Christmas Day Ski

Two of the thirteen skiers from the Grants Pass and Southern Oregon Nordic Clubs who enjoyed a ski to the Summit Shelter on Christmas Day. A break in the weather and some brief sunshine made taking turns breaking trail easier as they wound their way up to this shelter from the Canal and Pitt View trails. It was a bit hard to leave the warm fire and head back, but the glide was worth it. Most of the group joined up later for a chili party at a SONC member's home.

Fish Lake Ski

Santa's Elf calls numbers for a white elephant gift exchange.

More than 45 backcountry skiers from southern Oregon gathered at Fish Lake to ski the Lollipop Loop and have a Christmas Party in the shelter built in 1936 by the CCC. With 18 inches of snow to break trail through, the group divided into two after skiing the stem of the Lollipop, met at the top of the sucker and passed each other. Everyone had a great ride down the trail groomed by the other group. New skiers had fun taking lessons closer to the shelter.

First Ski of the Season

Five back country skiers from the Rogue Valley took advantage of a break between snow storms and enjoyed a marvelous ski tour up the Canal trail from Summit Sno-Park on Highway 140. Following a trail broken the day before, we skied through the sparkling forest noticing the many animal tracks, including those of a small herd of elk that had recently followed the trail for a bit. We found a sunny lunch stop in the open area at the junction of Fourmile Lake and Canal Roads. The temperature never got above the low 20's, so after skiing further up the Fourmile Lake Road we turned around and had a wonderful glide back.