12/29 Trail Update and possible "Annual Resolution Race" on Jan 10th or 11th!

from Clay:
Hi all,

Since there is some activity on the trails with the new snow, mega-bad wind and subsequent tree-fall, I thought I'd send an update.

So yeah, the wind did a number on all the weak trees around the trails.  I estimate that close to 50 trees fell, many in clusters of 5 to 10 trees.  That has made for a big mess to clean up, and with only a couple of us, it's been slow progress.  But the good news is that it's getting close to being done.

To get out there, we did pull a groomer through the trails, so there is a little bit of "groomed" trail open for skiing.  I hope to finish that up this evening, pending getting the tree cutting job all done.  The last big snags have to be cleared off of Dave's Dogleg, but the rest of the system should be clear now.

Please take some time, if you go out to ski, to pick up some of the debris (branches, sticks, etc.) in those bad spots where we cleared out the deadfall.  That stuff is a mess and although we did clear a lot of it out when we cleared the big trees, we couldn't get it all.

Coverage is still thin and you'll certainly hit a thing or two here and there, but some spots look great.

After this first round of work, we'll take a break and probably won't get around to grooming until next week.  Dave is gone, and I will likely be doing stuff with my family over the holiday weekend.

Please consider renewing your membership if you haven't already this year. We can't operate without it (we're spending a fortune on chainsaw maintenance this year!).  Thanks to those who have. You can renew/join/donate online here: http://www.newmexicosportsonline.com/events/details.aspx?id=10386

One last thing:  if things look good after this round of storms, we may hold the "Annual Resolution Race" on either the 10th or 11th of January.  I'll update on that as we know for sure (via email, on our facebook page and here on the blog).  It's FREE and hopefully we can also do a fun event for the kiddos too.  

Trailwork update from 11/9 anf for 11/15-16

We had a small, but effective group on Sunday.  There were various nagging items that had to be checked off the "to-do" list, most of which got done.  We also managed to string up one row of shade fence from Point A, down to the end of the fencing.  

All of the fencing rolls are out and distributed along the front hill, with the rest at Point A.  Lots of trees had fallen on the "hard" field fence, requiring some awkward sawing and then repair of the field fence.  I really hope this wind didn't result in more.  That is not a quick and easy job!

Anyway, there are more zip ties on order (we ran out), and I think Paul Graham will be picking more up locally for this coming weekend's fencing hanging work group.  

Paul and Kristina Brown will be heading up the fencing project.  I'll get more information from them on times, etc. on the work groups.  It should go quickly if we can get a few (as many as possible!) hands working on it.

Looks like the weather will me more like winter by the weekend, so keep an eye on that.  

Overall, the trail is looking pretty good, actually.  Like I said, I hope todays high winds didn't result in a whole bunch more fallen trees.  It's getting tiring cutting those things out.  

--Clay

Snow is here and RMYC trail work thanks to SWNSC and USFS!

 From Lynn B:
Yes, the Rocky Mountain Youth Corp experienced it [snow today, Oct 10th] first hand - blizzard conditions with lightening.  We finally had to call it a day around 2:00 PM. - but they plan to be back at it tomorrow.  The crew is rebuilding the trail from the top of Pajarito Mountain to the connection in Pajarito Canyon.  What a spectacular trail with incredible views - colorful aspens all white with snow.  If they can finish, it will be used for the Jemez 50 run next year.  This is all possible thanks to Clay for getting the contract established with RMYC and all the volunteer hours from the club and community that met the 50% match for the required funding. And a special thanks to Craig Martin who thrashed his way up and down the mountain designing and laying out the trail in advance.  The project went forward despite the government shut down, because it is administered through the SWNS Club.  
So thanks everyone for making this possible!
Think warm thoughts for the RMYC youth club who are camping at Camp May this week. 

Looking ahead to trail work items for this coming season.

Hi all,

Anybody seen the trails lately?  I haven't been up there as much this summer, but I'm sure that with this rain we've had, they're pretty badly "overgrown."  There are also several trees down and logs to be cut and moved.

The soft plants are not a problem, but the aspen shoots are going to be bad.  Further, we still have a few areas where the fire actually burned the ground (consisting of organic materials) and subsequent erosion resulted in a pretty significant loss of trail.

I plan on going over a maintenance/rehab plan with the Espanola Ranger District.  Hopefully, we will be able to do a little more mechanized trail reconstruction, but that is not for sure at this point.

At any rate, we will need to plan on doing some tree cutting and aspen shoot/brush clearing to get the trails in shape this fall.  Personally, I won't be planning on doing any "heavy" work until October, but might find some opportunities to go cut some aspen shoots.

We now have an "official" club-owned brush cutter that works like a weed-eater, but has a pretty serious blade on it that can cut up to about a 2" tree stalk.  If anyone is handy with that and wants to get a jump on things, we can meet to get it up and running.  I've used my own personal one for a few years now, and it can clear those aspen/locust shoots about 100 times faster than the hand loppers that we've all killed our backs while using over the years.

Over the next several weeks, I'll try to get some things organized for our annual fall work parties.  I'll also try to get a list of things we will need to do to get prepared for the season.

For sure, we have:

1. cut & clear the aspen/locusts

2. string up the ~1,500 meters of shade fencing

3. clear the downed trees from the trails

Those are the three primary things that we must get done.  Cutting the downed trees is not so much of a problem for the club, but the aspen shoots and fence hanging always take a lot more time and effort than we all realize.  We don't have to get it all accomplished all at once.  The fencing can be the last thing we do, sometime in November.

Hope you've all had fun, healthy and active summers.  Looks like we might be in for a somewhat improved winter.  Usually, if there is more active rains in the summer, then the winters are better...we'll see!

-Clay

Tree Planting Project is a GO for tomorrow and Saturday (April 12, 13)

From Clay:

I just spoke to Lynn Bjorklund of the Espanola Ranger District (SFNF), and she said that the big tree planting project up at Canada Bonita is definitely a "GO" for tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday.  They are planning on getting started at 9:00 AM both days.  

However, because of the snow, there are some issues with scheduling with one of the contractors working on forest rehab projects, so next week's scheduled days have to be postponed until the following weekend (Apr. 27, 28).

As a side:  we still have all of the shade fencing hanging, so it needs to be removed, rolled up, and stored away for the summer.  We can work on it a bit this weekend and throughout next week, or whenever we can get to it.  Last year, we had a good crew and lots of hands sure made it a lot quicker work.  The 3 or 4 years prior to that were rough with only a couple of folks out plus whatever kids I could wrangle into helping me on week nights.  

The fencing is probably our biggest job task all year, and is crucial to the whole operation.  Please consider setting aside some time to help us take it down and store it away. 

If you do make it out to the planting project, please wear sturdy clothes, footwear, gloves, sunglasses, etc.  Also bring water and snacks.  Same goes for the fence take-down work.  Since the fencing is strung up with plastic zip ties, I bring up little wire snips and or needle-nose pliers to snap them off and then I put them into a plastic shopping bag for disposal.  A Leatherman works well too.

Hope to see you all out for some spring projects!

Trails Groomed 2/25/13

Dave groomed the entire trail system for skate, and most of the upper trails for classic. It skied GREAT at lunch today 2/26, you could ski the entire front hill and all of the burn zone. The lower part of the trail will probably have ample bare spots by wednesday, but the upper trails should be good until the weekend. There is a mid meadow trail and a real loop on the NEW caldera part of the trail. Go and get some great skiing while it is still cold. There is at least one tree that was down and left some serious detritus on the trail, may be more with the winds. Watch the drifiting in the meadow, portions of the mid meadow and caldera trails are pretty soft. etc. etc. Great skiing while we got it, get some...

Lunch ski 2/26, from the Caldera portion of our trails:

Best Conditions of the Year!!! 2/21/2013

posted on behalf of Clay, SWNSC club prez:

What a difference a storm can make.  That was some much needed heavy snow.

Ken and Dave just got done grooming everything out to perfection, and added the anticipated Canada Bonita drainage trail (the outer meadow) from the top of the Valles Caldera section, down to the Point M intersection.  That is the best trail we have when we can get it in.  It is groomed for both skate and classic.  That puts the trail system up to about 15 kilometers!

Get up there and get in some of the best skiing of the year.  Hopefully we'll be able to hold out until at least mid-March.

Ahem, hat in hand here... if you haven't renewed your membership or made a donation to the club, please think of us.  We're trying to keep things running on bailing wire and duct tape most of the time, and it would be nice to upgrade some of our grooming equipment.  Everything we have is so old and worn out.  The guys are still making it work, though. Click here to renew membership and/or make your tax deductible donation now - you can request an electronic tax deductible receipt with it. Just click through registration and choose donation amount instead of membership fees from the required category dropdown menu.

Thanks, and here's to our best skiing of the season!

Trail/grooming update Feb 13th, 2013

Ken K groomed the trails yesterday evening. Here is the update:

All trails groomed for classic and skate.  Thin spots and rocks remain up to Point B.  Excellent track above, klister with a hard wax on top should work great.  The track really looked nice on the upper trails and meadow.  The lower road and main trail only got one pass up to the B1? Cutoff.   I groomed all of the trails above J first so they got an extra pass.  Should hold very nicely up there into the weekend if we refresh the skate lane.  

New photos posted and list of upcoming events!

Hey everyone, 

Hope you have been enjoying winter! A whole lot of SWNSC members and friends certainly have been!

Here you will find albums from Chama Chile Classic events (MLK weekend), NM Cup/Low O2 events (Jan 26-27 weekend) and Alley Loop photos from last weekend.

http://picasaweb.google.com/102429734917982531356 or you could just hit the Photo Gallery tab from our homepage anytime http://swnordicski.org/

A few other folks may have photos they'd like to share from these events I'm sure. 

Matt D, Max L, Ellen G, Elena/Tarik, Karen K - please email me if you would like to add any photos to these albums. 

Race reports, xc ski stories, anyone? Please post here on our blog!

Tri/non-ski friends: Don't let winter pass you by while you are getting utterly bored if not burnt out on the trainer/treadmill! Get out and enjoy the outdoors while taking your training to a whole new level! Don't know where to begin? -- Head to Enchanted Forest for a day or the whole weekend, rent some gear and take some lessons. You will be hooked in no time!

There are plenty of great places to stay in Red River, but Golden Eagle Lodge in particular has always been super accommodating to xc skiers and offers suites with kitchenettes for those needing to cook. Although best place is of course the yurt at Enchanted Forest if it isn't already booked.

Our trails are also getting regularly groomed thanks to our Master Groomer Dave and his helpers as you can see by the trail updates here. Plenty of places to have winter fun around here (see list below for next few weekends)!

And get the kids out - it may be frustrating/hard to get going with kids sometimes, but so worth it once you are out having fun!

Next up:

Feb 9-10 Pagosa Winterfest is coming up this weekend - less than a 3 hour drive from Los Alamos. Great events for kids, citizens and racers, including the super fun Red Ryder BB gun biathlon! The hot springs afterwards really make this a spectacular event weekend!

Feb 16-18 President's day weekend: Mt Taylor Quadrathlon. Those not helping/participating in the quad, can head to Enchanted Forest - if you are renting call ahead to book your rental - it gets busy!

Feb 23-24 Just Desserts Eat and Ski at Enchanted Forest or Leadville Loppet on the Mineral Belt Trail in Leadville.

March 2-3 Snow Mountain Stampede for those willing to drive (2 days of races with kids races every day) OR Pagosa Spring Quad Challenge OR ski/snowshoe/sled/yurt Enchanted Forest, Pagosa Springs, our trails etc. 

There are photos from most of these events from last few years up on SWNSC Photo Gallery.

Don't miss out on winter!

New Mexico Cup Nordic and Snowshoe Updates, Chama photos

The 40th annual Chama Chile Classic is a wrap.  It was fantastic, as usual, but the weather made it even more amazing. 

Some great pictures and some videos of the event - click here

Coming up this weekend is the NM Cup - Low O2 Challenge (NM state championship) events at Enchanted Forest.  There will be both classic and skate ski races, plus the USSSA national championship-qualifier snowshoe race.

Based on some feedback from prior years, we're going to alter the skate ski races a bit to suit a wider range of abilities. In the past, we've climbed all of the long hills at EF, but we'll take a lot of that out this year, and offer some more moderate "cruiser terrain" for all distances, including the long race. The 5km and 10km events will certainly be more do-able for anyone. For those of you who are familiar with EF, we'll utilize "Powder Puff" and "March Hare" more, and less of "Northwest Passage" and "Long John."  It'll still be a challenge, though.

The classic-style events will offer the same great "UNM" course that is used for the NCAA invitational (later in February). That one will be 1 lap for the 5km course, or 2 laps for the 10km course. It's challenging, but not too hard and a lot of fun.

See details at www.efxc.com

Check out those pictures. Snow has been great, so don't miss out on winter. It'll be hot and time to pile on the bike miles soon enough...

Online club membership and donations

Hi all,

After some ado, we finally have very nice online club membership registration and donations capabilities thanks to New Mexico Sports Online.

To register, renew and/or donate to the club, simply go to:

http://www.newmexicosportsonline.com/events/details.aspx?id=497

That is our club's registration site.  I'll have to get this link up onto the website, along with many other updates, but this link should work.

Clay

NM Cup Winter Sport Series

From our club prez, Clay M.:
Happy Holidays to everyone.  I wanted to get the news and information out to everyone on the New Mexico Cup Winter Sport Series.  It is a combination point series that comprises both cross-country skiing and snowshoe competitions. Essentially, there are three major events that are participating this year (but will likely be expanded in the future).  The events are listed below in order of their respective date.  A big thanks to the folks at Enchanted Forest for hosting so many events this year (currently GREAT ski conditions, BTW), including the Low O2 Mountain bike race.  More to come in the future!

New Mexico Cup Series general information:
http://www.enchantedforestxc.com/events/races-coming/new-mexico-cup-low-o2-challenge-ski-race-february-13th

Santa Fe Striders Snowshoe Classic (Jan. 12):
http://www.santafestriders.org/race_info/event_info.aspx?eventname=SnowShoe2013

Chama Chili Ski Classic (Jan. 19-21):
http://www.chamaski.com/

Enchanted Forest Low O2 Challenge (Jan 26-27):
http://www.enchantedforestxc.com/events/events-calendar/view/16

Additionally, there are other local winter events that you might consider:

* Southwest Nordic Ski Club training time trial (5km or 10km freestyle, no entry fee) at the Pajarito/Canada Bonita Nordic trails, Jan. 5;
www.swnordicski.org

* The Alley Loop, Crested Butte, CO, Feb. 2, 2013 (www.cbnordic.org)

* Mt. Taylor Quadrathlon (www.mttaylorquad.org)

* Pagosa Springs Nordic Events (list below, details can be found on www.PagosaNordic.com):

FREE Learn to Cross Country Ski Clinics
Saturdays, 9-11am, Dec. 15th / Jan 12th  / Feb. 2nd

Free Dog Harness Demo Day, Clinic and Fun Race
Saturday and Sunday, January 5-6, 2013

Pagosa Winter Fest Nordic Ski Races
February 9-10, 2013/ Saturday-Sunday

'PAGOSA PAW' Dog Sled, Canine Skijoring and Cani-Cross Races
February 23-24, 2013 / Saturday and Sunday
(Location: Kuhn Ranch)

Pagosa Springs Quad Challenge
March 03, 2013 ~  Sunday

Comments in Support of Chama Chile Ski Trails by TODAY (Jan 31st)!

Apparently the snowmobilers have also been writing in a lot regarding this closure, so it is very important that we get as many comments in support of it as we can. To support closure of Chama Chile Ski Trails to motorized (snowmobilers) traffic please send your comment in by end of TODAY to  amjones@fs.fed.us  (the longer email address listed below bounced for a few people). If you need a sample message to copy you may use/modify this one as you see fit:

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This letter is in support of the closure of Windy Point to snowmobiling. 

Reserving this small area for xc skiing and snowshoeing will help diversify and strengthen local economy and provide recreational opportunity to a wider segment of population.

The Chama Chile Ski Classic that uses that area for their event, should have the right to limited (grooming only) motorized access as it is a historic event. It is the oldest xc ski race in the southwest and is attracting 100s of people every year (as well as non-racers who love to use the groomed tracks to ski and snowshoe for weeks after the event underlining the need and demand for this recreation and resulting need for safety in the area).

This closure would take nothing away from snowmobilers due to the modest size of this area especially when compared to the size of the adjacent spaces that are already open to motorized access.

Please close Windy Point to motorized vehicles!

--------------------------------------------------------------------

see below regarding details of the closure proposal etc.

---------- Forwarded message ----------

It is requested that all comments on this closure be received by January 31, 2012 in order to be most

effectively considered. 

Dina

Date: January 15, 2012
To: Skiers and Snowshoers
From: Chama Valley Outdoor Club

Issue: Rio Grande National Forest Needs Your Comments By January 31
Topic: Winter Closure for Chama Chile Ski Trails Area or Windy Point (see
attachment)

On January 11, the Rio Grande National Forest published a call for comment
to close Windy Point, the site of the Chama Chile Ski Classic, to winter
motorized use for up to 5 years. This is the first step in the scoping
process for our special use permit to continue grooming the trails after
the Martin Luther King race weekend. Please find attached a PDF file of
the notice from the Rio Grande website with more information.

WE NEED YOU TO SEND COMMENTS TO THE FOREST IN SUPPORT OF THIS CLOSURE!

The Forest Service needs to justify this closure, and we can provide that
justification. Please tell the Forest Service to enact the closure for
these reasons:

1. Skiers and snowshoers need a space in the Cumbres Pass area without
snowmobiles where they can pursue quiet winter sports.

2. The proposed closure goes a long way to eliminate the safety and
social conflict issues inherent in mixing winter motorized and
non-motorized use.

3. The Windy Point location of approximately 500 acres is well defined
geographically.

4. Windy Point historically has been a skier area; the 39th Chama Chile
Ski Classic was just held last weekend.

To get comments in as quickly as possible, we recommend that you email to:
comments-rocky-mountain-rio-grande-conejos-peak@fs.fed.us

This is your opportunity to help make groomed trails on Cumbres Pass a
reality. Thank you for your support!

see below actual request for public comment on the closure:

Windy Point Winter Motorized Closure

Release Date: Jan 11, 2012

The Rio Grande National Forest is seeking public comment on a proposed closure order

prohibiting motorized over the snow use at Windy Point.  The proposed closure area that

we are calling Windy Point is on the west side of Cumbres Pass, adjacent to and

north/west of Highway 17. This area has been traditionally used for a cross-country ski

and snowshoe race in January for over 20 years.

The legal description is NMPM T32N. R4E. Sec. 12 & 13.

The purpose would be to provide a motorized closure for over the snow travel on the area

for up to 5 years. This would provide an area, currently not being utilized by motorized

winter recreationists, for non-motorized recreation.  There is a history of conflict between

the winter recreationists who enjoy the Cumbres Pass Area.  There is concern among the

public regarding the safety of mixed motorized and non-motorized use.  The Forest

Service will be encouraging users to come together to propose a long-term solution for

the larger scale recreation use issue.

A map and additional information on the project is available on the Rio Grande

National Forest website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/riogrande/projects 

Those wishing to comment are encouraged to submit their concerns in writing to:

Conejos Peak Ranger District

Attention: Windy Point Winter Motorized Closure

15571 County Road T.5

La Jara, CO 81140

E-mail comments may be sent to: comments-rocky-mountain-rio-grande-conejospeak@fs.fed.us

It is requested that all comments be received by January 31, 2012 in order to be most

effectively considered.  For further information about this proposal, please contact

Jeremiah Martinez at 719-274-6320.

Fun event Jan 28-29th and more events coming up!!!!

Come out for some great winter fun at the NM Cup/Low O2 Challenge events at Enchanted Forest XC Ski and Snowshoe Area on Jan 28-29th!

There will be snowshoe, classic ski and skate ski events as well as free fun kid races! This is a great place to bring the whole family to! This event is put on by Enchanted Forest and Southwest Nordic Ski Club.

   

Lodging: Golden Eagle Lodge in Red River is offering event participants early check in, late check out and off-season rates on their rooms. Some of their rooms have kitchens if you need one and our members have stayed with them many times with great reviews. Check them out here: www.goldeneaglelodgeredriver.com 

Non-skiers: If you've been wanting to try a new winter sport and have been held back by gear/equipment considerations, this is the perfect opportunity! Enchanted Forest has everything you may want to rent for snowshoeing, classic skiing, skate skiing as well as lessons! Come up to check out the scene, meet new people, experience the beautiful trails and views and enjoy winter, and who knows, it may become your favorite cross-training activity!

Also, great new quad event being put on by Pagosa Nordic on March 3rd. Perfect for triathletes and ends with a swim in an open air hot springs pool! If you are interested and would like a skier to do the xc ski leg for you, let me know by filling out the Contact Us form on our homepage, we'll find you one. Or use this NM Cup weekend to try the skiing out - you may like it and want to do it yourself (its a 5k or 10k, your choice).

You can get the event flyer and paper registration form from http://swnordicski.org under Club News and Upcoming Events section front and center (scroll down to see all events).

You may also register online here:  http://www.active.com/running/red-river-nm/new-mexico-cup-low-o2-challenge-2012 

Photos from last year's event are here:  https://picasaweb.google.com/102429734917982531356/NMCupLowO2Challenge2011 

More fun winter events happening EVERY weekend between Jan 28 and March 10th including the famous Just Desserts Eat and Ski on Feb 25th. See full list here (scroll down and click each event name bar): http://swnordicski.org/

Trail still closed but volunteers can go up!

The trail is still technically closed but you can easily get some good skiing or snowshoeing in as long you come up to volunteer to help. Below is a message from Lynn Bjorklund of Espanola Ranger District who has been working tirelessly to help with trail recovering and opening of the area with our club. This message has info on volunteer opportunities as well as a great summary of efforts put into our trail recovery. Thanks everyone! The snow conditions are superior right now with temperatures staying below freezing.  It doesn't get any  better. For those who want to volunteer on the trail over the weekend, there is lots to do.  The shade fencing  has come loose in several places, so bring a few twist ties.  Then there are those pesky aspens still poking up  through the snow, and some limbing where tree branches encroach on the groomed areas.  A few twist ties  and some clippers are good to have with you.   Although not nicely groomed yet, the course is very do-able  with classic or skate.  I met several visitors on the course confused about the status of the trails or completely  unaware of the closure, but happy to volunteer for the club until it is officially open.  People who have not seen the course since last year barely notice much difference.  They don't have a clue  about the massive amount of work that was done to get it to this point.  Well over 400 volunteer hours in  about 90 days were donated by the club and those volunteering under the club, to fell and buck trees off the  trail, help with the fencing, and generally repair the trail tread. These hours are worth over $10,000 dollars  that can be credited to $20,000 of supplies and contract work to help restore all our trails in the Los Alamos  area that were affected by the fire.  And this is just the volunteer hours on the Nordic trails.  There has been  almost as much volunteer time donated to other fire affected trails in the Los Alamos area as well this Fall.  What an incredible dedicated and giving community we have!  Special thanks should go to Clay for leading the  efforts on the Nordic trails and wading through all the contracting paperwork and frustrations with having to  do and redo the government forms to utilize the funding that the club was given for rehab after the fire.   Another special thanks to the Rocky Mountain Youth Corp who put up the fence in the snowy, frigid  conditions of late November, and to Reineke Construction who is our contractor for the BAER contract.   The energetic sawyer team of two cut the really huge dangerous trees on the course and then several hundred  hazard and downed trees that made it possible to open the trails all the way to the rim of Guaje Canyon and  along the Nail Trail.  In the Spring this contract will resume with more hazard tree removal and then the use of  a tandem trail dozer and mini excavator to re-establish some of our most damaged trails. Your volunteer hours  this winter will help to meet the matching contribution that will fund continuing restoration.  As the year draws to a close, the Espanola Ranger District Recreation team would like to say Thank You  to all the wonderful volunteers for your time, efforts, and dedication to make this ski course a reality for the  community and visitors, and especially for the extraordinary efforts these past few months after the  devastation of the Las Conchas Fire.  It couldn't happen without you.   Here's to a safe, snowy, and  excellent season in 2012.  Lynn Bjorklund Recreation Staff Espanola Ranger District

Things in the works for SWNSC right now!

It may be off season but things are happening with SWNSC! This is all possible thanks to all of your continued support and donations!! Huge thanks for keeping the donations and volunteer help coming! Here are some highlights of things in the works right now (ideas always welcome! comment here, or use Contact Us form on our homepage):
1. A new snowshoe trail extension has been surveyed and marked this past weekend and is up for USFS approval. Once approved, clearing work will begin on it in late August.
2. There is talk of holding weekly hill-climb roller-ski time trials up Camp May road in the early fall!
3. We have a new member who is working with us to get a junior nordic ski group going at the Los Alamos High School next season!
4. Research is under way to purchase a modern and efficient grooming device (to be pulled by our new snowmo 'Viking') in time for next season's grooming!

Here's Clay's 4PM post about the trail conditions

"I went up for a quick ski at about 12:30. It had snowed about 2" at the bottom, and 4" by the top of the meadow. Somewhere in-between for the rest of the trails. Actually not as cold up there as in town, so it was a nice ski, but still pretty cold...about 12*F vs. the 5*F it is here in town!

It was simply awesome from the low point of the meadow to the top.

It is still snowing lightly up there and is supposed to pick up . Things are holding steady up there now, it's not too windy. The trails actually ski GREAT right now because it's not too much snow, but enough to cover the crap and make for soft, silky skiing over a rock-hard base." Clay Moseley

Here's Dina's Chama Race Report

Thanks Dina!

Seriously, it is too bad that I dont have time to post an event blog for a while here. If someone else can do it sooner please do. For now I've uploaded all the photos I had and received from others (thank you!) to SWNSKI Photo Gallery. Just go to our homepage http://swnordicski.organd click Photo Gallery tab. I havent had time to put any comments yet either.

Chama Chile Ski Classic had 199 race participants this weekend! 199!! That's amazing considering a few years ago we were THRILLED they managed to get 75 participants. It is so great to see this event get back to the participation levels I've only heard about from the 'old timers' :). Speaking of 'old timers' a whole lot of them came out for this event - NM has some great movers and shakers in the nordic world and its great to see them out enjoying Chama's come back.

The Chama folks putting it on did a fantastic job. And a huge thanks goes out to our SWNSKI groomer volunteers hauling our machines and spending days doing back breaking grooming work (shoveling included of course) before and between races (and racing afterwards!).

Huge thanks to all of you who came out!!! We hope everyone had fun and comes out next year and brings some more friends/family along.

This year's course layout was absolutely amazing, absolute best use of that beautiful and challenging terrain! The weather was spectacular! If you havent ever (or lately) been to this event check out the photos and plan on it next year, it is amazing to have such a fun winter event so close to us! And if you think you 'arent a (ski)racer', do note that participants range from UNM skier level racers to 9 year old kids in lion costumes to guys in knickers on wooden skis, to casual snowshoe hikers to crazy fast snowshoe runners. And all of them seem to love it the same.

Btw, I have a LOAD of awards to pass out to people. I mean a LOAD! I dont even remember whose is whose there are so many. Will have to look up results (found here:http://www.santafestriders.org/race_results_html/ChamaChili2011/). But the point is, that aside from all the fun people also scored more awards than I could imagine! Wohoo!

Thanks again to everyone who participated! Spread the word, share the photos and tell your friends now while you are still excited and high from all the fun :) so they can plan to join us next year!

Chama Rocks!! :)

dina

List of great winter events in our area Jan-March 2011

From our club president with some additions by the editor :):
Well, so far NM is mostly only receiving the crumbs of all of the great storms, but there is good xc skiing to be had nearby. Enchanted Forest is open, and it will require only a little bit more for us to get the SWNSC trails groomed at Pajarito.

Every year about this time, I get a batch of questions from a number of you on the lists about xc skiing, where to go, events, etc. So, here's a quick summary of "nearby" events that are actually some of the best events anywhere -- definitely worth giving a try. If you're training for the Quad, consider coming out for the Chama Chili Classic and the NM Cup at Enchanted Forest.

Jan. 8 - Santa Fe Striders snowshoe race -- Santa Fe
Jan 8: Headlamp Snowshoe Cookout Tour at Enchated Forest
Jan. 15,16,17 - Chama Chili Ski Classic (both skate & classic events this year plus snowshoe; historic NM event -- lots of fun stuff for this year's festival. Check it out!)
Jan. 22, 23 - USSSA National Qualifier Snowshoe Race - Enchanted Forest
Jan. 23 - Tour de Ski at Purgatory (epic single 45km loop promoted by a bunch of Durango mtn. bikers)
Feb. 5 - Alley Loop (Crested Butte, CO - very fun race and coolest course around, great party too)
Feb. 5 - Durango Langlauf (great race, but not the best date [see Alley Loop])
Feb. 13 - NM Cup/Low O2 Challenge (20km & 10km skate at Enchanted Forest; more info to come. Check the SWNSC website or Enchanted Forest in a few days for info)
Feb. 19 - Mt. Talor Quadrathlon -- 'nuff said

also...

Feb. 18-19 - Pagosa Winterfest Events
Feb 26: Just Desserts Eat and Ski at Enchanted Forest! Best way to get newbies into xc skiing :)))
Feb. 27 - Leadville Loppet - (highest marathon ski race in the world, that I know of. Cool course too)
March 19 - North Routt Coureur de Bois 90km - Steamboat Springs, CO (ok, not local, but definitely LOCO! I did this last year and am still trying to recover from it. It's tough, an adventure, and very awesome. It's interesting even if you're not an xc skier.)

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New trails marked and open

As of Sunday, all the new and old snowshoe trails at SWNSC Pajarito Trail System have been marked and signed, including the one called Wyatt's Way which runs from the Camp May Road just across from the "MOTHER LIFT" at the base of the Camp May Hill, winding it's way thru the Aspens on up to Point "A", a much more scenic alternative to the front hill road.

All trails have "Official" signs saying "Snowshoe Trail" and all are marked along their entire length with a mix of Red, Orange and Hot Pink flagging.

Still no snow to travel on, but the trails make a nice hike without snow, and I think you'll enjoy seeing all the new trails. Lynn Bjorkland of the USFS has created a new trail map showing the new snowshoe trails as well as the x-c ski trails, which can be found on the website:

http://swnordicski.org/images/stories/skitrails_v2.pdf