Ski Touring and Nordic Skiing - Easy III

Ski around the Elkhorn Loop above Idaho City.  About a 6.5 mile trip with a 700' climb to the top of Banner Ridge then mostly level or downhill back to the parking lot.  With all the new snow last week, what is forecast for this week, and temperatures expected to be in the teens the conditions should be excellent. 

We will be doing a XC ski trip to Little Bear Basin outside of McCall. The route will stay on trails rated as green or blue and will include about 2 to 3 hours of skiing or longer if the group is up for it. You can check out the trail map at: http://j.b5z.net/i/u/2160156/i/Bearbasin_trail_sys_map.jpg We will plan on leaving Boise at 8:00 am. The trip will be cancelled if the weather conditions are too bad. The group size will be limited to 8 people and the cost to ski at Little Bear Basin is $10 per person.  http://idahomountainrec.org/page/activities to understand trip classification system.

Come join Colls for an evening of Nordic Skiing under the gentle lights at Bogus Basin’s Nordic Ski Area on March 5th or 19th(easy/moderate). Great views of the Treasure Valley and uncluttered trails await you! At 5:30 pm we’ll depart the parking area near Moxi Java on Bogus Basin Road just north of Hill Road (in the shopping center area near the Bogus offices) and carpool up the hill. We should be on skis by 6:30 and can go until 8:30pm, when the Nordic Trail closes. We can break into groups depending on how fast some in the group wants to go. Downhillers are welcome, but they need to know we’ll only be there 2 hours. Bring water, a snack, your own warm gear (rentals are available), and some may find it helpful to have a headlamp (Colls prefers the natural light). If you don’t have a season pass, nightly passes are available for $8 at the Nordic Center. Please be on time so we can take advantage of the most time possible. Date may change based on Colls’ travel schedule, so it may be best to leave a message with her (853-5368) indicating your interest (that way she can call you back if she has to change dates. Assume we are good to go if you don’t hear from her).

Come join Colls for an evening of nordic skiing under the gentle lights at Bogus Basin’s nordic ski area. Great views of the Treasure Valley, and uncluttered trails await you! At 5:30pm, we’ll depart the parking area near Moxi Java on Bogus Basin road just north of Hill Road (in the shopping center area near the Bogus offices) and carpool up the hill. We should be on skis by 6:30 and can go til 8:30pm when it closes. We can break into groups depending how fast some want to do. Downhillers are welcome, but need to know we’ll only be there 2 hours. Bring water, a snack, your own warm gear (rentals are available), and some find it helpful to have a headlamp (I prefer the natural light). If you don’t have a season pass, nightly passes are available for $8 at the Nordic Center. Please be on time so we can take advantage of the most time possible.

Dust off your cross-country touring skis and join us on the logging/mining roads north of Idaho City. We are hoping for fresh powder (snow is forecast) on the old base. We will ski the Elkhorn loop at the Banner Park-n-Ski if it is not too windy - our backups are one or both of the more protected Goldfork loops. We will be breaking trail (great practice for back-country touring). The terrain will be enjoyed by skiers with intermediate skills. Park-n-Ski passes can be purchased on the way in Idaho City for vehicles without them.