A NORDIC PLAYGROUND

Photo courtesy Methow Trails

Unparalleled Nordic

North America’s best Nordic trail system is in the Methow Valley

BY ASHLEY LODATO

Picture a vast glittering white blanket, with smooth stretches, steep folds, and a few rolling bumps. Now add a shimmering river, frosted pines and majestic cottonwoods. A network of pathways spiders across the blanket, running through fields, over hill and dale. Sprinkle in a couple of cozy huts and a charming town at either end of the blanket, and you’ve got the Methow Valley trails system spread out before you, just waiting for you to clip on your skis (or snowshoes, or fat bike) and insert yourself into the picture.

Widely celebrated as the largest Nordic ski trails system in North America, this 200-kilometer network of skate platforms and classic tracks is one of the Methow Valley’s biggest lures.

Managed and maintained by Methow Trails (www.methowtrails. org), the trails system is the result of the vision of a group of skiing friends in the 1970s, whose foresight and tireless efforts to secure rights-of-way on public and private lands provides thousands of hours of enjoyment and exercise each year.

Nordic skiers are probably wondering what impact the Methow Valley’s 2021 wildfires will have on winter trail access. The short answer is, not much. Although some of the outer reaches of the trail system accessed from Chickadee Trailhead were severely burned and will remain closed for the season — and quite possibly beyond — to allow time to regenerate, most of the winter trails were largely unaffected by the fires. As you ski, you’ll see some blackened forests and possibly notice wider corridors due to fire lines, but for the most part you’ll enjoy the winter wonderland the way you always have. And if you’re here for the first time, it’s likely you won’t observe anything out of the ordinary.

Thank you for respecting trail closure signs, for your own safety and for the long-term health of the forest and trail system.

COVID PROTOCOL

The COVID outlook for this winter is much brighter than a year ago; still, exercising a little caution while you exercise your body is probably a good idea. Embrace the intimate Nordic experience. Skiing in a large group has its merits—such as camaraderie and friendly competition— but during a pandemic, keeping group size small is prudent. While you might ski in a larger group, keep your shuttle cohort to a close circle of fully vaccinated people who are already within your bubble.

While using trail amenities such as warming huts, limit your time indoors if others appear to be waiting for their chance to get into the hut, and wear your mask while inside. Keep your breaks at busy junctions short, to avoid having multiple groups congregating in congested areas.

KEY PLAYERS

Loup Loup Ski Bowl, a community nonprofit ski hill, offers nearly 50 kilometers of groomed Nordic trails near Loup Loup Pass. www. skitheloup.com/nordic-skiing, (509) 557-3401 Methow Trails, a 43-year-old recreation-focused nonprofit organization that establishes and maintains more than 200 kilometers of trail from Mazama to Winthrop. www. methowtrails.org, (509) 996-3287

FIND TRAILS

There are five major trailheads for access to Nordic skiing in the Methow Valley; three of the main areas are linked.

The Methow Trails system comprises three main areas, all connected by the 30-kilometer Methow Community Trail, which stretches from Winthrop to Mazama with spurs up to Sun Mountain and out to Wilson Ranch and Early Winters Creek. The Sun Mountain and Rendezvous areas are the highest and thus tend to be open earliest (often by Thanksgiving) and stay groomed the longest (through April 1 in good snow years).

Photo courtesy Methow Trails

(MCT) is the most easily accessed section of trail in the system. Whether you’re looking for some flat runs through sunny fields, a slow and easy ski after a morning latte at the Mazama Store or the Rocking Horse Bakery in Winthrop, or a fun point-to-point ski with some hill climbing in the middle, the MCT delivers.

The self-service waxing hut at the Spring Creek Ranch Trailhead in Winthrop is insulated and heated for the coming season. An iron and bench are provided; bring your own wax. Many skiers like to make the warming hut at the base of Power’s Plunge a lunch break destination for a flat out-and-back trip from the Spring Creek Ranch Trailhead.

SUN MOUNTAIN

If you like varied terrain, the Sun Mountain trails are the ones for you. Climb up Thompson Road for sweeping views, then swoop back down as fast as you dare. Or take the moderate Little Wolf trail out and explore an old homestead site, or whoop it up on the roller coaster Yellowjacket trail. There are a solid handful of relatively flat trails as well, and dozens of different loops for those who don’t like to repeat terrain.

The Chickadee Trailhead, which feeds into the majority of the Sun Mountain trails, has a warming hut and a welcoming front porch in the sun, while up the hill the Sun Mountain Lodge offers both casual and fine dining options or a cup of hot cocoa. An illustrated “StorySki” makes Chickadee an appealing place to start with the kids.

Although some of the trails at the outer reaches of the Sun Mountain trail system will be closed this season due to extensive damage from the Cedar Creek Fire, most of the winter trails in this area are unaffected. If AquaLoop and Upper Inside Passage are your preferred trails, you’ll need to cultivate some new favorites this season. All

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METHOW COMMUNITY TRAIL

With trailheads at several locations, the Methow Community Trail

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Photo by Ashley Lodato

the rest of the usual winter trails should be open, pending late fall rainfall and potential flooding.

RENDEZVOUS

Don’t ski the Rendezvous if you don’t like hills. But if you do, the Rendezvous won’t disappoint. The Rendezvous offers a point-to-point to ski to Mazama (if you don’t mind a laborious vehicle shuttle) as well as access to numerous loops in the Rendezvous Pass area that really make you feel as if you are out in the backcountry. The Gunn Ranch Road is a spectacular and sunny way to access the Rendezvous trails and cuts out some of the elevation gain, but it gets quite crowded on weekends, especially as it is both a dog trail and a fat bike trail. Although the trails in the Rendezvous were closed for much of the summer due to the fires, none of the trails were affected.

THE LOUP

The Loup Loup Pass area offers a small but worthwhile Nordic option: South Summit. Located 12 miles east of Twisp, South Summit features 50K of trails with some dog-friendly options. Trail passes are not required but a Sno-Park permit, available at the Loup Loup ticket office, is. The Bear Mountain Nordic Trails at the Loup are operating when the luge is not, on Wednesdays and Fridays except during holiday weeks.

CHECK IT OUT

•200-plus kilometers of groomed

Nordic ski trails in the Methow

Trails system. Methow Trails grooms more than 25,000 kilometers annually. Many well-traveled skiers agree that the grooming on the Methow Trails has no equal. •50 kilometers of trails groomed weekly in the Loup Loup area. •Daily grooming report and grooming app at www.methowtrails.org. •Kids 17 and under ski free every day. •Warming huts at convenient locations along the trail system:

Suspension Bridge, Rendezvous

Pass, base of Powers Plunge. •Benchmarks. Scattered throughout the trail system are places to pause, reflect, recover, and soak up the view. Some benches feature engraved quotations with winter themes, others are placed in memorium of beloved Methow

Valley community members. More than just places to rest, these

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LoDging • WeDDingS • hAY

benches can serves as sites to appreciate the meaningful people and places of the Methow Valley. •Ski rentals and lessons. Learn to ski or improve your technique through private or group instruction. Purchase new equipment or test drive cutting-edge gear. Find information at www.methownet. com/skischool; cascadesoutdoorstore.com/ski-rentals-salesservices; www.winthropmountainsports.com/rentals; www. methowcyclesport.com/rentals. •Almost 30 kilometers of dog-friendly trails. Those passionate about canines and skinny skis will love the opportunity to bring their dogs out on the trails where they’re allowed. •Adaptive skiing options. Adaptive

Nordic skiing on a sit ski allows those with long-term physical disabilities as well as those recovering from knee or hip replacements to enjoy the magic of Nordic skiing. Courtesy of the Methow

Valley Fund, Methow Trails has three adult sit skis and one child sit ski available for loan in

Winthrop and Mazama. With advance notice, they can frequently

provide trained volunteer support as well. •Fat bike trails (see fat bike article on page 24) •Snowshoe trails (see snow shoe article on page 32) •Free trails. Methow Trails offers two locations where trail passes are not required: Big Valley and the loop right at the Spring Creek

Ranch Trailhead. Bear in mind that trail pass sales, however, pay for trail grooming. Those Pisten Bullys aren’t cheap and the trails don’t groom themselves. If you’d like to see the highest-quality grooming on all of the Methow Trails, purchase a day, multi-day, 10-day punch card, or season trail pass.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Methow Trails typically hosts numerous events each winter, ranging from races as competitive as the Ski to the Sun Marathon & Relay to those as wild and wacky as the Doggy Dash, where costumed humans and canines battle it out in the six-legged race. COVID considerations will have some impact on the traditional event model. Check Methow Trails’ events page for details at www. methowtrails.org/events.

Methow Valley Nordic presents several events, including the Methow Valley Ski Camp at Sun Mountain in December and the Lee Adams Tour of the Methow, which gives skiers the choice of 20K, 30K, 50K and 80K stretches of trail in a non-competitive environment. Visit Methow Valley Nordic’s events page for details and updated COVID modifications at www.methowvalleynordic.com/events.

If COVID circumstances allow, Methow Trails will provide free shuttle service on Saturday mornings from Christmas through President’s Day, serving the Spring Creek Ranch Trailhead, Brown’s Farm, and Mazama. Park your car, hop on the bus to one of the stops, and ski back to where you started.

DOGS

Can’t imagine skiing without your dog? Several of the trails are dog-friendly, including most—but not all! — of the Rendezvous system, as well as the Big Valley trails, and the Lollipop Loop, a short loop accessed from the Winthrop Fish Hatchery. Like human trail users, canine trail users need annual or day passes to use the trails (except for Big Valley, which is free to all users). Humans accompanying dogs are required to scoop and carry their pets’ poops—not just fling it off to the side of the trail.

WHEN TO GO

From the moment the snow flies until the day it all melts. Methow Trails begins rolling trails with the first snowfall and can groom with heavy equipment as soon as there are 6 inches on the ground. Depending on conditions in the spring, they often groom through April 1. Nordic trails in the Loup Loup area are typically groomed on Thursdays and Fridays.

Some of the best skiing conditions can be found after President’s Day weekend, which is when many visitors stop traveling to the valley. Sunny skies, comfortable temperatures, fast conditions.

Methow Trails routes are open from dawn ’til dusk and no one will frown upon an occasional night ski as long as you stay out of the way of the groomers and stay off the freshly groomed skate platform.

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WHO’S WHO

Methow Trails: Executive Director James DeSalvo; Trails Manager Jon Albright; Office Manager Becky Studen; Outreach & Access Manager Erika Kercher Halm; Partnership Manager Adrienne Schaefer; Mechanic Brandon Richison; Trails Technician Jay Ellis, Trails Technician Gabe Greene. Trail groomers are the heartbeat of this organization. The roster of groomers includes Ed Stockard, Torre Stockard, Megan Bingen, Steve Mitchell, Donni Reddington, Robert Bartsch, and others.

WHAT’S WHAT

You may call them Pisten Bullies or Sno-Cats; we call them by their first names:

Hobbs is the grooming machine stationed at Big Valley. Ginger, named for longtime Methow Trails Executive Director Jay Lucas’s dog, is used to groom the Mazama trails. Scooter, in honor of a late trail groomer, takes care of Sun Mountain’s trails. Red McGroom, in memory of valley resident and benefactor Red McComb, cruises between Winthrop and the Suspension Bridge. And our newest machine, Miller Time, allows us to remember the late trail advocates Carl Miller and Lee Miller.

INSIDER INFO

•A new mobile ticketing system is

COVID-sensitive and user-friendly. Purchasing a day pass or multi-day pass on your Smart

Phone takes less than a minute and saves you a trip into a local retailer to buy a traditional pass.

Display your phone to the trailhead ambassador, and you’re off in the tracks. •Back by popular request: 10-day punch cards, which offer more flexibility than a 3-day pass (which must be used on consecutive days) and more affordability than a full annual pass. Punch cards must be redeemed from any ticket vendor and are valid for two years. • The new Try Winter Pass is an excellent way to experience winter from three angles: Nordic,

Alpine, and ice. Purchase a regular season’s pass through Methow

Trails, the Winthrop Rink, or Loup

Loup Ski Bowl and you’ll receive a three-punch transferable pass worth $76 good for one day at each of those recreation areas. •One of the best ways to experience the Rendezvous is slowly, from the comfort of your European-style backcountry hut (www. rendezvoushuts.com). Book a hut for a couple of nights, get your gear and food shuttled, and spend glorious days exploring the

Rendezvous trails and leisurely evenings reading or playing board games in your cozy hut. Make your reservations early. •“StorySki” panels illustrated by author/artist Erik Brooks blend literacy with activity and usher young skiers down the trail. Located at Chickadee, Spring Creek

Ranch, and Mazama trailheads. •Methow Trails recently purchased an 18-acre piece of property near

Horizon Flats in Winthrop, which is now the headquarters for all of the organization’s operations. A new facility is under construction at the Horizon Flats property. A new trail connects the Susie Stephens

Trail to the Horizon Flats property, allowing skiers to ski a loop to see the new property and finish at the

Spring Creek Ranch Trailhead.

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