Cross-country Ski - Crystal Springs Dog Sled Trails

8:00am Parking Lot #1 Crystal Springs Snopark, 1 mile off I-90 exit 62.

Full directions will be emailed to participants once registration closes on March 4 at 5pm.

This trip will be co-led by Maud de Bel and Linda Shewey.

We will explore some of the Dog Sled Trails and the Iron Horse P2C (Palouse to Cascades - formerly call the John Wayne) Trail east towards the Whittier Tunnel and part of the snow covered roads towards Meany Lodge and Stampede Pass that are close to the Erling Stordahl trails from Crystal Springs Snopark, exit 62 off I-90.

The portion of the Iron Horse Trail we will take to the east of the Stampede Pass road is joint use and may have or may not been groomed for snowmobiles the day before. We will have to share with snowmobilers on this section. The Dog Sled Trails may also have been groomed for sleds a few days before, but classic tracks will not have been set. These are officially off limits to snowmobiles but not all snowmobilers respect this. As we share the route with dog sleds, there may be some dog droppings to avoid.

The route is undulating with some quite steep but short hills in places. We will ski a loop of up to 10 miles and there may be some repetition. The elevation gain will be approximately 500 ft.

We have lunch sometime during our ski. We will find the best location we can out on the trail. 

We will travel at a moderate speed of about 3 MPH. This would not be a good trip for slow skiers, for those who rely on well groomed trails with classic tracks set or for skate skiers. The conditions we will find on the day are often difficult to predict in advance. Classic Nordic backcountry skis are recommended but in most conditions regular classic track skies are fine. Please consult the leader if you wish to use other types of ski.

Please note: The trip is not suitable for first-time Nordic skiers even with Alpine experience. As we will be skiing an approximately 10-miles N2 level 500 ft. elevation gain round trip, you will need to have good stamina and  the skills for herringbone climbing and wedge descents including wedge turns on quite steep hills. If you are uncertain of your ability and stamina or the equipment you have to manage this type of trip please consult Maud via maud.de.bel@gmail.com.