Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Grooming and an Introduction

Jeff is on his way out to tune up the course right now (8pm Tuesday). It will take 2-3 hours to groom the skate course and reset the classic tracks.  It’s bitterly cold, so it may take a bit longer than usual for the snow to set up. Tomorrow should be good skiing as it will be a little warmer. We expect some light snow in the afternoon, which should be fun to ski in.

For those who have asked, here’s a brief introduction of our grooming crew:
Doug grooms every couple of days and keeps a very close eye on the course. Randy has spent countless hours also grooming over the years. The two of them actually started the whole ski course many years ago by pulling box springs behind a snowmobile to groom a skate course. They eventually purchased grooming equipment of their own and turned Teton Lakes into a winter wonderland for cross-country skiers. Jeff (my husband) helps out when he can. Six years or so ago, Steve and I started a youth ski club, and Joel came aboard early on to help coach. The club is now run by the Rexburg Recreation Department. The City stepped in a couple of years ago and officially turned the golf course into Teton Lakes Winter Park - skiing, sled hill, snowshoeing off the track - although grooming for cross-country skiing continues to be done on a volunteer basis. The Cupid Cup ski race has been run by volunteers since its inception as an Eagle Project by Parker A. Some years the race doesn’t happen, but when it does it’s a fun event.
Many thanks to Doug, Randy and Jeff - and to all those involved with the City Rec. Dept., ski rentals and Redd’s Grill in the Clubhouse, and the County for snow removal - for providing such a service to the community. It has turned into a team effort. We appreciate all of you for enjoying and caring about the Winter Park. Happy trails!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks so much for providing this wonderful recreational opportunity to our community. Bill and Debbie.

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  2. Thank u, profusely from the IF community to those who groom the course (there dedication is exemplary) & to u for keeping us abreast to the course conditions. We depend upon it b4 launching toward Rexburg! This, in my opinion, is the best course in our immediate area because of the dedication of all involved. The only downside I experience as a skate skier & as I did yesterday is whiteout. If it were not for the classic track it w/b impossible to find the skate lane & in various places the classic track is hard to see & on occasions deviates from the skate lane or may not alway exist. The only solution I can think of is flagging the skate lane on the left, but how c/ we ask such gracious giving people to give more?! Thanks again for your benevolence! John Christensen

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