This is likely to be our last weekend with ski-able snow at the Palouse Divide. There’s enough snow for some nice spring skiing, but not enough to groom. Enjoy it while it lasts!
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The Divide got a lot of snow this morning! Get out and enjoy it before it’s gone! There’s no grooming, but you can follow Jesse’s tracks on Big Loop, Meadow Creek, and Little Loop.
The ambiguities of March skiing on the Palouse are here. Is there enough snow this weekend to ski? We’ll see how it goes!
There was not enough snow to merit grooming this week, so there are no smooth tracks awaiting you at the Palouse Divide. But if the snow comes down Saturday, there could be fresh snow for skiing. Share your photos when you go to inspire others to join you (or warn them away from following you!). We’ll keep the port-a-potties there another week to see how the conditions turn out. We’re not ruling anything out yet!
The groomers did not groom this week. There is still some snow up at the Divide, but expect patchy conditions (and icy conditions in the mornings), and perhaps sections walking with your skis. Looks like snow might come next week so keep your eyes open and let me know if you see some fresh snow! Our crack team of groomers will get out there! But we’re leaving the port-a-potties out for those of you who do go out this weekend! (pics below are a couple weeks old)
Skiers report that snow was ok on Saturday (groomer’s groomed on Friday), thinnest from the trailhead to the warming hut and about 5 bare spots out to Lane’s Lookout. Better further out. Beautiful day. Skiing should be worthwhile on Sunday especially early.
Very nice skiing at the Divide this afternoon. 32 degrees and snowing hard. Packed base seems to be holding up and 1”-3” of new snow thanks to today’s storm. Don’t put the skis away quite yet. There’s still some season ahead up here.
Today, our friendly team of groomers (this time, Andy, Eric and Tim), groomed all the trails on the east side of the highway at the Palouse Divide! Amazing! Tomorrow, another team (Jon and Matt) will be up there to tidy up and make sure we’re all ready for the Loppet! Thanks to the team! We have the best grooming team I could imagine and can’t thank them enough for all the hard work and dedication our Nordic ski community. So you can help me thank them too!
In other news: Bald Mountain Loppet is Saturday & Women’s Ski is Sunday! Do you want to get all the update from the Palouse Divide Nordic Ski Club: Go to https://pdnsc.groups.io/g/main to sign up!
Thanks to David and Jon for getting the 377 and Hume Road groomed today.
Going into this weekend, everything on the east side of the highway except Potlatch Loop has been packed and groomed. Snowed a couple of inches Thursday night and was snowing hard Friday morning. Expect some light powder over packed snow for some very nice skiing this weekend.
We are not going to have the machines out on the trails this Saturday or Sunday.
Good time to get out and enjoy some of the best conditions this season.
Teams are already starting to prepare for the Bald Mountain Loppet on Saturday, February 22. Registration is full (the maximum allowed is 40) and we have a wait list! If you are out skiing that day, cheer on the intrepid skiers who are skiing 18 miles round trip and up 1,715 to the top of Bald Mountain. We could use a couple volunteers if you want to help out! Just email palousedividenordic@gmail.com
Today our incredible grooming team (this time, Jon & Paul) groomed Big Loop, Meadow Creek Loop, and Little Loop. They spent some extra time out there because with all the recent snow some of the grooming had narrowed. So they did extra work widening it for us! Tomorrow, two more fantastic groomers (Jon again, this time with David) will be out grooming the rest of Hume Road and Palouse Divide Road out to Lane’s Lookout. Make sure to thank the groomers when you see them! They do awesome work for us!
It’s snowing at the Divide, and Emily was able to groom the Palouse Divide Road to Lane’s Lookout this morning! Hopefully, tomorrow’s team can get most of the rest… Nice to see fresh snow!
Bald Mountain Loppet: More than half of the spots for the 18-mile Bald Mountain Loppet on February 22, 2025 have been reserved. Register now by completing the registration form at this link: https://form.jotform.com/250225717112143. Our amazing team of groomers plan on grooming the entire route (wish us luck!), which entails a 9-mile, 1,715-foot climb to the top of Bald Mountain and back. Participation in the loppet is free, but we will gladly accept donations to help us continue to ensure reliable Nordic skiing on the Palouse. The club will have hot drinks, soups, and a fire at the lookout tower for participants.
Grooming Update: We expect some snow tomorrow, just in time for the weekend! A team of groomers is going up tomorrow (Friday), and another should be up on Saturday to groom everything that Friday’s team could not take care of. So long as that snow comes and we face no mechanical problems, expect all the trails on the east side of the highway to be freshly groomed! Hurrah!
When you see those groomers, make sure to give them a wave! They are volunteers helping our community out, and sometimes getting stuck in snow drifts to do it!
Today was a beautiful. sunny day for skiing and the snow was good on the main road to Lane’s Lookout, just a few icy spots under the trees.
Snow is still good on Hume Road and on the main road out to Lane’s Lookout. Big Loop and other side trails are icy and patchy.
The snow is piling up at the Palouse Divide! Here’s the latest grooming report from Jon:
Thanks to Matt, Andy and Nick for all the saw work yesterday. We were able to clear and pack everything on the east side except Potlatch Loop and the Snowshoe Trail. Lots of trees coming down on the trails due to saturated soils and recent snow loads so expect a few obstacles. We’re doing our best to keep up. Teams are scheduled to groom and set tracks on Friday with more snow forecasted. Conditions are getting better every day.
Report from our trail manager, Jon: Pretty nice day at the Palouse Divide. Thanks to Nick from USFS for helping to clear and pack the 377 road. We’ll be clearing, packing and grooming the rest of the east side trails as the week progresses.
Foggy but beautiful today! Snow was good on the Trailhead-Big Loop-Hume Road loop. A little thin in places with denser tree coverage. Some downed and low hanging trees for the groomers to clean up. Snow is not super deep yet, but it shouldn’t melt this week and its supposed to snow Friday, so we’ll be ready for Free Ski Day!
Free Ski Day is January 11, 2025, 10am-3pm!
Club Members: We still need instructors. Teaching beginners how to feel confident on skis is a great way to spend the day!
Contact Jesse and Elise if you’re interested (palousedividenordic@gmail.com).
Message from Jesse: I called St. Joe’s Port-a-Huts to ask them to bring in the port-a-potties from the Palouse Divide. I think we’ve had our run for this winter, and it’s time for Spring.
I’ll be in touch soon about the status of the snowmobile, plans for 2024-25, and other new developments. But before that, here’s a photo of the club trip to the Idaho City Yurt system last week! It was a great trip!!!
