Stanley Idaho, Stanley Sawtooth Chamber of Commerce » Ski Report

SAWTOOTH SKI TRAILS

ski — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:02:00 +0000

1-2 “ of new snow covered trails at Park Creek on Thursday morning. Subsequent grooming that day layed down some nice looking corduroyas well as fresh classic tracks on all trails. At Alturas Lake the trail to the lake was further widened and groomed for skate and classic as were Over the HIll Trail and South loop. The skate lane was refreshed on Sheep Thrills.

Ski Trails Improving

ski — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:24:59 +0000

All of the trails at park creek were groomed with 2 passes of the ginzu on Tuesday. Lupine, shooting star, camas, and skyrocket are looking good for both classic and skate. Sego loop and larkspur are starting to shape up, but still very soft and no classic tracks.

At Alturas Lake on Tuesday, North Cabin Creek was packed with two rough snowmobile passes for the first time since the big storm and is only suitable for gonzo touring. All other trails were groomed with the ginzu for skate and classic and were looking good. The trail to the lake was also widened with 2 snowmobile passes prior to grooming. All trails are still soft but pleasantly skiable.

Travels through the snow

ski — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:03:43 +0000

3-4” of new snow fell at park creek overnight into Monday, and intermittent flurries continued all day long. All trails were packed with the roller, as it was just too deep and too warm for the ginzu. Larkspur was also snowmobile packed and rolled, so as of now, all trails there are open. Expect ongoing soft conditions on all trails, especially sego and larkspur, which are really only good for touring at this point.

At Alturas Lake 4-5 inches of new snow accumulated by Monday afternoon with drifts of over 1 foot crossing trails or piling up along the deep sidewalls. The Trail to the Lake, Over the Hill, and South Loop were groomed with the ginzu for skate and classic. These trails are still super soft but two late afternoon skiers did report them pleasant to ski and quite beautiful in a rather dreamy creamy way.

Sunday morning ski trails look fine

ski — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 17:34:58 +0000

At the Alturas Lake ski area on Saturday, Wapiti was rolled for the first time since the recent snopacolypse. It is still very soft and rough but should improve with additional grooming today. The Trail to the Lake, Over the Hill, and South Loop all were groomed for classic and skate. Sheep Thrills was widened and rolled… classic tracks will be added there today as well. North Cabin is the only trail not yet groomed. The trails are getting better every day but are still quite soft. And here’s an idea, after a great day of skiing on Sunday, the 29th , stop off at Smiley Creek Lodge for an apres ski buffet between 4 pm and 7 pm., part of the fabulous Sun Valley Nordic Festival. Reservations required.

CLEAR, COLD AND SOFT SAWTOOTH TRAILS

ski — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 17:33:11 +0000

On the 28th of January, the temperature in the Sawtooth Valley was still below zero at 10 a.m. The sky was a cloudless azure blue, the sun a brilliant radiant yellow, the landscape a deep snow white and the trails at Park Creek and Alturas lake a bit soft. At Park Creek on Friday the groomer had a good day and managed to roll, groom and set both skate and classic track on Lupine, shooting star, and camas trails. Skyrocket is rolled and groomed as well, although no classic track has been set. The Park Creek trails are coming around, but expect conditions to be soft. Larkspur and Sego trails are still effectively closed, with no track whatsoever. At Alturas Lake on Friday, South Loop, Over the Hill and the Trali to the lake as far as the bridge junction were groomed for skate and classic.The trail from the junction to the lake was rolled but no classic set. Sheep Thrills was groomed with a skate lane 7’ wide – no classic tracks there either. North Cabin and Wapiti are still ungroomed.

SUN RETURNS TO IMPROVING SKI TRAILS

ski — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:38:55 +0000

After a 9 day winter onslaught with 3 – 5 feet of new snow, howling winds, 40 degree warm ups, equipment breakdowns, the rockin’ pneumonia and the boogie woogie flu, on Friday, the 27th day of January, the sun once again is shining on the Sawtooth Valley Ski trails.

At the Alturas Lake ski area on Thursday afternoon, The Trail to the Lake as far as the junction, Over the Hill, South Loop and Sheep Thrills were packed out and rolled into an excellent looking wide wail, soft corduroy textured lane. Do note, as mentioned, this lane is soft and probably well suited for touring enthusiasts. No classic tracks yet… but they are expected today. The Trail to the Lake from the junction to the lake has been roughly snowmobile packed and will be rolled out today. At 10 a.m. the temperature at the Alturas ski area was around 3 degrees above 0. Grooming is also planned at Park Creek ski area today… Lupine, Camas, and Shooting Star are improving and Skyrocket has finally been packed and rolled. Blue sky, sun, deep snow and improving ski trails are expected to combine into a most beautiful winter landscape over the next few days at the Sawtooth Valley ski trails.

SKI TRAILS IN PRIMITIVE STATE

ski — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:24:16 +0000

As snow continues to fall in the Sawtooth Valley, the cross country ski trails at Park Creek and Alturas Lake remain limited and primitive. At Park Creek, on Sunday, the 22nd, the groomer managed to pack, roll, and groom Lupine, Camas, and Shooting Star. At Alturas Lake, the Trail to the Lake as far as the junction, Over the Hill and South Loop were packed and rolled. No classic tracks at either area. The trail conditions are very soft, with only touring really possible and even that not hightly recommended.

Too much snow continues to fall on ski trails

ski — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:43:08 +0000

On Saturday, the 21st of January, snow continues to fall in the Sawtooth Valley with the temperature hovers somewhere around freezing. Total new snow depth no doubt now tops 3 feet in some areas and has made for difficult snowmobile based ski trail grooming. At Alturas, some initial snowmobile packing was done on The Trail to the Lake as far as the bridge junction and Over the Hill. Additional packing and hopefully rough rolling will take place today. At Park Creek yesterday, the groomer managed to snowmobile pack lupine, camas and shooting star, as well as roll lupine and camas. He also managed to only get the machine stuck twice. At Alturas the groomer stuck it 3 times. There is a lot of new snow and these trails are probably only suitable for a snowy rough ski tour or snowshoe tour and not much else. In short, ridiculously deep snow and possible blizzard like snow at times… we give these trails two thumbs down.

YES, WE HAVE NO SKI TRAILS TODAY!

ski — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:01:00 +0000

With heavy snow continuing to pile up at the Sawtooth Valley ski areas, there are currently no cross country ski trails groomed at Park Creek or Alturas Lake. Yes, we have no bananas, and we have no ski trails today.

SKI TRAIL BLIZZARD, STORM WARNING TIL FRIDAY

ski — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:52:27 +0000

On Wednesday, the 18th of January, a steady snow was falling on both Sawtooth Valley ski areas with accumulations of up to six inches piling up over Tuesday night. At Park Creek, the intrepid groomer managed to roll and pack lupine, camas, and shooting star on Wednesday morning, but had to call it quits due to the blizzard like conditions. At Alturas Lake grooming was not even attempted on Wednesday morning due to similar blizzard like conditions. We will continue to try to pack trails at Park Creek and Alturas as the weather allows over the next few days so we don’t lose the trails completely, but road and trail conditions will be rather bad at best and skiing cannot really be recommended until this storm passes.