza committee, which is chaired by Carol Batcher. She was unable to attend. The committee has met and is ready to begin selling tickets the first of the year although Earl had some with him to sell!! The Extravaganza is Saturday, February 27th, full moon night, with a dinner for four prepared by Paul Sharp, a professional chef. Additionally, several businesses are adding some special items for 2nd, 3rd and 4th places. The tickets are $1.00 each or six for $5.00. Tickets will also be sold at businesses in Missoula and the Valley. BUY LOTS!
Hut Report: Earl reported that there have been three cancellations so far and he has filled two of them. If anyone wants to be on the cancellation list they should contact Earl at skihut@montana.com.
Ed & Pat Hastings oversee the general condition of the Hut as well as the supplies. Ed reported that when they were starting to clean the kitchen range in October, they discovered that the gasket surrounding the oven was completely gone and that the cupboards on the sides had been scorched. The stove could not be repaired and a new one had to be purchased. Through this process they also discovered that the old range had never been converted to propane and thus the temperature was always too high. Ed and Mel Mooers installed the new stove and V-1 Propane sent a service man with them to hook it up.
Trails Report: Mel Mooers, lead groomer, reported that the area had gotten about 18" and they had run most of the upper trails. One of the machines broke down on Vista View and they had to go back up on Saturday to get it out. More snow is predicted and they will continue to groom as much as they can. If, at any time, you are skiing and realize the area is getting a big deluge, please call Mel (961-3163) and let him know so they can get out as soon as possible.
Someone had broken down the barricade on Broadway & Gibbons Road, drove up Broadway and also burned up the barrier. Mel and the groomers have gotten together with the Forest Service to put up a temporary barrier until a better one, made of metal, can be installed. Also, since there has been a turn-over in staff at the Wisdom Ranger District, a meeting has been set up with Mel, some of the Board members and the new people to work out a system for regular communication.
Program: The Representative from the Trailhead discussed some of the gear he had brought and also let people know about the existence of the store and its location on Front Street in Missoula.
Tony of Valley Bike talked about his method of tuning skis by using a stone grinder. He has gone through special training to use this method and he described the benefits of this technique.
Como Trails Ski System — Tony also described the new ski area he and Randy are developing with the support of the Forest Service. They will be grooming about 40 kilometers of trails between Como and Tin Cup. They will groom for skate skiing as well as classic and generally intermediate and advanced levels. Dogs are welcome. They will post conditions on missoulanordic.org. Donations for fuel can be dropped off at the Valley Bike store. Eventually a new ski club will be formed to support this effort. You can get more details and maps at the store, as well.
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Membership Renewals / Dues
Annual Memberships EXPIRE November 1!
Renew your membership now!
INDIVIDUAL $15 • FAMILY $25
SUPPORTING INDIVIDUAL $30
SUPPORTING FAMILY $40
LIFE MEMBER - $500
MEMBERSHIP DUES
Nov. 1, 2009 - Oct. 31, 2010
MAIL TO: Bitterroot Cross-Country Ski Club
PO Box 431, Corvallis, MT 59828
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Type of Membership: (Listed above)_____________________
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BITTERROOT XC SKI CLUB
President George Corn 363-1163 gcorn@bresnan.net
Vice-President Earl Philips 961-0101 philips@montana.com
Treasurer Jeane Lippert 642-3379 jeaneenaej@cybernet1.com
Secretary Kay Fulton 642-3794 kayinmt@cybernet1.com
Membership Jack Losensky 961-3757 losensky@wildblue.net
Newsletter
Editorial Pat Leonard 961-4959 toddypat@bitterroot.com
Production Shermans 961-3355
Mailing Barb Losensky 961-3757
E-mail Reine Hilton 375-1952 hilton@mcn.net
Programs Ginny Deck 961-4829 gindeck@cybernet1.com
Trails Mel Mooers 961-3163 m.mooersmt@juno.com
Trail Map Michele Thompson 375-9524 micthom@copper.net
Webmaster Toddy Perryman 961-4959 toddypat@bitterroot.com
Website http://www.bitterrootxcskiclub.net
Warming Hut Reservations (USFS Wisdom) 689-3371