Head for the mountains to go play in the snow for MLK holiday weekend!

Happy xc skiers enjoying the Idaho Park and Ski trail system. (Courtesy Tom Helmer, IDPR) 

Hi all, 

Last week at this time, Idaho's ski areas and mountains were getting hammered by heavy snowfall - to the point where ID 21 was snowed shut, the Idaho City Park and Ski Areas were smothered with snow, avalanche conditions were high to extreme, and powder skiers and snowboarders were having a great time shredding powder at alpine resorts. 

Following one of the snowiest Decembers on record, a high pressure weather system that's dominating Idaho and the West at the moment is bringing clear skies and bluebird weather conditions in the mountains for a long 3-day weekend. For many, Monday is a holiday observed in memory of the great civil rights activist, Martin Luther King. 

Courtesy Tom Helmer, IDPR 

So my outdoor tip this week is to get out and play in the snow! 

• The Idaho City Park and Ski Areas have been freshly groomed this week along with the parking lots north of Idaho City on Idaho 21 between Mores Creek Summit and Beaver Creek Summit. That'll be a great option for xc skiing, snowshoeing or snow-biking on groomed trails. Remember to purchase a Park and Ski parking sticker online before you go.  

  

  Carving turns on freshly groomed slopes is a treat (courtesy Tamarack Resort).  

  
  
• Our downhill ski areas have plenty of snow and they're 100 percent open. If you don't have a season pass, try to buy day tickets in advance at Bogus Basin, Tamarack Resort or Brundage Mountain. In Sun Valley, you might have the best chance of a discounted lift ticket if you purchase a sky and stay package. See the Sun Valley web site for more information. If you have trouble finding a day ticket, another option could be Soldier Mountain in Fairfield. 
• Nordic skiing and snowshoeing at Bogus Basin, McCall, Galena Lodge and the Wood River Trail system will be stellar.   
  
  

  

  North Valley Trail is open to xc skiing, snowshoeing and snow biking 

  
  
• Snow-biking - Bogus Basin, Jug Mountain Ranch, the North Valley Trail in McCall and the Idaho City Park and Ski areas allow snow-biking. Conditions are excellent right now because the trails are freezing hard at night. Bogus has bikes available for rent.    

If you're heading to McCall or Sun Valley, look for a place to stay overnight in advance through VRBO, AirBnB or book a hotel. Check with the McCall Chamber or Sun Valley Chamber for more lodging options. 

If you're staying close to home, the Ridge to Rivers trails are kind of treacherous right now because of the mix of snow, ice and mud that you'll find in the afternoon. Be sure to use the trails in the morning when they're frozen to avoid causing damage. Always check the Ridge to Rivers Facebook page for the latest advice before you go. 

Boise River Greenbelt is plowed and dry for walking, running and biking.

The Boise River Greenbelt is fully plowed and dry, BTW ... I did an hour-long ride from Veterans Park to the orange ParkCenter bridge and back yesterday, and it was impressive how well the pathway was cleared of snow and ice. 

When you're out and about, please be mindful of the omicron coronavirus spreading right now and respect local masking requirements/recommendations.

Have a great weekend! 
- SS 

Tons of new snow in the mountains - Go play in the Snow!

Fresh pow at Brundage Mountain Resort

Hi all, 

We've been in McCall since Tuesday of this week, anticipating the big atmospheric river storm that has hit McCall and the West Central Mountains right between the eyes, while the Central Mountains and Sun Valley got an even bigger dose of new snow. 

We've had nearly 2 feet of new snow in the last 48 hours in McCall. The downhill skiing has been epic at Brundage Mountain and Tamarack Resort.

I feel blessed that I could be here to enjoy the new *pow.* 

Skiing down the mountain in the dim morning light while it's bombing snow is other-worldly and transformative for me. The fresh powder was so light on Thursday, it was absolutely delightful. When I am cruising through untouched fields of virgin snow through nicely spaced trees, I start singing involuntarily or let out whoops of joy. Yabba Dabba! To nail a powder day is good medicine for the soul. Total, absolute joy! We all can use a dose of that, eh?

And so I feel kind of like Mr. Obvious on the Bob & Tom radio show by saying, hey, we just got a great dose of new snow this week -- actual snow depths depend on location -- so get out and enjoy it!

Sun Valley had received more than 3 feet of new snow in two days, so the avalanche danger in the mountains around the Wood River Valley is very high. FYI. Check with the Sawtooth Avalanche Center before you go. 

Pow day at Sun Valley (Courtesy Sun Valley Resort)

Backcountry skiers/riders also should exercise caution in the Payette National Forest. Skiing/riding on slopes greater than 30 degrees is not recommended currently. See the report on the Payette Avalanche Center. 

See my latest snow forecast on the Idaho Daily Snow. 

The big storm dropped over 6 inches of snow at Bogus Basin, and you can bet that there's fresh snow in them thar mountains around Idaho City, Mores Creek Summit and points beyond, too. If you'd like to check on snow depths, recent snowfall, etc., go to the NRCS Snow Survey snotel interactive map.

Downhill skiing - If you want to go downhill skiing/riding, be sure to buy day tickets online at your resort of choice before you go. Quantities are limited. Be prepared to mask up before you get in the lift line. No exceptions. 

Cross-country skiing/snowshoeing: I did a comprehensive blog post on more than 15 locations for xc skiing and snowshoeing in Idaho several weeks ago. Check it out! 

In addition, you could watch Steve Dent's Backroads report with me about Nordic skiing at Bogus Basin and beyond. 

Go tubing at Bogus Basin or the Activity Barn in McCall. I think Garden Valley may have a tubing venue too. Advance reservations are required for tubing at Bogus. Plan ahead.

Well there you have it! 

Enjoy!
- SS

Enjoy the fresh powder! Every kind of snow activity will be great this weekend!

Today at Bogus Basin ... 

Today at Brundage Mountain 

Skiing pow at Bogus today (courtesy Rick Gerrard) 

Hi all,

Well, I picked one heck of time to get injured! The ski areas and the mountains are getting doused with multiple coatings of fresh snow, and I'm stuck working on rehabbing the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in my left knee. At least I can walk!

The accident occurred in a hockey game at Idaho Ice World. I play in the men's C league, which you'd think would be mellow and low-key since it's the lowest level available. But unfortunately, the league is full of younger ringers who should be playing B-league, and there's always that testosterone-charged male who loses it going after the puck in the corner. That's what happened to me in a high-speed collision with the boards after this guy checks me from behind, twisting my left leg badly to the outside and tearing the ligament.

So much for my romantic weekend with Wendy at Grand Targhee we had planned over President's Day weekend, and so much for skiing with my son Quinn in early March, when we are booked to visit Waterville Valley, N.H., and spend a long weekend with our cousins. Damn! Wah!

So that's my situation right now. I am approved to do light snow biking or Greenbelt riding, I can hike in a brace, and I am approved to do classic xc skiing. It could be much worse, I know.

My outdoor tip this week is to GO PLAY IN THE SNOW! Even if I can't go powder skiing, you should!

The latest conditions at the SW Idaho ski areas are stellar by all accounts.

• Bogus Basin - 10 inches of new today, 11 inches in the last 24 hours. I saw some several pics and video of light blower powder on Facebook ... it's been staying cold up there, to keep the snow light. Another foot of snow is expected on Saturday. 
• Brundage Mountain - 5-7 inches of new today, 19-24 inches in the last week. Cold smoke! 
• Tamarack Resort - 5 inches of new today, 6 inches in the last 24 hours. Probably more up high. 
• Sun Valley - 3 inches of new snow today, 2 inches of new in the last 24 hours. 

The good news is that more snow is expected through the weekend. Coleen Haskell, a meteorologist and author of the Idaho Daily Snow blog, says "Computer models are in good agreement through the short term this weekend. I'm expecting a foot of snow between now and Sunday morning, coming in several surges including the one today. It will be closely followed by the stronger wave Friday night and Saturday, while yet another one strikes on Monday."

Predicted snow amounts through Monday, Feb. 26 (courtesy OpenSnow.com)  

This is the forecast for the West Central Mountains. Are you excited yet?

All of the Nordic areas should be in a great shape, too, with fresh snow. The Idaho City Park n' Ski Areas received 6 inches of new snow on top of a firm 24-inch base. Idaho Parks & Recreation is grooming the Gold Fork loop tomorrow as well as the Skyline loop. You can go xc skiing, snowshoeing or snow biking on these trails. "Should be perfect skiing," says Leo Hennessy, non-motorized trail coordinator for IDPR.

All of the McCall Nordic areas are reporting 2-5 inches of new snow with fresh-groomed conditions. This includes Ponderosa State Park, Bear Basin, Activity Barn/North Valley Trail, Tamarack Resort and Jug Mountain Ranch. Don't forget that you can go snow biking at Jug ... probably the best snow-biking trails in SW Idaho in my opinion.

All of the Wood River Valley xc trails are open and skiing great, especially in the upper valley. Being a gimper, I hiked on snow-covered trails in Adams Gulch and Greenhorn Gulch last weekend while Wendy went downhill and xc skiing.

Military Reserve trails had nice packed powder today ... Love this view of the city of Boise! 

Closer to home, with the new dose of snow in Boise, the Foothills are perfect for hiking, snow biking, trail-running and snowshoeing right now. I went snow-biking in Military Reserve this afternoon, and there was a 1-foot wide singletrack with packed powder. Perfect!

Hope you have a fun weekend playing in the snow! I'll be dreaming of skiing powder while I dial it down to do gimper activities and work on my MCL rehab.

- SS

Where to play in the snow? Sun Valley is ready to roll, plus more ideas for the weekend

Carve the groomers at Sun Valley! Available now! 

Hi all,

We're starting to get just enough snow to go play in the mountains, but it's still not enough for most of the ski areas to open quite yet. Sun Valley is the exception with its world-class computerized snowmaking system. They opened top-to-bottom skiing yesterday -- that's 3,400 vertical feet of downhill skiing on man-made groomers to get your legs in shape. How about it?

If this sounds interesting, check out Sun Valley's lodging and specials page. I saw that they're offering a 25 percent discount on lodging and lift tickets between now and Dec. 15. I also saw that you can save 20 percent on lift tickets if you purchase them 7 days in advance ... that's $71 instead off an early-season rack rate of $89/day. Over the Christmas season, lift fees will be $133 without discount. Wow! Get there early and enjoy the discounts! Stay at the Sun Valley Lodge and soak up the history.

Before I go into more recommendations for the weekend, I wanted to recommend stopping by Idaho Mountain Touring in downtown Boise this evening (Thursday, Dec. 1) for their 32nd annual anniversary party, featuring the crew of Wide Eye Productions and Tim Woodward who will sign copies of "Idaho the Movie 2;" Kevin Everett, who will be signing copies of a new running guide; and I'll be there selling Boise Trail Guides at a Christmas-season discount price of $15.95, 20% off the normal price. The event runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. with free beer and snacks. Conservation groups will be there this evening as well.

Boise Trail Guide: 90 Hiking & Running Routes Close to Home, features tons of trails close to Boise, the Owyhee Canyonlands, and Boise National Forest. It'll keep you busy for several years of hiking, with a huge selection of easy, moderate, strenuous and epic hiking/running adventures. See you there.

Back to alpine skiing, Bogus Basin (9 inches at the base) and Brundage Mountain (20 inches at the summit; 12 inches at the base) are hoping for more storms before they can open. Hopefully we get hit hard this weekend. Bogus is making snow to accelerate the opening. Tamarack Resort (18 inches at the top) reported that they're opening their bunny hill this weekend, operating Saturday and Sunday. They also have snow-making machines.

While we wait for more snow, you might want to go find your own adventure in the mountains:

• Toss your snow boots, snowshoes or xc skis in the car, go up to the snow in the Boise, Payette or Sawtooth National Forest (above 5,000 feet) and go boot-hiking, snowshoeing or xc skiing, depending on depth of snow.  
• I saw a lot of people goofing around on 6 inches of snow on the way to Bogus in the last week ... some were sledding, others snowboarding and skiing. 

  

  Fat biking on Deer Pt. Service Road 

• Go fat biking in the snow. I'd recommend the Deer Point Service Road on the way to Bogus, the Boise Ridge Road, Middle Fork Payette River Road, forest roads around Idaho City, and areas outside the fire-closure area between Idaho City and Lowman. Even the Eastside Trail might work between Bogus and the trailhead on a fat bike. Other areas around Tamarack or Brundage would work, too. Jug Mountain Ranch has the best fat biking trails in Valley County but I'm not sure if they have enough snow yet. 
• Go hiking/biking/running on Boise Foothills trails. There was almost a traffic jam in Military Reserve today. Everyone seemed to have the same idea to get out for a lunchtime run, bike ride or hike on the dirt. The low- and mid-level trails in the foothills are clear of snow. Dress in layers for cold weather. 

  

  Check out the deep pow at Targhee! Pic taken today. (courtesy Grand Targhee)

• Make your reservations to ski/ride Grand Targhee. They opened today with a 55 inch base at the summit. Look at how much powder they had today! Oh baby! 
• Bruneau Dunes State Park would be a great place to hike around on a weekend like this when it's cool. 
• I saw a nice outdoor feature story on staying at rental cabins at Three Island State Park in the Twin Falls Times-News. Check it out! 
• I also saw a great summary of Soldier Mountain's new offerings in the winter of 2016-17 under new ownership. They're having a season pass party tomorrow night. Check it out!

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

I also wanted to mention a first-time event happening in mid-December at Brundage Mountain ... it's a world-class mountaineering event called the “Northwest Passage Ski Mountaineering Race,” co-sponsored by the McCall Winter Sports Club and the United States Ski Mountaineering Association on Dec. 16-17. 

On Friday, Dec. 16, racers will compete in a 520-meter "vertical race," starting at 4:00 pm at the base of Brundage's 45^th Parallel ski run and finishes at the top of Engen. This event is open to local skiers and elite racers.  

On Saturday, Dec. 17, elite racers will tackle a 12.9-mile uphill/downhill course that includes six climbs covering a total of 6400 vertical feet. Recreational racers will compete in a 7.3-mile route with four climbs and 3860 feet of elevation gain. Both courses begin at the base of Brundage Mountain with an uphill climb to the Lakeview Bowl area, which will be the site of the first transition to downhill skiing. From there, competitors will climb back out of the Lakeview area, and leave the ski area boundary en route to the summit of Sargents Mountain. There, racers will complete additional climbs and descents in the Sargents bowl before finishing at the base of Hidden Valley.

 

If you'd like to sign up for the Northwest Passage Ski Mountaineering Race, go to the Brundage web site.  Volunteers are needed to help with the race as well. Contact Jim Pace if you'd like to volunteer at mccallboater@gmail.com.

Have fun!
- SS

Go play in the snow! Boot-hiking, xc skiing, snowshoeing, snow biking all are doable

Pic from Grand Targhee parking lot 

Thanksgiving ski vacation in the Tetons? How can you go wrong? 

Snow biking to Skyline Yurt last Saturday ... 0-4 inches of snow at that time. 

Fat biking on the Boise Ridge Road (courtesy Aileen Frey)

Hi all,

If you're like me, and you get excited about the prospect of playing in the snow, this weekend looks like a perfect time to do it. The weather gods have been generous lately in providing a new coating of snow in the mountains of SW Idaho. This means you can head out to your favorite sledding spot, or go boot-hiking, xc skiing, fat biking or snowshoeing in the mountains.

None of Idaho's ski areas are opening quite yet, but Grand Targhee, located just over our eastern border in Alta, Wyoming, is opening on Friday (tomorrow)! Isn't that way cool! I wish I were heading over there right now. Targhee is reporting a 25-inch base with 50 inches of snowfall so far this year.

Check out Grand Targhee's lodging deals as we look ahead to Thanksgiving week. I saw a 4-day, $85 per night ski-and-stay package ... that's hard to beat! Sun Valley should be opening on Thanksgiving Day with natural and man-made snow. Watch their web site for pre-season deals.

Remember, it's early season so expect to get your equipment scratched up. Hint: Take the rock skis.

Closer to home, here are my top recommendations for playing in the snow:

• Deer Point Service Road - Bogus Basin likes to keep its slopes clear of pre-season skiers/riders but a few miles before Bogus, you can park in a pull-out on the right, and boot-hike, snowshoe or xc ski on the Deer Point Service Road. This is the road that utility trucks take to the top of Deer Point to service cell and radio towers, etc. It climbs at a steady pace for 2 miles to the Bogus boundary, and then a right-hand turn takes you over to the Boise Ridge Road. Bogus is reporting a base of 15 inches, so there should be plenty of snow up there. 
• Mores Creek Summit - East of Idaho City, you can go snowshoeing or xc skiing on the road tracks to Sunset Mountain or Pilot Peak or points along the way. The Mores Creek Snowtel site shows a depth of 11 inches of snow as of Thursday evening. Might be a good weekend for a nice backcountry tour! 
• Idaho City Park n' Ski Areas - A little farther east of Idaho City, the snow depths in the Gold Fork area are ranging from 3-6 inches of snow as of Thursday night. Leo Hennessy reported 3 inches of new snow on Thursday. Should be good for boot-hiking, xc skiing, fat biking or snowshoeing with potential scratchy conditions! The trail to Stargaze Yurt should be great, too. 
• Big Creek Summit - East of Cascade on the way to Warm Lake. You can hit a hot springs on the way home! 
• Brundage Mountain - Brundage doesn't seem to mind backcountry skiers carving it up before the area opens. I've been seeing great Facebook pics of people skiing at Brundage in the last week with skis and skins. Brundage reported a foot of new snow at the base this week. Awesome! Snow depths are 16 inches at the base and 22 inches on top as of Thursday evening. Watch their web site for information on if/when they may open next week. 
• Wood River Valley xc trails - A few of the trails are open in the North Valley, particularly the Harriman Trail from Sawtooth SNRA to Galena Lodge and the Prairie Creek Loop. Those are some of my favorite skate skiing areas. See the Blaine County Recreation District grooming report. 

One other thing: I wanted to mention that I've revamped my web site at SteveStuebner.com so that it's mobile-friendly. But it has all of the cool content from before ... you can buy hard-copy books and maps on my site, as always, but you also can buy full-color digital books and maps or individual hikes, biking trips or paddling routes a la carte for 99 cents each. Plus there's information about renting our Cozy Cabin in McCall and my PR and Marketing services. Just FYI ... 

Enjoy the snow!
- SS