Category: Trail Report

Chief Joseph Pass received 5 inches of new snow overnight, grooming is in progress.

For the first time since the storm all ski trails were groomed today. Tomorrow should be great conditions for skate or classic skiing, or snowshoeing.
We have decided to not groom one section of the multi use trails this year, overlook will only be groomed out to sunshine, and coyote will not be groomed. Those trails need a significant amount of clearing with a pole saw that we plan on doing next summer.

Both snowcats are currently down, so grooming this weekend will be limited, but we will try and snowmobile groom some trails Saturday morning.

The grooming crew from Lost Trail has been out the last several days, and most of the XC ski trails are cleared and groomed, and will be groomed this morning. The only trails not yet groomed are the lower trails, Banshee, Joseph Creek, and Middle Fork. Our volunteer crew will be clearing those tuesday, and then they will be groomed along with the other trail.

Some trails were groomed today at Chief Joseph Pass. Which ones doesn’t really matter because it is snowing heavily. The real story is that we have had the biggest wind storm in years, and there were hundreds of downed trees. 150+ trees were cleared today, and CDT, Broadway and Timber are all skiable. Moose, gold medal, sunny meadow loop, and the lower trails have not yet been cleared.

Skiing Thursday and Friday not recommended.

Most of the trails at Chief Joseph Pass were groomed Tuesday. Since then it has snowed 4 inches of wet heavy snow. Tuesdays grooming setup like concrete, but anything not groomed is totally unsupportable, and because of the new snow it has hard to tell the difference until you sink. Temperatures are forecasted to stay above freezing until late Friday night.

Tony will be grooming Friday in preparation for the race. The goal is to set tracks on the whole course, but weather may not cooperate.

For Saturdays race expect either wet or icy conditions. Klister or skin skis would be a good call. 

The Rust Buster Classic Race is on. We don’t have enough snow quite yet, but the trails should be in good shape by next weekend.

The Grooming Crew started work at Chief Joseph Pass yesterday. Skiing for the next few days is not recommended, there are lots of exposed rocks and sticks, and a very uneven surface. If you skied up there earlier in the week, expect the conditions to be worse now. That may sound odd, but the point of the first grooming is not to make a good surface for skiing, it’s to setup a base. There is over a foot of snow in the forecast for the next few days, and once that gets groomed we should have some great trail conditions, just in time for the Rust Buster Classic Race on December 13.

Ski trails at Chief Joseph Pass are being groomed this morning, for the final time this season. Thanks for another great season!

Ski trails at Chief Joseph Pass were groomed yesterday. We will continue grooming through March 30.

It might be spring in the valley, but we still have great conditions for XC skiing.
Chief Joseph Pass was groomed this morning, and the parking lot is plowed.

Como was groomed this morning, except lower road. With the warm weather we are having please do not use the Como trails in the afternoon, you will leave ruts that are very hard to remove. Ski in the morning, or after dark.

This saturday at Chief Joseph Pass we will be having our second Free Lesson Day of the season. Lessons start at 10