Bitterroot Cross Country Ski Club
Ski Chief Joseph Pass
Our volunteer grooming crew started packing down the trails at Chief Joe today. All of the upper trails have been groomed, but not the lower trails or the multi use trails. Some trails have good coverage and are decent skiing, others are stump fields, so keep it slow and pay attention.
Chief Joseph Pass has received several more inches of snow this week.
Our volunteer grooming crew will be out on Friday packing the trails down with snowmobiles. This is NOT going to produce a nice groomed trail like we are used to having this time of year, but it should give us a nice base to work on after the next storm.
Chief Joseph pass received 3 inches of snow this weekend. Unfortunately that’s about the same amount that melted during last weeks warm weather, so we are no closer to being able to start grooming, but there is snow in the forecast.
There is no snow at Lake Como.
Chief Joseph Pass received another 2 inches of snow on Monday. There is still not enough snow for grooming, but it’s getting close. It is now possible to ski most trails without hitting rocks or logs. Beware of skiing on Gibbons Pass Road, it looks good, but there are lots of rocks just under the surface.
There is currently 3-6 inches of snow on the ground at Chief Joseph Pass. Not enough to ski, unless you really don’t like your skis. There are also mud puddles under the snow in many places. We need another 1-2 feet of snow before we can start grooming, but as soon as that happens our volunteer snowmobile grooming crew will start getting the snow packed down in preparation for snowcat grooming starting sometime in December.
Last night’s wind storm brought down a decent number of trees, I cleared a few trails today, but there are probably still a bunch down. If you see any downed trees please let us know so we can get them cleared.
– Jesse
Please join us to help get the ski trails at Chief Joseph Pass ready to go for ski season. We will be having 2 work days, Saturday October 30, and Saturday November 6.
We will meet at 9 am at the Chief Joseph Pass parking lot, then split into groups to work on several different projects.
We will likely be working until 4:00 pm, but will have opportunities for people who would like to stay for half the day.
Bring lunch, water, warm clothing and work gloves. If you have a pruning saw or loppers feel free to bring them, but we will also supply tools.
Grooming is done for the year at Chief Joseph Pass, but there is still plenty of snow and the trails are still in great shape for skate or classic skiing. The cabin is still open for day use until the 15th.
