Great lineup of wild and wacky activities at the McCall Winter Festival in 2016

This was the grand prize in a recent Winter Carnival. Pharoah's Tomb. 

Love this snow sculpture 

Marti Gras Parade ... People in McCall know how to have fun! 

Hi all, 

The McCall Winter Carnival kicks off tomorrow, and the weather forecast is calling for lots of snow this weekend! Perfect! If the forecast holds true, 10-20 inches of snow could fall in the higher elevations tonight, Friday and Saturday. That'll make things feel just right for the Winter Carnival, which runs for the next 10 days in downtown McCall. 

Even if you don't have any lodging lined up for the weekend, it's worth going up to the Winter Carnival as a day trip, especially on Saturday to watch the Marti Gras parade (noon - 1:30 p.m.), view the spectacular ice sculptures (theme is "Beyond Tomorrow"), and work in an activity such as ice skating, snow golf, alpine skiing at Brundage, xc skiing or snowshoeing at Bear Basin or Ponderosa State Park, and much much more. 

Activity Barn tubing hill is great for the whole family. 

Check out the activity schedule -- there's also a fat bike race this weekend, monster dog pull at 11 a.m. Sunday (any dog can enter), great food specials at various restaurants, food vendors on the street, live music, beer garden, and tubing at the Activity Barn. Or, maybe you've been growing a beard to enter in the longest beard contest or you're a woman who's neglected the razor to compete in the hairy legs contest.

I saw that there's a shuttle bus running from Eagle to McCall for $43. 

Quite simply, there's nothing else like the Winter Carnival in Idaho or the Pacific Northwest for that matter. Many thanks to the residents of McCall and the McCall Chamber of Commerce for always putting on a great show! 

Drew and Huck on the Salmon River 

Speaking of snow, I'm already thinking about running rivers next summer. In case you didn't realize it, the deadline for submitting private party permits for running the Selway, Middle Fork of the Salmon, main Salmon River - River of No Return, and Hells Canyon is Jan. 31st. It's called the "Four Rivers Lottery." See Recreation.gov for details on applying. It only costs $6 per application. 

Snowpack looks favorable for a great whitewater season! 

If you are lucky enough to draw a permit, you will be a very special friend to every whitewater boater who knows you, and you can leverage that to invite your friends or loved ones on a trip of a lifetime on any of those four rivers. Good luck! 

Friday also marks the beginning of the Sun Valley Nordic Festival in Ketchum/Sun Valley. They have a lot of fun stuff lined up for that week-long event, leading up to the 30K Boulder Mountain    

Tour on Saturday, Feb. 6th. They've got curling, Dutch oven cooking and skate skiing clinics lined up in Stanley on Feb. 1st, the Banff Film Festival is running on Sunday, Jan. 31st, there's a fat bike race nearly every day. 

Enjoy the snow! 

- SS 

Please! Stay off muddy trails this weekend! Go higher people - to frozen trails or ski trails!

Nuf said! 

Hi all,

Officials with Boise's Ridge to Rivers trail system are pleading with dog-walkers, hikers, runners and bikers to stay off the lower trails in the Boise Foothills. They've been putting out messages daily on their Facebook page and trail blog. But some people aren't getting the message.

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So they've put up chains across some trailheads to get people to stop and take notice of the sign: "Don't Use Muddy Trails!" The damage is continuing to occur.

Starting today, temperatures will be warming up into the 40s in the afternoons, so the trails are bound to be slurpy. "The Table Rock trails are a mess, and the Military Reserve trails are a mess," said David Gordon, Ridge to Rivers Trail Coordinator. "This is a time when our trails really suffer."

The key is to get out early in the day when the trails are frozen, or just head for higher-elevation trails that are more likely to be snow-covered or frozen. Last weekend, I hiked with some friends on the Orchard Gulch Trail (accessed via Rocky Canyon Road) almost to the ridge road, and it was snow- and ice-covered the whole way. We finally broke out of the inversion 500 feet below tree line.

Other alternatives include Rocky Canyon Road itself, the Boise Greenbelt and Eagle Greenbelt.

Even better, I heartily recommend heading into the mountains this weekend to enjoy fresh snow and winter fun:

Winter Carnival in McCall! Hunt Lodge won the grand prize with "Pharaoh's Tomb"  

Inside the "Pharaoh's Tomb"

• Head to McCall for the second weekend of the Winter Carnival and ski Brundage or Tamarack. It's Diva Day at Brundage on Saturday, with $25 lift tickets (that's less than 1/2 price) for women 18 and up. If you want to ski Sunday, too, show them your Diva Day lift pass from Saturday, and you'll get the same price. Brundage had 10 inches of new *pow* as of this morning, and Tamarack reported 5 inches of new. I wish I were in McCall today!
• Events at the Winter Carnival this weekend include: Fireworks over Payette Lake and closing ceremonies Saturday night, ice skating entertainment, snowshoe golf and snow sculptures. The Hunt Lodge Holiday Inn Express won the grand prize ice sculpture and Salmon River Brewery took first place.  

The Salmon River Brewery took 1st Place with "Crystal Eye's Bar".
You've got to try their beer and food, it's all awesome. 

• The Sun Valley Nordic Festival culminates with the 32-kilometer Boulder Mountain Tour race from Galena Lodge to Sawtooth National Recreation Area headquarters on Saturday. Hundreds of skiers participate, it's a big event. There's also a big fund-raiser going on Saturday night for the Friends of the Sawtooth Avalanche Center along with movies from the Banff Mountain Film Festival. 
• The Idaho City Park n' Ski areas got a fresh douse of snow this week -- approximately 5-6 inches in the higher elevations near Banner Summit and Mores Creek Summit. Trails are being groomed today and Friday, so the whole trail system should be freshly groomed by Saturday. Be sure to pick up a Park n' Ski parking pass at the Sinclair station in Idaho City on your way up there.  

Get out of town, it'll be great! 

Have fun!
- SS

McCall Winter Carnival, Sun Valley Nordic Festival or escape to Bogus Basin xc ski trails

Snow sculptures in McCall are always interesting and entertaining ... 

Mardi Gras parade 

Thomas the tank engine 

The Activity Barn is a great lift-served snow-tubing hill, great for kids and adults  

Hi all,

There are lots of things going on this weekend, and with the inversion still dominating the yucky, freezing-cold weather scene in the Boise Valley, I wholeheartedly recommend that you get out of town, or at least above the inversion to enjoy some cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, downhill skiing, sledding or boot-hiking in the mountains.

On Friday, the McCall Winter Carnival comes to life for 10 days, and the options for fun expands multifold with snowshoe golf, ice skating, checking out the giant snow sculptures, the Marti Gras parade Saturday night, fireworks, beer garden, monster dog pull, beard and hairy legs contest, snow tubing at the Activity Barn, a snow bike race and so much more. See the event schedule for details.

Did you see the article about the Salmon River Brewery in the Statesman this week? The brewery will be a participant in the beer garden in downtown McCall during the Winter Carnival, and it also will be hosting live music on Friday and Saturday nights of both Winter Carnival weekends. Check the Salmon River Brewery Facebook page for music details. I love their beer!

If you don't have a place to stay in McCall, yet, try the McCall Chamber, InIdaho.com or vrbo.com for lodging options. Things fill up pretty fast for winter carnival.

Another good bet this weekend is the Sun Valley Nordic Festival, which runs from Saturday through Feb. 3. Cross-country skiing enthusiasts can't go wrong visiting the festival and partaking in xc skiing while you're there. There are more than 200 km of ski trails in the valley to enjoy, and they are all groomed daily to the highest-quality. The festival culminates with the ever-popular Boulder Mountain Tour, a 32km race from Galena Lodge to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area office north of Ketchum, on Saturday, Feb. 2. There is a 15km course for those who don't want to go so far.

A participant in last year's Skin It to Win It Race 

On Sunday, Jan. 27, there will be a race called "Skin It to Win It Ski & Snowboard Race" on Dollar Mountain. You skin up Dollar Mountain 560 feet on the Forbidden Fruit slope, de-skin, and then ski or snowboard downhill on Otto's Run, for one lap. Then, you skin up and do it again. The people who log the most laps over a three-hour period win the race. Here's where you meet the super-human skiers and riders and see what they're capable of ... wow.

There are a whole week's worth of events during the Nordic festival, including wine-tastings, more races, and more. See the festival web site for the full calendar of events.

Another cool Nordic activity sponsored by the Blaine County Recreation District is a 200km challenge this winter season. Keep track of your xc ski outings in the Wood River Valley this winter, log 200km on your favorite trails, and you'll be entered for prize drawings at the end of the season. Here's a pamphlet with the details.

Bogus Basin Nordic track ... great for all abilities.

If you're stuck in Boise, head up to Bogus Basin and try out their cross-country ski trails, go tubing on the lift-served tubing hill (be sure to call in advance for reservations), or just go exploring on the Deer Point service road with your dog. The service road is used by snowshoers, xc skiers and snowmobiles.  Park in the vehicle pullout about 12.5 miles up Bogus Basin Road.

Blue sky, sunshine and above the inversion ... life is good. 

Bogus Basin Nordic has 37 K's of ski trail. I was up there last weekend, and there were all kinds of people enjoying the trails. The easy trails close to the Nordic Lodge are great for any abilities. Farther out, the trails are more steep and challenging. I certainly got my workout.

Have fun! I hope the inversion is gone by next week, and we can enjoy activities in the valley as well.
- SS