Ski Club Referred to in Article about MacDonald Pass Logging Project

See today's Helena Independent Record article.

February 2012 Skier Count

The tally is in and the numbers are impressive. February 2012 was our biggest ski month since the club started counting. This February saw 670 more skiers than last year over the same period (2/1 to 2/20). This February also saw the two biggest single days and the biggest weekend that we’ve counted yet on Feb 11-12 with nearly 400 skiers for the weekend.

 

February 2012 Mac Pass Skier Count
Month Total (through 2/20)	1743
Max Day (February 12, 2012)	204
Weekend/Holiday Day Average	151
Weekday Day Average	53

 

Mac Pass Skier Count	2012	2011
January	1669	1686
February (through 2/20)	1743	1073
Total (1/1 to 2/20)	3412	2759

 

Thanks to everyone that made skiing possible this year. Great season while it lasted!

Mac Pass Trails Closed

The MacDonald Pass Cross Country Ski Trails are now closed for the 2011-2012 season so that hazard tree felling operations can begin. The many beetle-killed trees along the trails have been a concern for several years and the Forest Service has contracted this work to ensure open trails in future years. The wet areas throughout the trail system meant that this work needed to happen during the winter to minimize impacts. See the links below left for other Nordic ski opportunities in the area. Thanks for all the great community support and efforts of the many volunteers to make the most of this shorter season. We look forward to seeing you on the trails next winter!

Counter pulled Feb 20, 4 p.m.

And the parking lot was full, as were the trails, of skiers getting in their last Mac Pass ski of the year. What a wonderful season we've seen up on the Pass. I trust the loggers will do their thing safely, that the hazardous trees are tucked safely into their beds, and that next year we'll have uninterrupted skiing through August. (In my dreams.)

Conditions Feb 18

All trails were groomed and track set with a couple new inches falling this morning on top. Trails are soft with a solid base. Great classic skiing reported.  Lots of happy faces out skiing! Skate lanes and track will be set again tomorrow morning. Ski it while we can- it doesn't get much better!

Ski Club Featured in Independent Record Article

See Nordic nuances article and pictures in the February 16, 2012, edition of the Helena Independent Record.

Homestake Lodge XC Skiing

Homestake Lodge, three miles off of Homestake Pass, a few miles east of Butte, might well be of interest to many LCNSC members soon pining for a little kick and glide. A few of us skied it yesterday, and despite a relatively low snowpack, found the skiing pretty darned good. Classic tracks were set everywhere, and the skate lanes, mid-week, were freshly rolled and waiting for eager skiers.

It's a pretty area, with huge granite boulders and aspen dotting the landscape. A few of the trails are steep, but much of the area circles a series of beaver ponds and frozen wetlands, and the trails are relatively flat. Relative to Mac Pass, that is. The modern, quite beautiful lodge, with a fully equipped nordic store, and simple soup, wine, and beer sales, looks out over the trails from a small boulder-studded hill.

Adults pay $15 a day to ski at Homestake, which is steep compared to our free skiing¹ on Mac Pass, but a fair price for the obvious loving work and care that's gone into facilities and grooming.

So, after the hazardous trees start coming down and Mac Pass trails are closed, I recommend Homestake as a very nice way to stretch your legs and lungs. I'll bet you have as good a time as did we.

¹I know club members pay $25/person, $50/family, for LCNSC membership. But there's no daily charge, and club membership is in no way required to ski on Mac Pass.