Trail Update and Moose Habitat

Doug tuned up all the trails this morning - yippee and thank you!  The skate track is fantastic (the classic looks good, too).  Get out and ski before the next predicted snow comes!

Oh, and watch out for our resident Moose and their, umm, donations.  There are piles of (as Randy calls it) "Brown Klister" on the trail, left by the two moose who are hanging out at the course.  I'm fairly certain it's the same mommy moose from last winter, along with her growing son (he has a nice rack this year).  They don't seem perturbed by the skiers, but please watch for them and give them their space.

Cupid Cup Volunteers Needed!

Want to help a great cause?  Like cool swag (your own Cupid Cup Multiclava)?  Signup for the Cupid Cup as a Volunteer!

1) Click this link to see our list on SignUp.com
2) Review the options listed and choose the spot(s) you like.
3) Sign up! It's Easy - you will NOT need to register an account or keep a password on SignUp.com.

Note: SignUp.com does not share your email address with anyone. If you prefer not to use your email address, please contact me and I can sign you up manually.

Can I Snowshoe / Walk my dog / Snow Bike / Skijor / Sled...?

Some have recently asked for some clarification regarding what activities are recommended on the Rexburg Trails - here's an answer.

Can I:

• Snowshoe? 
• Yes! alongside but not on the ski trails.  Snowshoes are great for walking on... snow.  As a reminder at the bottom of the blog we have a nice little graphic illustration.  Remember, if it looks like it's a groomed trail, it probably is, and snowshoes are for traversing the ungroomed snow.
• Snow Bike (Fat Bike)?
• at the BYU-I trails: Yes
• at Teton Lakes: No
• Ski with my dog?
• It depends - does your dog ski?: this is an often discussed topic amongst the volunteers who spend hundreds of hours of their own time and thousand of dollars of their own money to keep these trails in good shape out of the goodness of their hearts for those who like to ski.  In an effort to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people who like to ski, we'd prefer not to dictate any rules of conduct but...
• Remember these are ski trails.  Yes, it's a wonderful place to take your dog out, but unless your dog is exceptionally well trained our experience is that a happy dog is very difficult to control with other strange skiers around.  
• Are you willing to keep your dog off the groomed trail, stop, step off the trail and immediately hold your dog's collar whenever another skier approaches?
• If yes then yay! you make every other dog owner look great too
• If no then you're likely to give other dog owners a black eye.  
• No matter how well behaved your dog is, it doesn't ski.  Out of respect for those who work so hard to provide this service for those who do wish to ski on beautifully groomed trails please control your pet as you would if invited into a neighbors home as a guest.
• Walk my dog?
• Nope, sorry.  Please no walking on the groomed trail.
• Snowshoe with my dog?
• Yes, but again please stay off the groomed trail.
• Skijor with my dog?
• No, again sorry!
• Ski with my kids?
• Yes!  But if you're towing a ski trailer please stay on the outermost classic track with the ski trailer ski offset to the outside of the groomed track (not in the skate lane).
• Also please keep young ones and the older folks to off the skate lane (unless they're skating).
• Tow a sled on the ski trail?
• No
• Skijor with my kids?
• Yes, if both the tower and towee are wearing skis.
• Sled on the hill?
• Yes!

Classic Drills for Balance, Weight Transfer and Cornering

Some great drills for any age if you're interesting in honing your classic ski skills.

Grooming Update

Late last night Randy finished rolling the inside skate lanes (The Boot and The Clover Leaf) THREE TIMES!  We have a triple-rolled skate track - awesome.  He also cleaned up the Perimeter and said Doug is planning on tuning up the Perimeter, Boot and Clover Leaf this morning. The Classic tracks are doing just fine.
It's going to be a great ski day.

Grooming Update

Randy and Doug have been working on the tracks this morning (thank you, as always!).  The classic tracks look fantastic.  The skate lanes have been rolled but are still pretty soft.  Doug's going to work on the Perimeter skate loop this afternoon, then Randy is planning on grooming the inside skate tracks later this evening.  I'm banking on tomorrow being a great skate day; late tonight might be pretty good, too, if you're a night skier.

Grooming

Doug just let me know he's heading out to do a quick groom to make things skiable for the day - at least until the snow starts to fly again this afternoon.  Thank you, Doug!

No Fat Bikes at Teton Lakes!

This is a repost from our sister site.  Thank you, Dave - well said!

Rexburg Idaho Cycling: No Fat Bikes at Teton Lakes!:

I got a text from Randy at 1 a.m. this morning. After hours of grooming, the skate track at Teton Lakes was perfect. This morning, someone rode fat bikes on the new grooming. If this was you, never do it again. If you know who might have done this, please let them know that fat bikes are not allowed at Teton Lakes. No one loves a fat bike more than I do, but quality ski grooming and fat bikes do not mix. Ride that fat bike on a snowmobile trail someplace but not on Randy's ski grooming.

Cupid Cup 2017 Registration Live!

We're happy to announce this year's edition of the Cupid Cup: Feb 11th 2017!

All Registrants for the Teen Races on up will receive a special edition Cupid Cup Krieg Multiclava

When:  February 11, 2017

• Registration - Click Here - Open until midnight Feb 10th.  Same Day Registrations will be available at 9AM on Race Day.
• Start Times
• Little Kids  10:00 AM
• 5 & 10K Classic 10:30 AM 
• 10K Skate 11:00 AM 
• Teen 2.6K 11:15 AM

Where:  Teton Lakes Course

What:

• Little Cupid Race - Kids Loop
• Teen Race ~2.5K
• 10 K Classic, timed (2 laps on the Perimeter; optional 5K by finishing one lap only)
• 10 Freestyle, timed
• Cocoa, Cider, Tunes and Party Atmosphere

Why: Because Nordic Skiing is literally COOL!

Grooming Update

At 1am last night Randy finished buffing up the track (Wow!  Thank you!).  He reports that everything is in primo condition.  It should ski about as good as anyone could want.

Grooming Update

Randy groomed the entire course tonight using both the roller and the Ginsu groomer.  He made three passes on the inside skate tracks, got the entire Perimeter and Cow Pasture groomed for skating and also set the Classic tracks.  Many huge thanks for this wonderful work!

Trails Report

The Perimeter and Cow Pasture skate deck (I just found out it's called a skate deck, not track...oops) was tuned up sometime earlier today or last night, and the classic tracks are looking good. There were actually four classic sets on much of the Perimeter - two old and two new. The Boot and the Clover Leaf skate decks are icy and rutty, but still skateable and very fast. The icy track/deck may be fast, but it can also cause some muscle fatigue as your body works to stabilize itself as it's sliding around. Good stuff. I hardly dare say this after the piles of snow we've had, but it might be nice to have just a little fresh snowfall to work into the trails.  Still, no complaints. The course has been beautiful the past few sunny days.  Even though it's been frigid, the wonderful sunshine has helped drive off the bone-chilling cold - unless you're an early-morning or night skier - brrr.
Enjoy!

Grooming Update

Randy tuned up all the skate tracks and set the Classic track where needed yesterday afternoon.  It was fun to see him out while the Ski Club was holding practice.  We had over twenty kids skiing around, half of them skating on fresh corduroyand half skiing in the classic tracks (they were thrilled!).  Go out and treat yourself to a great ski on a great track.

Grooming Update

Randy tuned up all the Skate lanes early this morning (yippee!! THANKS!).  He said he broke through a puddle on the Boot (one of the interior skate loops), so heads up on that.  The Classic continues to be mostly self-maintained by the many skiers, although Randy did work on the Classic Tracks "short loop" - the loop that heads north from the parking lot, turns right (east) at the edge of the Golf Course, then loops back south after you cross the bridge.

He also groomed the Kids Practice Loop - a short loop right by the parking lot.

I skied on this warm snow yesterday and was anticipating Mashed Potatoes, but it was actually a really, really nice skate track.  The base was hard packed, but there was a soft groomed layer on top that made it a fast - but not icy fast - skate.  Jeff went out later last night and found similar conditions, with actually some crust available when he was skiing on ungroomed trails.  Everything is groomed now so it should be wonderful skating.  Enjoy!

Grooming Report

Randy just finished tuning up the Perimeter and Cow Pasture skate and classic tracks this morning (thank you, as always!). The inside Skate tracks (the Boot and the Clover Leaf) haven't been done yet. We have really soft wet snow, and lots of wind. More snow is predicted this afternoon and overnight.

2017 Cupid Cup

Registration site will be up soon!

Grooming Update

Randy tuned up the track this evening (and yes, the wind chill is -20F right now!). He said with all the drifting that the skate track is fine but not perfect.  He will try again to smooth it out, but it's definitely skiable (thank you!). He was able to set one of the double classic tracks. Have fun skiing in this weather.

Nordic Ski Club - Thursday

Hi All,

The windchill is going to be brutal tomorrow (Thursday).  If school is cancelled (not likely, but possible), ski club will also be automatically cancelled.  However, if school is held, we will hold practice as usual.  Because of the cold, if there is practice we will just ski (no instruction) to keep moving and keep warm.  If we all get chilled, we can get some hot chocolate at Redd’s Grill (bring $2 for that, or $3 for Hot Chocolate plus Fries).  

Pretty please let me know as soon as you can if you are going to brave the cold and ski tomorrow - and dress warmly - or wait until Monday (if nobody is going to show up, then it’d be nice to know).  

Thanks!

Grooming Update

Doug groomed the skate trail this morning (thank you!) so it is smooth, but has about an inch and a half of new snow on it already (it's snowing right now).  He reports that there is plenty of traffic on the classic tracks so they are being self-maintained.  As soon as the snow quits, he'll head back out to tune things up.