Out There Monthly January 2009

MONTHLY

I N LA

ND N

JANU OU A TD O O

THE INLAND NORTHWEST GUIDE TO OUTDOOR RECREATION

// JAN 2009

// VOL. 5, NO. 6

m a e t sknI FIDentIal o C r o F e k a t t I s ’ What s

e t e l h t a g n u Yo n to Compete o the slopes

?

EVERYDAY CYCLIST: COLD WEATHER CLOTHES P.00 HEALTH & FITNESS: NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION SOLUTION P.00 CROSS COUNTRY SkIING AT THE PALOUSE DIVIDE P.00 SUSTAINAbILITY: AN ENVIRONmENTAL WISH LIST FOR ObAmA P.00

WOmEN’S SOUPER bOWL SET TO GO P.00

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in this issue p.6 / NEWS CHUNKS Women’s Souper Bowl Snow Event

OK – the holidays are over. Back to Work!

Resolve to ride more this year.

Simple!

20

p.7 / From the Editor A Tale of Two Ski Resorts

14

p.8 / Out There News Birding at the Family MACfest, Hobnailers Want You

p.9 / Ski the Northern Rockies Winter fun guide See What’s New at Local Mountains

MONTHLY

p.14 / Ski Team Confidential

www.outtheremonthly.com

What Does it Take for Young Athletes

Out There Monthly / january 2009

to Compete on the Slopes?

By Mira Copeland

Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

Jon Snyder jon@outtheremonthly.com Art Director

p.17 / Health & Fitness New Year’s Resolution Solution

By Melanie Hingle

p.18 / Sustainable Living Environmentalist’s Wishlist for Obama & Getting Involved with Active Transportation

By Mark Clayton & Erika Prins

Kaitlin Snyder kaitlin@outtheremonthly.com Health & Fitness Editor

Dr. Bob Lutz senior writer

Derrick Knowles

Contributing Writers:

Bradley Bleck, Jordy Byrd, Mark Clayton, Mira Copeland, Angie Dierdorff, Ashley Graham, Melanie Hingle, Esther Holmes, Bob Husak, Jon Jonckers, Erika Prins, Stan Miller, John Speare Distribution Coordinator

Barbara Snyder To request issues please call 509 / 534 / 3347 Ad Sales

Jon Snyder: 509 / 534 / 3347

p.20 / Everyday Cyclist Combat the Cold with Clothes

By John Speare

p.21 / MUSIC Reviews & Upcoming shows Britney Spears, Charlie Louvin, The Whore Moans, Snow Patrol

p.22 / Book Reviews Grizzly Wars, Arts & Crafts Movement, Ranch Living

p.23 / JAnuary INLAND NW OUTDOOR CAlendar & Six Month Training Calendar

Out There Monthly

Mailing Address: PO Box 559 Spokane, WA 99210 www.outtheremonthly.com, 509 / 534 / 3347 Out There Monthly is published once a month

by Snyderco DBA/Out There Monthly. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent of the publisher. ©Copyright 2009 Snyderco DBA/Out There Monthly.

The views expressed in this magazine reflect those of the writers and advertisers and not necessarily Snyderco DBA/Out There Monthly.

Disclaimer: Many of the activities depicted in this magazine carry a significant risk of personal injury or death. Rock climbing, river rafting, snow sports, kayaking, cycling, canoeing and backcountry activities are inherently dangerous. The owners and contributors to Out There Monthly do not recommend that anyone participate in these activities unless they are experts or seek qualified professional instruction and/or guidance, and are knowledgeable about the risks, and are personally willing to assume all responsibility associated with those risks.

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p.26 / The Last Page Palouse Divide Ski Area

By Esther Holmes

Indoor Trainers

On the cover: dillon bauernfeind of ssra competing at Norquay in Canada. // photo Carl Guenzel. Inset photo: snowshoeing at the women’s souper bowl on Mt. Spokane.

The Baby B ar/ Neato B urrito 827 W. Firs t • 847-123 4 january 2009

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news chunks "Spokane needs another

_______

like it needs a ____ in the ____!

• FREE Classes January 3rd and 4th • Rookie Weekend January 16-18 • Learn the Basics session starting in January • Nationally recognized Teacher Training Program • Child Care available

NEW location: 1908 NW Blvd. (next to Alton's) 327-0720 South Hill: 30th & Grand 747-6041

The Community Colleges of Spokane’s Institute for Extended Learning announces three great new Green classes for the new year: “Natural Building 101” on January 13, “Super Insulated Wall Systems” January 27, and “Energy Options for Your Home” February 3rd.

All classes meet 6-9PM. For more information contact Theresa Mangrum at (509) 533-4717.

Red Cross volunteers responded to seven Emergencies over 72 Hours. Community support is sought as need for services increases.

As Inland Northwest residents face the coldest weather since 1990, the American Red Cross has been facing the harsh conditions head-on as volunteers work with individuals and families impacted by weather-related emergencies.

Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteers have responded to seven emergencies in three days in December including several fires in the Spokane area and a house fire in Northport that damaged the home of one couple and their ten children. The average number of emergencies the Red Cross typically responds to is one every forty-eight hours. “As people try to keep warm

in this extreme cold, it increases the possibility of an emergency occurring. We encourage everyone to take precautions, but when an emergency happens, the Red Cross is always ready to assist those impacted,” said Dawn Lindblom, Executive Director of the American Red Cross Inland Northwest Chapter.

First Alpine Guide Service Debuts in Revelstoke, British Columbia: Revelstoke Alpine Adventures offers personalized mountain experiences for everyone from seasoned backcountry enthusiasts to families; first courses and guiding is underway now. RAA offers an entirely new and premiere option to explore and enjoy the best of Canada’s backcountry. RAA is offering guided services for skiing, hiking, waterfall ice climbing, rock climbing, and mountaineering adventures, as well as avalanche skills training courses. “Our experiences range from several hours to several days,” says co-owner Norm Winter. For more information on RAA, call 877-837-7141, or visit www.revelstokealpineadventures.com. //

spokane yoga shala 505 east 24th avenue spokane, 509.869.4121 www.spokaneyogashala.com

Cross Country Ski and Snowshoe With Spokane Parks & Recreation’s Outdoor Program

Women’s souper bowl expands

A great event for beginner and experienced shoers and skiers

“Learn to Ski Guarantee” If you do not feel you have learned to cross country ski during one of our classes you can retake any of our lessons at no cost or receive a full refund!

View a full list of classes or register at SpokaneParks.org or Call 509-625-6200 6

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For experienced and beginner crosscountry skiers and snowshoers the 4th Annual Women’s “Souper” Bowl will be held on February 1, 2009 at the Selkirk Lodge on Mount Spokane.

This event is open to all levels of cross-country skiers and snowshoers. Snowshoes will be available on site free of charge. Mountain Gear, Fitness Fanatics, and REI will be offering discounted ski rentals in town, so reserve early. A timed, women’s only, race for both classic and skate skiers will begin at 10 a.m. Other options include guided snowshoe tours, or venture off on a marked trail on your own. Treats await those intrepid skiers who make it to the Nova Hut, a 5km loop. A “Souper” lunch including hot soup to warm up participants, with fresh bread, and delicious cookies will be served from 11:00 a.m. till 12:45 p.m. The day will conclude with drawings for prizes, which include massages, coffee, wine, gift certificates, and gear from our local outdoor sponsors starting at 12:15 p.m.

New this year: Save gas, help lower your carbon footprint, and make parking easy by taking the chartered “Souper” Bowl bus. The bus will leave at 8:00 a.m. from the Mountain Gear parking lot at 2002 N. Division and make a stop at Mt. Spokane

High School at 8:30 a.m. to pick up northside participants. Bus fare is $15.00. This is a great deal particularly if you don’t have a Sno-Park permit, which is $10 for the day. Reservations for the bus will be on a first-come, first-reserved basis.

“Many women come to this event as first time skiers or snowshoers and get hooked on these fun ways to be outside in the winter,” said Genevieve Mann-Morris, Women’s and Children’s Free Restaurant board member and planning committee member. Each year this event has grown and organizers anticipate 200 people in 2009.

Join in the fun, meet other adventurous spirits, and spend a day in the snow while supporting the Women’s and Children’s Free Restaurant.

Minimum suggested donation is $25. // The first 100 participants to register will receive a FREE cloth shopping bag from REI. All who pre-register will have TWO tickets entered into the drawing for prizes.

Registration forms are available on line at the following websites: www.mountaingear.com/retail, www.fitfanaticscom, www.snsef.org

FROM THE EDITOR: A TAle OF tWO Ski Resorts See if this computes: Resort #1 is surrounded by huge real estate development, has four mountains, with 44 lifts, 5,246 acres of skiable terrain, resides in a community of 8,000 permanent residents and is 265 miles from the nearest medium-sized city. This resort received an “A” environmental grade from the Ski Area Citizens Coalition. Resort #2 has modest real estate development, 5 lifts, 1,425 acres of skiable terrain, and resides a few dozen miles from a half a million residents. This resort received an “F” grade from the SACC. Is this fair? Resort #1 is Aspen and resort #2 is Mt. Spokane.

I spoke with Hunter Sykes, spokesman for the Ski Area Citizens Coalition about the grading criteria and he admitted to me that the grades are mainly focused on “future expansion in general.”

That’s understandable. The Coalition has focused on discouraging environmentally irresponsible expansion since it first handed out grades in 1999. Anything that encourages ski resorts to be greener is great. Mt. Spokane’s current expansion plans have some opposition, but they are still in flux and require a long approval process.

I asked Sykes why they don’t compare the resort’s total footprints? “It’s a really tough one,” says Sykes. “Everyone would get an ‘F.’” Why

not try to compare the carbon emissions used by skiers to get to resorts? “It’s really difficult to quantify what those are.”

Here’s a try: Spokane International Airport serves 3.2 million travelers a year in a metro area of a half million. Aspen airport serves 249,000 travelers a year in metro area of 8,000. I think it’s safe to say a lot more fuel per visitor is expended

by Aspen skiers, since most Mt. Spokane skiers just drive 28 miles to use it.

Aspen did most of its major development and expansion prior to 1999, the first year of Coalition report cards. According to Sykes, negative marks for expansions are removed from the

grading after five years allowing large resorts like Telluride to rehab their grades. Also, real estate development that isn’t done by the resort operator isn’t factored in, which explains why a big resort village like Aspen escapes report card scrutiny.

I’m sure all our local mountains could be greener, but as far as getting better SACC grades they are going to face an uphill battle against, bigger, more established, and more affluent resorts.

Is this fair?

-----------------------------------------------------JON SNYDER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF editor@outtheremonthly.com

january 2009

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OUT THERE NEWS

Spokane Alpine Haus

Museum Lures birdwatchers

MAC announces bird-themed family macfest in january

Don’t live with uncomfortable boots.

Custom boot work our specialty.

Certified master boot-fitters on staff.

We’ve got co ld weather g ear too: Yak Trax, han dwarmers, g loves

A bird from the dabblers, divers, and murderers exhibit // Photo courtesy of the mac.

South 2925 Regal • Spokane (509) 534-4554 • www.spokanealpinehaus.com • Infant Care • ADHD/Behavioral Health • Child Development • Acute Care • Adolescent Medicine

WINTER IS HERE. DRESS WARM AND ENJOY THE OUTDOORS.

You can bring the entire family to the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture (MAC) for the Family MACFest, Going to the Birds! on Saturday, January 10, 2009 from Noon to 3 p.m.

This exhibit is made for dedicated birdwatchers or anyone who enjoys the main kinds of birds that live in the Inland Northwest. Museum goers can see the 100+ mounted birds on display in the Dabbler, Divers, Murderers, Travelers exhibit. Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge and the Spokane Audubon Society will have activities on wildlife preservation. Mobius Children’s Museum will be on hand to demonstrate the dynamics of flight. Hands-on projects will focus on bird specialties and habitats. We’ll even have real live birds of prey here from the Coeur d’Alene Audubon Society and the West Valley Outdoor Center’s Hawk and Owl Sanctuary!

Special discounted admission for MACFest is

only $15 per family, which includes all activities and the galleries. As always admission is free for MAC members. Other current gallery exhibits at the MAC feature Toys! Toys! Toys!, Spokane Timeline, Living Legacy: The American Indian Collection, George Longfish: A Retrospective and Quiltscapes.

Family MACFest is sponsored by STCU. The MAC is located at 2316 West First Avenue in Spokane, Washington’s historic Browne’s Addition.

The Museum is open Tuesday – Sunday, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. and closed Mondays and major holidays.

Regular Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for seniors and students. Children 5 and under and Museum members are admitted free. // Information about on-going Museum exhibits, programs and events are available by calling (509) 456-3931 weekdays, the 24-hour hotline at (509) 363-5315, or visit the MAC website at www.northwestmuseum.org.

hobnailers want you

to come to their annual meeting and walk with them this winter

483-4060

www.nwspokanepediatrics.com

• Joseph McManus, MD • Daniel Moorman, MD • Lance R. Varns, ARNP • Brooke Jordan, ARNP • Alex Ponomarenko, ARNP Welcoming New Patients from Birth to 20 Years Old

5901 N. Lidgerwood, #220 Spokane, WA 99208 8

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The local outdoors club Hobnailers, Inc. will hold its annual meeting January 7, at 7 p.m. in the Manito Meeting Room N/C. Current and prospective members are invited to attend and participate in the election of new president and delegation of member duties.

The organization was established in 1951 and works to promote interest, conservation and fellowship in outdoor activities. The group formed and split from the Spokane Mountaineers “when a group of people just wanted to do walking,” said Gardner Bailey, current membership chairmen.

The club works to provide year-round, 6-8 mile hikes on Sundays and Wednesdays from March to October. Hikes include everything from The John Wayne Trail, to Palouse Falls to trips to Lookout Pass. During winter months the group maintains Sundays walks.

“We’ve been doing Sunday walks since infinity started,” Gardner said. Winter walks are generally

in the Spokane vicinity. “We try to make each walk a 6 mile minimum,” Gardner said, “or as close as you can get it.”

There can be as few as 6 walkers and upwards of 30, he said. Active members plan and lead the walks. For car pool purposes, prospective and current members are asked to call walk leaders ahead of time, confirming their attendance.

Gardner asks that all prospective members attending the meeting identify themselves as a guest and schedule their first walk. // For information about Sunday walks call Virginia at (509) 534-1100 or Myrna at (509) 218-1158. For more information about membership, club activities and a schedule of walks visit http://www.inlandnorthwesttrails.org/ Hobnailers/Hobnailers.asp or email Gardner at perfesser3@comcast.net.

WINTERMountainGuide‘09 Sponsored by I.N.S.A. Schweitzer garners National media Recognition “A World Class Mountain With Lots of Soul.” //

A winter paradise above the lake. // Photo courtesy scweitzer mountain resort

This fall several national snowsports magazines spotlighted Schweitzer with special honors. Skiing Magazine editors chose Schweitzer Mountain Resort as “Best Place to Ditch the Crowds” in the magazine’s first annual Resort Awards issue. SKI Magazine readers placed Schweitzer in the top 10 resorts in North America for their chairlift system. Powder Magazine claims Schweitzer has the “best park in the Pacific Northwest” and Snowboard Magazine says it’s a world class mountain with lots of soul.

“I see Schweitzer Mountain and the village bustling with enthusiastic visitors and vibrant energy so I must admit that I was surprised to receive the Skiing Magazine editor’s pick as the Best Place to Ditch the Crowds,” said Tom Chasse, Schweitzer’s President and CEO. “Turns out it’s a great reminder that even as we grow we are a far cry from the resorts where you have to wait in lift lines and weave through crowded slopes. Schweitzer really is a mountain with enough room for everyone, and with the new lifts we installed last season we are honored that Ski Magazine readers picked us as #10 for our lift system.”

The Stomping Grounds Terrain Park, which was named by Powder Magazine as “best park in the Pacific Northwest” is home away from home to Schweitzer’s Park Rangers. The Rangers maintain and build cutting edge park features, promote the Smart Style terrain park safety code, and generally make sure there is a safe flow of ski and snowboard traffic in the park. “The park crew works really hard fine-tuning jumps, adding new rails and features, and making sure everyone is having fun in the park,” said Dan Nylund, Terrain Park Manager at Schweitzer.

“We’re all really proud to be noticed by Powder

Magazine for the great experience we work so hard to offer.”

The resort is known for its two massive bowls, breathtaking views and amazing gladed terrain. It is one of the larger resorts in the country with 2900 acres of skiable in-bounds terrain.

Thousands of additional acres of cat skiing are available off the back of the mountain from the top of The Great Escape Quad.

This year Schweitzer is making the most of cutting edge technology to enhance guest service and communication. A new interactive trail map on their website at schweitzer.com allows users to view photos and videos depicting particular runs by clicking on trail map icons from the comfort of home. Users can also choose custom criteria that allows them to view and print out maps tailored to their skills to enhance their upcoming day on the mountain. For instance, someone can choose intermediate runs that were groomed the night before and those will become highlighted on the map. Then the information can be printed, referred to and utilized throughout the day.

Other investments in technology include a high definition video camera to more clearly bring the mountain to you online, and a second LED sign at the top of the Stella lift that can be programmed with conditions, safety and other information.

Ski and stay lodging packages start at $78 per person per night and are a great way to enjoy the mountain fully. Online lodging booking eases the process of planning a vacation and allows users to complete reservations from start to finish online.

For more information call 208.263.9555 or visit www.schweitzer.com. //

Left: Schweitzer’s steep terrain. Right: Stomping grounds terrain park. // Photo courtesy schweitzer mountain resort.

‘09 EVENT CALENDAR // December 31 New Years Eve Parties Parties for all ages including the rockin’ Clumsy Lovers concert in Taps, the teen tubing party and the ever popular “tween” party for kids.

January 17-19 Winter Carnival

Celebration

Family friendly events to celebrate the weekend. Torchlight parade and fireworks on the 17th with live music following in Taps.

January 30-31 24 Hours at Schweitzer 24 hour ski race to raise money for Henry “Hank” Sturgis and Cystinosis research.

Ski all day and all night.

January 31- February 1 College Daze Special prices and activities for college students with a DJ in Taps.

February 6-March 6 Starlight Racing Friday night races followed by parties in Taps for 21 and over only please. Final Starlight party’s theme is a night at the movies - racers dress as their favorite movie character! A locals favorite.

February 14 Shot in the Dark Rail Jam Monthly rail jam under the lights.

February 27-28 Outrageous Air Show Olympic skiers join local talent in a big air show for a spectacular evening of entertainment. Crazy themed parties follow in Taps.

March 14 Heuga Center Vertical Express for MS An annual event raising funds to support the Heuga Center.

March 15 Grom Stomp Calling all groms! This first year event is for skiers and snowboarders ages 6-11. The ridercross course and slopestyle is designed just for you!

March 20-22 Stomp Games Some of the best riders in the region compete for over $10,000 in cash prizes! Guaranteed purses in all pro categories. Rail Jam, Slopestyle and Ridercross categories in pro and amateur divisions ages 12 and older. Space is limited – register early.

March 27 A Day for Heather $10 lift tickets with all proceeds going to Community Cancer Services in Sandpoint.

April 4-5 Tropical Daze Bring out your Hawaiian shirt for some fun in the sun. Pond skimming and family activities daily. Downhill dummy derby on Sunday. Live music both days.

Dates and information subject to change.

Visit www.schweitzer.com for an updated list of special events or call (208) 255-3081. for more information. //

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WINTERMountainGuide‘09

Sponsored by I.N.S.A.

Lookout Pass: AfFordable family fun Legendary Powder Just East of Wallace, Idaho //

09 EVENTS CALENDAR January 2009

Kids can carve up a storm. // Photo courtesy Lookout mountain.

Lookout Pass is the original Idaho ski area having documented skiing and a homemade rope tow in 1935. The local ski pioneers chose Lookout Pass because of the abundant snowfall and excellent snow quality which they could access by jumping on the Northern Pacific railcars as they proceeded east from the mining towns of Wallace and Mullan, Idaho. These ski adventurers would hop off the railcars at the summit and utilize a highway storage shed as a warming hut that they nicknamed “Buzzards Roost”.

Lookout Pass has operated every winter season since 1935 and has a reputation for legendary powder, earliest openings, and longest season in the region. Average snowfall is 400” of light Northern Rockies snow. The “Affordable Family Ski Area” has recently received a major expansion approval and has initiated the first three phases of a five phase Master Development Plan.

Lookout’s historic base lodge is the 2nd oldest ski lodge in the northwest. The cedar interior offers delightful warmth reminiscent of vintage lodges of the 1940’s.

We’re Growing and our ski terrain has tripled in size since 2003!

Our new North Star, double chairlift, opened on December 26, 2007. The new lift provides access to the coveted north aspect of the mountain with six named runs and acres of tree skiing.

Three of the runs are rated expert and three are intermediate runs. Enjoy fall-line skiing with panoramic views of the Bitterroot Mountains and the Coeur d’Alene River Valley.

Our Timber Wolf, double chairlift, and five new runs on the Montana side of the mountain opened on December 26, 2003. This increased our vertical drop to 1,150 feet and the longest run is 1.2 miles in length. Two of the new runs are rated expert and three are rated intermediate.

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The views of the St. Regis Basin and Copper Basin are spectacular.

A new 6,000 square foot lodge addition was completed and ready for the 2005/2006 winter season. The three story addition features a greatly expanded food service seating area, a new retail shop, locker rooms, additional restrooms, and the new “Loft” pub and grub lounge on the top level.

The seating areas and bar/lounge take advantage of panoramic slope side and mountain views.

The new “International” food court and new ticket windows with e-ticket express were completed for the 2006/2007 season. Enjoy your favorite grill, deli, and famous Lookout chili food items from a quick food selection area. Additional ticket windows with e-ticket express make for a relaxed and quick ticket pick-up service.

A new Rental Shop addition will open for the 2007-08 season with the latest in shaped skis, powder skis and snowboards. The Rental Shop is now double in size with new check-in technology to get you out and on the slopes without delay.

New Five Day Schedule: We’re open Thursday through Monday and all holidays, including the two-week Christmas vacation break, December 20- January 5. A new midweek season pass is now available for only $129.

A new Summit Shack Cafe deck for panoramic mountain top food service has been completed for the 2008-09 season. Take a convenient hot chocolate break or enjoy a grilled burger or deli sandwich at the top of the world. Open weekends and holidays.

Lookout’s famous Free Ski School for Kids is a nationally-recognized ten-week Free Ski School for youth (ages 6-17 years) which has been ongoing for over 60 years! This year’s program starts Saturday, January 10 and continues every Saturday through March 14, 2009. Beginner sessions start at 10 a.m., Intermediate and Advanced sessions

at 11:30 a.m.

Bus service is available to and from Coeur d’Alene, Post Falls, Hayden, Liberty Lake, the Silver Valley and Western Montana. Check site for the bus schedules. The Silver Valley and Western Montana bus service is FREE! Certified PSIA Ski & AASI Snowboard School.

Professional lessons are available every day we are open. Private lessons may be reserved at just about anytime. Group lessons are available at 10:30 am and 1:00 pm PST. Our Pros are happy to provide powder lessons whenever you’re ready!

Mini-Moose Club for kids, ages 3 – 6 yrs, provides supervised skills development sessions, fun and hot chocolate for the young ones. Plus some break time for the parents!

Downhill Divas is a special woman’s program guided by Professional Instructors providing skills enhancement, education, tips in boot fitting and equipment, plus demo skis and snowboards to try if you like. The program is offered every Thursday, January 8 through March 5, 2009. Lunch is included.

Season Pass Rates Our 2008/2009 Season Pass rates are the most affordable in the region.

Season pass rate for adults is $289, $139 for Juniors (7-12 yrs), $159 for Teens (13-17 yrs), $159 for Seniors (62-69 yrs), $139 for Super Seniors (70 yrs+), and $675 for a Family of two adults and one junior or teen. Additional dependents may be added for as little as $129 each. College/Military passes are just $249. A new mid-week season pass valid Monday, Thursday and Friday is available for only $159. // For more information or to find out when you can purchase a season pass at your local ski shop, call Lookout’s business office at 208-744-1301, ext.

0. You can also visit our website at www.skilookout.com and order on-line. //

Jan. 1 Happy New Year! Good cheer and all-day football in the lounge (between runs of course!).

Jan. 5 Prime Timers Club meets every Monday. Club membership and info at www.skilookout.com Jan. 8 “Downhill Divas” Women’s ski or snowboard program. 9:30 to 2:30 every other Thursday thru March 8. Ski with a Pro in a relaxed atmosphere. Demos, boot fitting tips, fun and lunch included.

Jan. 10 Lookout’s famous FREE Ski School Program (ages 6 to 17). Every Saturday from Jan. 10 thru Mar. 14.

Beginners: 10:00 am to 11:15 am.

Intermediate & Advanced: 11:30 am to 12:45 pm. Ronald McDonald Day. Jan. 11 Winter Carnival - Family Fun Day - Pacific Northwest National Wife Carrying Contest Jan. 19 Open Monday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Jan. 25 Media Team Races & Appreciation Day

February 2009 Feb. 1 “Ole Olson” Bratwurst/Brew & Music Festival Feb. 8 Lookout “BIG AIR” Contest Feb. 14/15 Mardi Gras Festival & Live Music Feb. 16 Open Monday for President’s Day Holiday.

Feb. 20 Toyota FREE Ski Day Feb. 22 “Battle on the Border” SLOPESTYLE Invitational

March 2009 Mar. 1 Schussboomer Crazy Costume Ski & Snowboard Races Mar 7/8 Northern Division Masters Alpine GS & Slalom Races.

Mar. 8 Lookout Beach Party - Big Kahuna Downhill (Dress Hawaiian) Mar. 14 Free Ski School Graduation Awards & BBQ. Mar. 21/22 Emerald Youth Ski League Alpine GS & SL Finals Mar. 28 Military, Firefighter and Police Appreciation Day Mar. 29 Lookout BBQ - Season Pass Holder Appreciation Day “King & Queen of the mountain downhill”

April 2009 Apr. 4/5 Slush Cup! - Pond Skimming Events.

Projected last day of season (4/5) Apr. 11/18 Possible Saturday operations depending on conditions. //

WINTERMountainGuide‘09 SILVER MOUNTAIN: Dive into silver rapids

Sponsored by I.N.S.A.

Skiing And Waterpark Fun All At One Resort //

Take the gondola up to the top or jump into siler rapids // Photos courtesy silver mountain resort.

SILVER MOUNTAIN: SURF’S UP AT SILVER RAPIDS! The Northwest’s most unique destination, Silver Mountain Resort, has something for everyone. Silver Mountain is the only ski resort in the west to combine great skiing with our brand new year-round indoor waterpark, nearly the size of a football field.

Gondola Village is just a ¼ mile from I-90 and the parking lot has been expanded and improved (thanks to the completion of the 300 room Morningstar Lodge and the Silver Rapids indoor waterpark). Minutes after exiting the highway, visitors are whisked to the Mountain Haus on our high speed gondola. From here guests can access 73 ski runs and endless glades. Trail crews were busy this past summer clearing brush and timber to improve the glade skiing and riding experience off chairs 3 and 4.

If you are in the market for some new gear, the Demo Center in the Mountain Haus is loaded with the latest stuff from Rossignol, K2 and Volkl and you can try out as many as you want throughout the day.

Also located in the Mountain Haus is our sports school, where our team of certified professionals can help the first timer and advanced snow riders improve their skills and confidence. Our instructors can teach you new techniques, how to handle new or different snow conditions, and will introduce you to the unique aspects of Silver Mountain. Classrooms don’t come any more beautiful than this!

When you’re ready to refuel, both the Mountain Haus Food Court and Mogul’s Lounge have new and improved menu items.

After the quads start to burn, hop on the gondola to the village for shopping, dining or rejuvenation at the full service day spa. Morning Star Lodge is just a few steps away where you can relax by the fire in a luxurious condominium. Day skiers and season pass holders are eligible for discounted room rates, which includes access to Silver Rapids.

Silver Rapids offers over 20 features including six wild waterslides and a family raft adventure.

Improve your surfing skills on the FlowRider™ surf wave. The FlowRider propels 60,000 gallons of water per minute to create the perfect, endless wave. After surfing you’ll be ready for a trip down the Lazy River. It’s a perfect 84 degrees every day at Silver Rapids!

To help offset the effects of the difficult economy, Silver Mountain Resort has come up with some terrific packages that combine snow riding, indoor water park adventure and luxury lodging for about the price of a budget hotel room. Ski, surf and stay packages start at $65 per person for a family or group of four. Visit Silver Mountain Resort on the web at www.silvermt.com //

‘09 EVENT CALENDAR // January

Jan 7 Silver Mountain’s 41st

Jackass Days Celebration Jan 10 Silver Under the Stars Series Jan 10 USASA Snowboard Event Jan 10 Silver Rapids Open Surf

Competition Jan 16-19 Martin Luther King, Jr.

Weekend & Downhill Torchlight

Parade Jan 23 Toyota Ski Free Days Jan 23-25 Silver Under the Stars

Series Jan 24 At the Haus Rail Jam Jan 24 Silver Founder’s Weekend Jan 31 Winter Parrot Fest Jan 31 Silver Under the Stars Series Jan 31 West Coast Collegiate

Conference Races February

Feb 1 West Coast Collegiate

Conference Races Feb 7 At the Haus Rail Jam Feb 7 Special Olympics of Idaho Feb 13-16 President’s Day /

Sweetheart’s Weekend &

Downhill Torchlight Parade Feb 20 Tom Sherry Ski Free Days Feb 21 Tubin’ In Tutus Fundraiser

Feb 21 Silver Under the Stars

Series: The Finals Feb 27-28 Silver Extreme

Weekend—Do it all, ski, surf,

splash.

March March 7 Marchi Gras March 7-8 Silver Cups Races March 14 Retro Days March 14 At the Haus Rail Jam March 17 Patrick’s Day Celebration March 21-22 Silver Extreme

Weekend—Do it all, ski, surf,

splash April ** Stay tuned for “Silver Saturdays ** April 4 Spring Carnival: Pond

Skimming, Surf & Snow April 5 Last Day of Regular Winter

Operations April 25 5th Annual Leadman: Ski/

Board/Bike/Run. // *All events are subject to change.

january 2009

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WINTERMountainGuide‘09

Sponsored by I.N.S.A.

Mt. Spokane: More skiing, less driving New Night Lighting And More Gladed Terrain //

Now open seven days a week most of the season. // Photo courtesy of mt. spokane

NEW AT MT. SPOKANE FOR 08-09 NEW STATE PARK ROAD Mt. Spokane State Park road construction crews spent the summer rebuilding the upper portion of the road up to the mountain. It has been widened, straightened, and repaved to allow you a smoother commute.

EXPANDED NIGHT LIGHTING Our mountain operations crew was hard at work in October installing 14 new light poles from the top of Chair 2 all the way down Alison’s Way through the middle of the Gates Park area, opening a few hundred new acres of this forested terrain for night skiing. We have 40 nights of night skiing this season – more than any other local area mountain.

MORE GLADED TERRAIN Brushcutting crews opened up tons of new gladed terrain on the Chair 4 backside area, adding to the best undiscovered tree skiing in the area – shhhh, keep it amongst yourselves!

REMODELED KITCHEN & RENTAL SHOP The first thing you’ll see when you walk upstairs in Lodge 2 is the remodeled kitchen & dining area which should allow you to get your grub and back out on the slopes quicker than ever. Our rental shop has also been remodeled for the same reason; now you can get your equipment and hit the slopes in record time! Don’t forget to check out our brand new fleet of demo skis & snowboards from Atomic!

“BIG BLUE” ARRIVES We took delivery of a brand-new baby blue 12

Out There Monthly

/ january 2009

Prinoth BR-350 Snow Cat groomer in late October, which the boys promptly named “Big Blue.” It will make grooming the slopes faster and more efficient, with less fuel consumption.

In addition, “pick points” were installed on TwoFace and Hourglass that the snow cat attaches its winch to and makes grooming those steep slopes much easier and consistent.

PARKING LOT SERVICE EXPANDS Mt. Spokane now has two large, enclosed shuttle buses to take you straight from your car to the walkways of Lodge 1 or 2. There are also buses leaving from several Spokane locations almost every weekend – check our website for details and let us do the driving!

TEXT MESSAGE SNOW REPORTING Now you can get the snow report anywhere, at any time with our brand-new text message snow reporting system! Users are able to choose whether to get the snow report every morning at 7am, or just Powder Alerts, sent out when Mt. Spokane receives 6 inches or more of fresh snow.

Also included will be periodic deals, contests, and other promotions. Sign up at www.mtspokane. com.

ALL-NEW WEBSITE Check out our redesigned website, www.mtspokane.com. You can find mountain information, get the latest weather, sign up for text message snow reports, cruise the online photo & video galleries (you may be one of the featured ones!), read through the blog with behind-the-scenes info and stories from us about running a mountain resort, and tons more! Subscribe to the email newslet-

ter for the most up-to-date info on news, deals, and events.

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK! Mt. Spokane is once again open 7 days a week from December 17th through March 1st – that’s 14 bonus days for you to take a long lunch break or a much-needed “sick” day and cruise on up to the mountain.

LESSON PROGRAMS Ski School lesson programs are in full swing!

Our very popular 6-week multiweek Kids Club lessons for kids 7-15 start January 10th & 11th, and Mini-Mite & Mighty-Mite 3-week programs are also available for the younger ones, ages 3-6.

Mom and Dad, we also have 3-week adult sessions at the same time the kids are in lessons.

Spots fill fast so be sure to register soon.

Hey ladies, here’s your chance to hit the slopes with like-minded females and brush up on technique. Ladies Only Wednesdays take place the second Wednesday of January, February, & March, and include 4 hours of lessons, lift ticket, rentals, continental breakfast & lunch, and video analysis. And, that’s not all – enjoy wine, cheese, and a massage from our licensed masseuse while you relax and review the video from the day.

Only $99.

New for this season are Terrain Park Jams, where youngsters (and young at heart) can learn freestyle tricks or take it to the next level in a safe, controlled environment with our certified freestyle coaches. One-day lessons include 3 ½ hours of lessons & a lift ticket for $99. //

‘09 EVENT CALENDAR // JANUARY 3rd – Demo Day 17th, 18th 19th – J3 Qualifier Race 18th – Christian Ski Night 24th – USASA Series Slopestyle 30th, 31st/Feb 1 – Kan Jam Freestyle Series Friday 30th – Rail Jam 6pm Saturday 31st – Slopestyle 12 noon Sunday Feb 1 – Big Air 11am/Super Bowl pregame

FEBRUARY 1st – Kan Jam Big Air (see above) 6th – Toyota Ski & Ride Free Friday + music 15th – Adopt-A-Run Sponsor Ski Night 21st – Hope On The Slopes 24hr Ski-A-Thon for

Cancer Research 24th – Mardi Gras Celebration 27th – Rail Jam 6pm + music 28th – Rider X 12 noon + music

MARCH 1st – USASA Rider X 12 noon 7th – Pass & A Half Sale Begins 13th, 14th 15th – Buddy Werner Championships Race 21st – Family Fun Day/Hawaiian Day – Q6 Success By Six 28th – 2nd Annual Slush Cup/Retro Day 29th – Closing Day, Open until 2pm // More info at www.mtsppokane.com.

WINTERMountainGuide‘09

Sponsored by I.N.S.A.

49 degrees north: Seven day Schedule Discover the East Basin and Sunrise Quad //

Two really cool things we are doing this year. Guests can purchase Discounted Lift Tickets on our web site this season. The discount right now is $2 off, however the discount could change throughout the season. So check back early and often. No more fumbling through your wallet in the ticket line. They also make great gifts.

49° North has also teamed up with our local ski shops to offer discounted lift tickets there as well.

Another really cool promotion this season is for night skiing with Rawk 94.5 and ZZU 92.9. Listen to these two stations for your chance to win a custom 49° North Snowboard produced by Ascension Snowboards right here in Spokane. These stations will be giving these custom snowboards away on the nights we have night skiing this season Dec. 20, Dec, 27. Jan. 17. Also everyone night skis for a donation of two cans of food and $1. Best deal in town!

Skill Builders Adult Walk-In Lesson: $39.00(Ages 12-up) 10:30am or 1:30pm. The “Skill Builders” coaching program focuses on skill development for Intermediate and Advanced skiers and snowboarders. The 1 ½ hour group lessons are offered at 10:30am and 1:30pm on weekends and holidays.

SKI AND SNOWBOARD SCHOOL LESSONS The following lessons are available Weekends and Holidays only. We recommend arriving an hour to an hour and a half before your lesson start time. Please contact the Ski and Snowboard School for reservations or questions (509) 9356649 ext. 610

Discovery Club The place to be for kids!

Scouts (skiers age 5-6) and Trailblazers (skiers and snowboarders age 7-11) Lesson Times: 10:00 A.M. to NOON and/or 1:00 P.M. to 3:00 P.M. Lessons: $59 all day $39 A.M. session $39 P.M. session *Discounted lift and rentals available with purchase.

We also offer multi-week children’s programs through our Expedition Camps. Call the Ski and Snowboard School for more information. (509) 935-6649 x 610. //

Learn to Ski or Snowboard $59.00 – (Ages 12 and up) The package includes a lesson, rental equipment, and a Chair 3 lift ticket that will access beginner and novice terrain. The 1 ½ hour group lessons are offered at 10:30am and 1:30pm on weekends and holidays. Upgrade your Learn To and get both lesson sessions and an all access lift ticket for just $29 more!

EZ Ski or Snowboard: $109.00 – (Ages 12 and up) 10:30am or 1:30pm. This is the perfect “starter kit” for the aspiring skier or snowboarder. The EZ 1-2-3 package includes a lesson, lift ticket, and rental equipment for three days of skiing or snowboarding adventure. Make your own schedule and pick the days that work best for you. Each lesson will build upon the skills learned the previous visit.

The 1 ½ hour group lessons are offered at 10:30am and 1:30pm on weekends and holidays.

‘09 EVENT CALENDAR // JANUARY 10 10-11 17 19 24 25 31 31

Wintersport/Alpine Haus demo day Winterfest Public Night Skiing (4:00pm-8:00pm) Martin Luther King (day Operation) EEYSL Race-SG EEYSL Race-Slalom Alpine Haus Demo Day Masters Race

FEBRUARY 31-1 14

14

Masters Race Sheimo Cup-Dual Slalom on Nastar Flats Alpine Haus Demo Day

14 16 21 22 27

Public Night Skiing (4:00pm-8:00pm) President’s Day (holiday operation) Slope Style Rider-X © 2007 Chewelah Peak Mountain Resort Toyota Ski Free Day

MARCH 14 17 21 28 30-5

Hawaiian Daze (Slush Cup) St. Patricks day Bavarian Race Oyster Feed Toyota Ski Free Week

APRIL 5

Last Day of operations //

you don’t have to drive far for great skiing. // IMAGES courtesy of 49 degrees north.

january 2009

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TEAM I SK AL I ENT D CONFI r o F e k a T t I What’s letes Young Ath n o e t e p m to Co lopes S e h t

BY MIRACOPELAND

?

We’ve

all seen those kids on the ski hill — fast, fearless. They whiz by, leaving you coated in snow dust, barely able to make out the racing association logo on the back of their ubiquitous team jackets.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SKIERS TOP to bottom: Makaela Kerl (AT Mt. Hood), Dillon Bauernfeind (AT BANFF), and Makaela Kerl.. Casual shots of kids not racing are all of Mt. Spokane Ski Racing association kids. Lower left with sunglasses and drill: coach roger taggart of schweitzer alpine racing team.

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/ january 2009

Who are these kids, slaloming around ski school snow snakes and dipping into trail-lining trees?

More often than not, they are members of our five local ski teams: Mt. Spokane Ski Race Association (SSRA), 49 Degrees North Alpine Ski Team (FAST), Schweitzer Alpine Racing School (SARS), Independence Racing Team, and Lookout Pass Ski Team.

These aspiring Bode Millers and Picabo Streets usually can join a ski team by age five, if they already have had a season or two of experience on the snow. Though ski teams tend not to require specific skills tests, they generally will only accept kids who already know how to ski.

“Our business is not to take someone who’s never skied,” says Jimmy Holcomb, Head Coach and Program Director of FAST. “We don’t have any specific restrictions, but you need to be able to ski around the mountain before you can start to race.” Beyond that, he says, “all you really need is a helmet, ski equipment, and the desire to go fast.”

Shep Snow, Head Coach and Program Director of Independence Racing Team, adds, “the goal of our organization is to create kids who are passionate about skiing.”

The teams find there is not much need for active recruiting. Like the other teams, SSRA gains new members mostly by word of mouth, says Head Coach and Program Director, Chuck Holcomb, though they also do some minimal advertising at local schools. “Families that are happy about what ski racing has done for their kid and for their family will tell their friends,” he says. “They value the life skills that are kind of inherent in a demanding sport like ski racing.”

SARS Head Coach and Program Director, Roger Taggart, adds that kids tend to enter the program when they’re little and then stay in the program.

“We have a group of girls that started with us when they were six, and now they’re sixteen, going 75 miles an hour on their feet.”

One local opportunity for kids to get a taste

of the sport is the Home Town Race Series, hosted at Schweitzer Mountain by Shep Snow’s Independence Racing Team. For $38 anyone can come up and get four Friday nights of racing, with volunteer coaching from some of Schweitzer’s Masters class racers. The aspiring racers are divided into teams, and at the end of the series, prizes are awarded at an ice cream party, based on “Most Improved” as calculated with percentages in “an algorithm that sometimes takes a six-pack to get through,” says Shep. “Many of our new athletes come from that series.”

----------------------------------------------------Structure Since ski racing is a global sport, governed by the Federation International de Ski, or FIS, (and the United States Ski Association, or USSA, locally), our local teams tend to be structured in similar ways.

They all compete in the same four basic events, Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super G, and Downhill, as defined by FIS and USSA. In our region the youth ski racing events are Slalom, GS and Super G—“you

Taggart says.

Our local ski teams accommodate racers five and up, and a few have robust programs for Juniors (aged 13-14) and FIS athletes—everyone aged 15+ competes together in the same events.

At Schweitzer, says Taggart, “The youngest kids are age five, going all the way up to Masterslevel. Our oldest guy is about 75.” The athletes are then grouped by age. At SSRA, for example, the groups are: Introduction to Ski Racing Program (25 kids, mostly younger than 13), Youth Ski League Program (30 kids, younger than 13, racing at an intermediate to advanced level), the Junior Development Program (20 kids aged 13-14), and the Junior/FIS Program (about ten kids) for those who are 15 or older.

At age 13, racers transition from age-based competition to ability-based competition. “When you get to 13 or 14, you need to make a decision on what you’re going to do with your ski racing career,” Jimmy Holcomb says. “To be a junior is much more expensive—there’s more training, more conditioning and more commitment, so a

get together for a couple hours on the weekend, we warm up, do some sprinting and strength conditioning, and then we play soccer for an hour or so for aerobic fitness.” Then, he says, “we usually start the season Dec. 1 or as soon as there’s enough snow to ski on.”

Some teams take off-season training to the next level with training camps. SSRA, for example, organizes both dry land training and travel to training camps in the fall. “We take as many kids as can afford the time and money,” says Coach Chuck Holcomb. “It’s certainly not something everyone can do, but it’s a great opportunity for those who can.” This year, the SSRA team had 26 athletes eligible to attend their training camp in Banff in November; 12 went on the trip.

For SARS, there’s an additional challenge to getting the team together for pre-season practices: “We’re geographically diverse,” coach Taggart says, including kids from as far away as Lewiston, so some of the athletes work out in localized groups with physical therapists, who might lead a workout incorpo-

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ABOVE LEFT: schweitzer’s most famous recent athlete, will brandenburg of SARS, who is expected to compete for an olympic team spot ABOVE RIGHT: ssra coach chuck holcomb.

have to be older to do the fastest event in ski racing, the Downhill,” says Jimmy Holcomb of FAST. Once they get a taste for speed, though, it may be addictive—SSRA athletes Dillon Bauernfeind, age 15, and Makaela Kerl, age 14, say their favorite event is “speed—Downhill or Super G,” while Sierra Schrankel, 15, a third member of SSRA’s Junior team, prefers the old staple, Slalom.

SARS and 49 Degrees North also have freeride teams, which compete in Slopestyle, Big Air, Boarder-cross, Slalom, and GS for the snowboarders, and Slopestyle, Skier-cross and Big Air. Unfortunately, there aren’t any halfpipes in the Inland Northwest, so “the freeriders here have done the best in the slopestyle, but we try really hard to build solid four-event skiers,” coach

lot of kids at that age are just interested in other things.”

The season runs from mid-December through March, and to get their athletes ready, most of the teams offer a considerable amount of off-season and pre-season training, but “the level of commitment and time varies wildly,” says Jimmy Holcomb of FAST. Younger and entry-level athletes usually ski one day each week with the team. As they advance, they typically add a second weekend day and eventually one or more nights of night skiing. “To be really competitive, the kids need to be practicing at least four days per week,” says SARS coach Taggart.

Prior to the season of racing, the teams do dry land training. Says Coach Jimmy Holcomb, “we

rating plyometric exercises, elliptical machines, vibration plates, kettle balls and Swiss balls.

SARS makes the most of their time together on the mountain, though. The resort, like other mountains in the area, lets them on the slopes early in the morning before general opening for speed training—“we get on the lifts early and let the kids go super fast. We also run a speed camp at Mt. Hood in the summer,” says Taggart.

Their regular season practices, like most of the other teams, include such exercises as Super G training during speed time, drills with props or brushes, practice courses, and, of course, freeskiing. “It’s a big advantage for us here (at Schweitzer) that we have such challenging freeskiing. The kids who are good freeskiers tend to be good racers,

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which is not always true the other way around,” Taggart says.

Schweitzer also allows them to practice and race on different runs, but “of course, whatever run we have shut down is suddenly the public’s favorite run, and the resort takes a lot of flak for us.”

The SSRA athletes take advantage of the freeskiing, too—they love to ski Mt. Spokane’s new gladed runs on the backside of the mountain—when coach Holcomb lets them off the hook.

Once they’re ready, entry-level athletes may or may not race three to four days each season, and some will opt out of races if they don’t feel ready to compete. Most kids race about seven starts per year, though some of the FIS Juniors race as many as 35 days per year, and the coaches travel to as many more as the ability and ambition of their athletes drive them.

Taggart says his SARS team this year will race in British Columbia, as far south as Mammoth, and as far East as Aspen. If racers do well at events in the Western Region (CA, UT, CO, MT, ID, WA, OR, AK), they have the opportunity to ski at other events in more distant locations.

“We have a larger elite squad, and we have some kids who have some pretty lofty goals, so we’ll go outside the region to get them more starts and more points,” Taggart says.

The points are an integral part of the FIS system for gauging a skier’s ability. After a racer reaches the age of 12 years old, they begin to build a “point profile”: for each event you get a score, like a report card, and then race order in future races is determined by points. The top 15 athletes as determined by their points score get to race first (in random order), and then the rest of the athletes race the course in the order of their ability as determined by points. “It’s a pretty good indicator of the ability of the skier, especially by the age of 15 or 16,” Taggart says.

Scott Snow, a FIS Junior on Independence Racing Team, was the West Region’s Junior Olympic champion last year in GS, which qualified him to start this season in December at a national development program speed camp for the US Ski Team.

With all that practice and travel time, “our FIS juniors are going to miss some school—there’s no way around it,” Chuck Holcomb says. “It’s tough to be on the hill all day, come back to the hotel we’re staying at and still have to do homework,” he says.

“It takes a lot of discipline and a lot of commitment, but we find that the athletes who are really achievers on the hill tend to be achievers off the hill as well.”

Our local racers have come up with a multitude of ways to pursue their educations while they race.

Some attend more flexible private schools, and some participate in running start programs that

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Solid Waste System january 2009

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Out There Monthly

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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ABOVE LEFT: team fas t of 49 degrees north. ABOVE RIGHT: Sierra Schrankel of ssra competes at mt. Hood, Oregon.

allow them to take community college courses for high school credit during spring and fall quarter, but take winter quarter off to live on the mountain and ski.

SSRA’s Makaela Kerl is in a program called CORE at LC, which helps “kids who need a little boost,” she explains. Her teammate, Sierra Schrankel, says “I collect all my homework before I go on a trip, and do my best to stay on top of it, but it’s hard.”

Dillon Bauernfeind takes two classes online, and Scott Snow attends the Idaho Virtual Academy.

----------------------------------------------------Coaching structure The athletes don’t miss out on mentors by spending less time in school; the teams race through the season with a significant support staff of assistant coaches and dedicated volunteers. Though most of the coaches do get paid, at least a nominal amount, very few can actually make a living at it.

“You’re not doing it to make money, you’re doing it because you love it,” Jimmy Holcomb says.

Where does a team find good coaches? Most of the program directors listed the same three sources: some coaches are former parents who had kids who used to race; some are ex-racers who want to give back to the sport; and some come over from ski schools, so that, Holcomb says, instead of seeing a group of kids for a few weeks, you can be involved with their development for a few years on a much more intensive basis.

Independence Team Racing coach Shep Snow retired from an Army career to coach, “for any athlete who wants to—I coach seven days per week, and I love it because it keeps my brain from getting too rotten and my body from getting too flabby.”

----------------------------------------------------Parents And don’t forget the dedicated volunteer parents, whom the teams rely on to host events, not to mention catch rides up those treacherous mountain roads at six a.m. The day to day stuff doesn’t require much of the parents, except carrying practice gates up the hill on occasion, but there’s so much going on at races, including registration, timing, results, etc., that Chuck Holcomb of SSRA says, “it takes about 75 volunteers to put on a race,” and for the season-capping Buddy Warner this March they’ll need twice that.

Like other regional teams, SSRA hosts three to

”I THINK WHAT THESE KIDS DO IS AMAZING, AND THEY DON'T GET THE RESPECT AND ATTENTION THAT MORE MAINSTREAM SPORTS DO.” five races each year, and will host this year’s Buddy Warner Cup, which is held every third year by a resort in the Eastern Washington/North Idaho region of the Pacific NW Ski Association. They’ll also be hosting a Junior Olympic qualifier in January and the Emerald Empire Youth Ski League Championship, where they’ll be defending their team title against the FAST, SARS, Independence, Lookout and Bluewood teams for the third year.

This year, SSRA is asking families to do five days of volunteer work, though new families are only requested to do three, to ease them into the busy pace of running a ski program. “The parents are intricately involved, and if they weren’t, the pro-

SSRA athletes take a breather between runs // photo courtesy of ssra..

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gram wouldn’t be as inclusive as it is as a result of their work running races and fundraising,” Holcomb says.

SARS will host the Western Region Junior Championships this year, a six day event in three disciplines (no Downhill), and the overall winners will advance to US Nationals, where they can compete with the 60-70 best competitors from all over the US. “If you do well there, you can be named to the US Ski Team and be exposed to sponsorship opportunities,” says Taggart.

The likelihood of making it to the US Ski Team, for any aspiring racer, is slight, but that never discouraged local champions like Will

Brandenburg of SARS. Brandenburg worked his way up through the national development system, earning a #1 ranking this year in the world for his age. At a recent elite North America competition in Colorado he placed third and sixth, and Taggart says Brandenburg will be in the 2010 winter Olympics in Whistler.

It takes more than skill to make it in ski racing though—ski racing is a tough sport. “You spend all that time training and if you make one mistake in a run, you’re just done. It’s not like basketball where, if you miss a basket, you’ll probably get another chance to shoot,” Holcomb says.

While many would say that ski racing seems like an individual sport, SSRA’s Chuck Holcomb thinks of it another way. “The relationships developed between the athletes and with their coaches are really the glue that holds the program together— it’s a real source of motivation for them,” he says.

“Some parents and coaches have their own way of doing things, so maybe that athlete will train outside of a team—I’ve seen that kind of thing in Colorado and back East, with mixed results. I think those kids who are on their own kind of suffer from missing out on those team bonds,” he says.

That said, though, SARS coach Roger Taggart adds that ski racing isn’t just a social club. “I think when kids have left the team, it’s because it’s not a social group. It’s just not the same as being on a basketball team or another school-based sport where your social network is much bigger,” Taggart says.

“Skiing is super competitive—there’s one kid that wins and that’s it, so it can be pretty brutal.”

Soccer players win as a team or lose as a team, but in skiing it’s really just up to you, he adds. But, those kids that stick with it gain valuable skills.

“You’re pushing yourself to succeed in varying conditions. The hill you race on even from one day to the next is different, and it’s different if you go first, fifth, or fiftieth, which forces kids to deal with the here and now,” Taggart says. Athletes also learn travel skills, time management, and budgeting, “so when they go to college, they have that experience already, and it might not be such a shock.”

“The best thing about ski racing is watching the kids grow emotionally and mentally, you know, it’s freezing out there and you’re standing at the top of the hill in your skin-tight speed suit, and the guy in front of you just crashed, and you’ve got to be able to race your race,” adds Shep Snow of Independence. “Even if they quit tomorrow, they’ll be better people for the experience.”

Snow’s team has the distinction of being essentially a free program, limited to athletes in the Sandpoint area who maybe wouldn’t be able to afford the sport otherwise. “I think it’s pretty impressive, that it’s free, the coaches don’t get paid, and we’re still able to produce athletes who can perform at the top levels of the sport,” Snow says.

Taggart agrees: “The opportunities we provide to these kids are equal or better than those provided by the academies [ski racing boarding schools],” he says. “I believe our coaches are as good as any other program, and the relationship we have with the resort allows our kids to be more rounded,” he says, citing the rigid schedules of those institutions.

“Our kids grow up in their own family situations, rather than a boarding school. What we have puts more responsibility on the kids and I think that’s a huge benefit for our kids,” Taggart says.

“I think what these kids do is amazing, and they don’t get the respect and attention that more mainstream sports do,” Taggart says.

Says SSRA racer Makaela Kerl, “I love everything about racing—the competition and the travel and the intensity of it all. I want to keep doing it forever.”//

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.ski49n.com/racing.asp www.gossra.org www.sars.net shep@thesnowschool.com www.skilookout.com/new/racing

H EALTHAndFITNESS new year’s resolution solution

3 factors that help make good habits stick // By melanie hingle

Jan. 1, New Year's Day Hangover Handicap, CdA

Jan. 17, 2009 Five-K Frostbite Footrace, Deer Park

You can make good eating habits stick. // photo A. BOUCHARD.

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50% off Running Analysis Jan 2- Feb 1 Includes: The holidays are officially over, and after the last glass of “holiday cheer” was hoisted, you may have asked yourself why you had more than your planned share of pies and desserts, meats and gravies, starchy foods, etc. If you’re like a majority of Americans, you also may have found yourself skipping your regular workouts (too busy!), and after it’s all said and done, you find yourself facing the new year 5 lbs heavier.

Conventional wisdom would suggest that now is the time for a New Year’s resolution. But before you do, some thoughts…I must confess I am not a fan of the New Year’s resolution. While half of us make them, only 15% actually stick with them, and I tend to think these are somewhat inflated numbers anyway. Most of us will lapse back into our “pre-resolution” behaviors within a few months.

So what’s going on here?

While clearly it’s a lot easier to be resolute about our health in January than in November or December when holiday party season is in full swing, I think most of us are still unrealistic about how we approach the idea of the “new you” in the new year.

Resolutions, no matter what they are about, seem to suffer from common problems that set the resolver up for failure. These include: (1) unrealistic goals: “I will eat 5-9 servings of vegetables EVERY DAY” (even though I currently eat 0 – 1); (2) making a resolution to please someone else and not because you want to change “My wife wants me to eat more veggies, and so…”; or, constructing a resolution using extremely vague language, allowing for plenty of loopholes, eventually leading to excuses and failure, “I’m going to eat more vegetables.”

So if resolutions don’t work, why bother? Well, if constructed the right way, resolutions can be reflections of goals you set for yourself that can be great motivation for changing behaviors.

The first step in making a successful and sustainable resolution for healthy eating is to understand why people eat as they do. Quite simply, people eat based on: (1) motivation (e.g., food preferences, desires) (2) ability (e.g., food prep skills, nutrition knowledge) (3) opportunity (e.g., food availability/accessibility) Unfortunately, most nutrition-related resolutions don’t address these determinants of eating

behavior and are a set up for failure. So to make changes in your eating, you have to create resolutions in a way that will incorporate one, and preferably all three, of these ideas.

I’ll continue to use “eat more vegetables” as an example – something most of us could stand to do…

“I will buy and cut up carrots, cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes and keep them in my refrigerator on a daily basis.” (OPPORTUNITY – availability/accessibility) “I’ll ask friends to give me their favorite vegetable recipe, and if needed, a lesson on how I can duplicate the recipe successfully.“ (suggestion - if the first ingredient in recipe is Cheese Whiz, ask another friend) (ABILITY - skills) “I will try a new vegetable each week until I have found enough different types I like so I can eat at least 3 different ones each day.”

(MOTIVATION – preference) See the difference? Very specific language, tapping into the determinants of food behavior.

Good luck and best of health in 2009! //

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Melanie’s Top 5 Nutrition Resolutions for 2009 1. Eat more greens – Americans don’t get enough of these nutrient-packed leaves – they’re full of all kinds of good things – but don’t take my word for it! There are all kinds out there – Swiss chard, mustard greens, arugula, spinach, beet greens – something for everyone! You can increase your preferences for foods if you repeatedly try them – in effect – ‘training’ yourself to enjoy them (MOTIVATION) 2. Buy or borrow a book or download vegetable recipes from the net. (ABILITY) 3. Purge holiday leftovers from fridge/ cupboard and replace with fresh and frozen vegetables, fruits, and legumes, lean meats, nuts/seeds (OPPORTUNITY) 4. Set a good example at home and at the office – bring in a fruit plate rather than cookies, bring a vegetable plate with hummus to the office potluck instead of the usual potato salad, and eat with gusto! (MOTIVATE OTHERS) 5. Shop using a list. Make a list and check it twice; don’t deviate from list. Shopping lists help save money and your health by preventing impulsive/unhealthy food purchases. It also helps you plan your meals in advance that saves you time as well. (OPPORTUNITY/ABILITY)

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SUSTAINABLE LIVING

Environmentalists send their wish list to Obama

28 green groups compile 359 pages of suggestions, hoping for a green revival post-Bush. // By Mark Clayton The toxic lead-tainted earth that crunches under Rebecca Jim’s feet when the environmental activist visits Tar Creek in northeast Oklahoma reminds her that in the United States today, the “polluter doesn’t pay.”

Lead and zinc mining over a century turned Tar Creek orange, poisoned residents, and made it the nation’s first Superfund toxic cleanup site in 1983. But a quarter century later, the federal cleanup fund is broke and the 40-square-mile area dubbed the “worst toxic waste site in the nation” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still a mess.

High on the Christmas wish list for Ms. Jim and other environmentalists is fixing Tar Creek by restoring the Superfund with fees on polluting companies. Such funding would also help clean up some 1,200 other languishing sites nationwide – and that’s just the beginning.

An enormous environmental tally awaits the incoming Obama administration. After an eightyear pitched battle with the Bush administration, environmentalists see a golden opportunity to begin making progress on issues ranging from climate change and water pollution to mountaintop-removal coal mining and energy efficiency in autos and buildings.

The massive environmental mountain awaiting Mr. Obama’s administration is chronicled in a 359page wish list of hundreds of problems the environmental community is eager to start addressing once President Bush leaves town.

High on the list is retightening regulations made lax in myriad ways or even gutted during the Bush years to favor industry, these greens say.

“We’re emerging from the dark ages of pollution to a president that understands climate change and how to use green jobs as a way to build the economy of the future,” says Brent Blackwelder,

president of Friends of the Earth. “It’s a message for the 21st century. In that context, the environmental community has put forward an exciting agenda.”

Remarkable for its specificity and breadth, the “Transition to Green” report by 28 environmental groups offers the Obama team a road map for policy changes across 95 core issues and 29 federal agencies – from the EPA and the Interior Department to the Department of Homeland Security.

Proposals fit four broad categories: Energy and jobs. Economic vitality, clean energy, and climate solutions go hand in hand, the report says. Investing in clean energy, if done right, will generate millions of jobs.

Environmental justice. Instead of locating waste dumps and dirty power plants in low-income communities, a shift should bring hybrid cars and solar panel construction jobs to such neighborhoods. Science-based decisionmaking. In­­stead of political ideology, federal agencies should set their agenda using scientific consensus.

Integrity and transparency. Instead of “midnight” rulemaking and catering to industry’s desires on environment, agencies should return to a fair and open approach to regulation, the report says.

“This administration has been much, much worse for the environment than even the Reagan administration,” says Don Barry, a former assistant secretary for the US Fish and Wildlife Service who co-edited the “transition” report. “This is why the urgency felt this time is probably much greater than ever before.”

Environmental justice will get a lot more attention under President Obama, environmentalists hope. One key recommended policy change would repair an overlooked public-reporting require-

SUSTAINABLE LIVING CALENDAR // (January 13)

Community Roots Market.

When: 11 AM to 4 PM. Where: Fresh Abundance, 2015 N Division. Community Roots Winter Market December 14th from 11-4 located at 2015 North Division. We are a BUY LOCAL venue that celebrates the farmers, musicians, crafts people. Info: (509) 435-5210, brightspirit@freshabundance.com. // (January 24) Solar Power Class. When: 9:00am to 12:00 noon. Where: Eco Depot, 1326 E. Sprague Ave. Learn the Basics of Solar Power and what is required to get started, for Commercial and Residential applications.

Cost: $35.00. Info: (509) 924-8803, nadine@ ecodepotinc.com.

(January 24) The Cob Oven Cookout. When: 2-4pm. Where: At the Eco-house at 2605 W. Boone. We will be firing up the cob oven and making some yummy treats. So get yourself and the kids all bundled up and come on over for a fun winter activity. Info: www.projecthopespokane.com.

(January 13) NATURAL BUILDING 101. When:

6-9pm. Where: CCS Business & Community

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Training, 3939 North Freya, Spokane, WA. Learn to reduce the environmental impact of your home, without sacrificing comfort, health or aesthetics.This program explores sustainable building systems and materials that make sense and relate to our local ecology, geology and climate; and that work with your particular building site. Cost: $49. Info: (509) 533-4717.

(January 27) SUPER-INSULATED WALL SYSTEMS .When: 6-9pm. Where: CCS Business &

Community Training, 3939 North Freya, Spokane, WA. Explores energy-saving alternatives to standard home construction, including; advanced wood framing, Structural Insulated Panels (SIP), Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs), and straw bale. Cost: $49. Info: (509) 533-4717.

(February 3) ENERGY OPTIONS FOR YOUR HOME.

When: 6-9pm. Where: CCS, 3939 North Freya, Spokane.Learn how to achieve energy efficiency in your home. This program discusses the basic dynamics of energy as well as home energy options. including the costs, incentives, merits and the potential applications of various energy systems. Cost: $49. Info: (509) 533-4717. //

ment that until recently provided citizen activists with one of their most powerful weapons against industrial pollution: the Toxics Release Inventory or TRI. In 2004, a Louisville, Ky., neighborhood group called the Rubbertown Emer­gency Action Committee compared EPA air-monitoring data and TRI data to try to identify polluters. The result was a citywide strategic air-pollution reduction program to reduce 18 toxic chemicals.

Such efforts would be difficult or impossible today, given the EPA’s 2006 reduction in TRI reporting requirements. Luke Cole, director of the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment, whose group has also used TRI data to fight pollution affecting low-income Californians, says

Environmental justice will get a lot more attention under President Obama, environmentalists hope. restoring that statute is vital.

“TRI is critical in terms of accountability and a community’s right to know,” he says. “The only way to know what is going into the air in your neighborhood is if the plant nearby is required to tell you.” The TRI change, he says, has “given polluters a free pass to pollute in secret.”

Similarly, since the Superfund cleanup fund ran dry at the start of the Bush years, the government has had to pay for cleanups with taxpayer money – or else bargain with companies to pay for part of it. But that has meant painfully slow progress at the many sites that are so often near low-income, multiracial communities.

The new “Transition to Green” report urges that funding be restored – a welcome change, says Lois Marie Gibbs, executive director of the Center for Health, Environment & Justice in Falls Church, Va. “Superfund is a disaster,” says the veteran activist, who earned her pollution-fighting spurs battling the infamous Love Canal toxic site in her Niagara Falls, N.Y., neighborhood. “We’re hoping at this point that the Obama administration and Congress will make it a priority. Right now, it’s totally broke.”

Instead of a steady supply of fees from toxicmaterial manufacturers, the fund gets just enough from the federal budget each year to go to sites that meet the criteria and do what Ms. Gibbs calls “band-aid measures.”

EPA officials say Superfund has not been crippled. Significant cleanup is occurring and the agency remains “committed to the principle of ‘polluter pays’ and holding private parties responsible for cleanup costs,” says Latisha Petteway, an EPA spokeswoman, via e-mail.

EPA collected $1.9 billion from companies to pay for cleanups this past fiscal year, and the program is “making significant progress in all aspects of site cleanup, exceeding its goals,” Ms. Petteway writes.

Regarding TRI reporting requirements, she writes, “No facilities were relieved of reporting responsibilities under the rule and no chemicals were removed from the list for which reporting is required.” Pulling back on the full-blown exploration for oil and gas on public lands with wilderness characteristics is another critical goal of environmentalists. Many of these lands are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which is charged with balancing uses among outdoor activities and development.

In Utah, for example, some 276,000 acres of public lands will be leased at a Dec. 19 auction for oil and gas exploration. Among them are tens of thousands of acres of some of the nation’s wildest lands, including parcels near the rugged Desolation Canyon and White River areas.

In Colorado, already-leased land atop the Roan Plateau, a biologically significant area largely unaffected by nearby development, could see new oil and gas development any day.

“All the lands on the Roan have been leased, but not yet drilled,” says Steve Smith, assistant regional director for the Wilderness Society, who recalls some truly silent nights camping atop the plateau.

“But so long as there’s no physical damage, there’s still an opportunity to keep this wild land wild. But as soon as the drilling rigs get in, there’s no return.”

But the Roan is hardly pristine; it has miles of roads, says a BLM spokesman in Colorado.

Meanwhile, in Utah, where the National Park Service initially protested it had not been given time to comment on leasing key parcels, the BLM denies that leases are now being accelerated to get the land leased before Obama takes office.

“We have a mandate to offer leases on a quarterly basis in response to industry demand,” says Terry Catlin, energy team leader in BLM’s Utah region office.

In the end, 24 of the 93 “parcels of concern” (84,000 of the 139,000 acres) cited by the Park Service were removed from the lease auction, according to a report by “Land Letter,” an environment newsletter.

To green advocates, the bottom line is that an across-the-board reevaluation and shift in federal activities and priorities is desperately needed to save the environment. Obama may be listening.

“We’ve already had feedback from the Obama transition team saying the report we did was extremely helpful to them,” Mr. Barry says. // This story originally appeared in The Christian Science Monitor and is reprinted here by permission. Article copyright 2008 The Christian Science Monitor.

SUSTAINABLE LIVING

active transportation boom in Spokane 2009 is a great year to boost biking & walking // By ERIKA PRINS Local advocates HAVE good recommendations for how citizens can ensure federal, state and local funding is allocated to bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects.

Federal Stimulus Package President-elect Barack Obama’s multi-billion dollar economic stimulus plan aims to create jobs by funding “shovel-ready” projects set for immediate start. Transportation projects are on this proposed package’s priority list and Spokane has a number of shovel-ready projects waiting for funding—several of which promote active (bicycle and pedestrian) transportation.

SmartRoutes.org provides resources for Spokane citizens looking to advocate such projects. The SmartRoutes Initiative, with County Commissioner Todd Mielke chairing the Steering Committee, is a joint effort of Spokane Regional Transportation Council (SRTC), Spokane Regional Health District, local political and business leaders and community members to promote alternatives to driving alone.

Transportation Equity Act Reauthorization Barb Chamberlain of the Spokane Bicycle Advisory Board says funding shovel-ready projects is just one facet of promoting bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly communities. “It is especially important for active transportation advocates to call attention to the design and planning phase [of infrastructure development],” she says.

On the horizon for burgeoning projects is the reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act (TEA). “This is also the bill that the national Rails To Trails organization is looking at to get more funding for non-motorized projects,” said SRTC Manager of Government Affairs Jeff Selle in an email. “We are participating in that effort with our SmartRoutes project here in Spokane.”

Selle recommends focusing activism at this level on House Transportation and Infrastructure committee members. “It also helps to contact your own congressional delegation first,” he says.

THUD Bill After the TEA is authorized, it moves to the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations subcommittee (THUD), chaired by Washington’s U.S. Senator Patty Murray.

Call, email or write letters to Murray and other representatives, says Chamberlain, “Possibly

repeatedly.” Pushing projects on a federal level is a numbers game, she says. Representatives’ offices are constantly inundated with contacts, so they simply keep a tally to determine which issues are most important to constituents.

State Budget The state budget also funds transportation projects—perhaps more so this session. “There will probably be a state-level stimulus project with transportation dollars,” says Chamberlain. States may also be responsible for allocating federal stimulus dollars.

Make sure enough of that money goes to bicycle and pedestrian projects by focusing advocacy efforts on Olympia—ideally now, early in the session, she says. Make a significant impact by scheduling an appointment to visit the governor’s office on your next vacation to state capital.

Join Local Efforts Local governments include active transportation projects in their budgets as well. The City of Coeur d’Alene recently budgeted $15,000 for a BMX park that has been in the works for several years.

Look beyond government to pay for projects, says City of Coeur d’Alene Trails Coordinator Monte McCully, who helped plan the BMX park.

The Coeur d’Alene Kiwanis club donated some funds for the park and local BMX bikers held fundraisers.

“Find out who in the area is working on [the project you care about] and get involved,” says McCully. If a project is already on the table, he says, support it by attending a city council meeting.

Contact county commissioners if you are launching a new project. // Pedestrian and Bicycling Advocacy Groups Bicycle Alliance of Washington: www.bicyclealliance.org American Walks: www.americawalks.org Rails to Trails Conservancy: www.railstotrails.org League of American Bicyclists: www.bikeleague.org WalkingInfo.org Feet First: www.feetfirst.info SmartRoutes Initiative: www.smartroutes.org Spokane Bicycle Advisory Board: www.bikespokane.net North Idaho Bikeways: www.northidahobikeways.com Pend Oreille Pedalers: www.pendoreillepedalers.com

Snowed in?

Earthworks Recycling, Inc. 1904 E. Broadway

at Napa St., Spokane

You can still go to

8am to 4:30pm Mon-Sat

www.EarthworksRecycling.com (509) 534-1638 Find out what we pay or fees charged and what we collect for recycling and more online.

Fresh Abundance

Local Organic Raw Milk – Local Safe Grass-Fed Beef – Local OrganicallyFed Pork Fresh Local Organic Chickens and Eggs TM

“Bringing LOCAL Food to LOCAL People”TM

Visit our Division St. Store 2015 N. Division (across from Mt. Gear) Community Roots Winter Market January 13, 11 AM to 4 PM At the N. Division Store We are a BUY LOCAL venue that celebrates the farmers, musicians, crafts people.

www.freshabundance.com South Hill Valley 1001 W. 25th Ave. 3324 S. Best Rd. january 2009

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Start th e New Year wi th . . .

http://cyclingspokane.blogspot.com

Everyday cyclist

Combat the cold with clothes ideas for the intrepid winter rider

OTM Publisher in cold weather clothes riding john spear’s “snow turd.” // Photo tom snyder.

Time B omb 711 N. M o

nroe, Spo kane -6949

(509) 326

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at

Riding your bike in the winter can be a lot of fun. Like any other winter activity, fun starts turning to misery and suffering quickly when you get cold. If you go fast, you are generating a higher wind chill. When you climb or otherwise work hard you are heating up and likely sweating.

If you coast down a long hill, you’re resting (not generating heat) while you create a higher wind chill. And if you’re wet with sweat, coasting can be miserably cold.

Like all bike-related stuff, one clothing solution doesn’t work for all people. After riding through a few winters I’ve found a few specific products that work great for me, and some general principles that seem to hold up year-over-year. So if you’re just starting out, you may find this column useful as you begin to explore what works for you.

It seems all cold weather clothing advice starts with the concept of layering. For cycling this is especially important. With lots of thin layers you can regulate by adding and subtracting layers on longer rides.

For the upper body, socks, hat, and neck gaiter, I’m a wool guy. I’ve tried the highly technical fabrics that promise to “wick away” the moisture.

I’ve not had good luck. These fabrics are always made from some exotic mixture of plastic, which leaves me cold, clammy, and extra stinky after a moderate ride.

Wool today is not the uncomfortable scratchy punishment it was 10 years ago. There are lots of companies making thin, comfortable merino wool layers. I live in Icebreaker or SmartWool t-shirts year round, even on the hottest days of the summer. Wool naturally repels water and maintains its warmth even when it’s wet. I still get clammy and sweaty on a hard ride with wool, but I’m not cold. And I don’t stink nearly as much as I do with poly materials.

Stay away from cotton. When it gets wet it clings to your skin and seems to conduct the heat out of your body. I would venture to say that cotton is probably a dangerous fabric to wear next to your skin for long and vigorous rides in sub-freezing weather.

After I layer on 2-4 thin layers of wool shirts, I’ll wear a shell to block the wind and rain. It’s important to have a shell that zips up and down easily.

You’ll be wearing gloves or mittens, so this criterion is especially important. You don’t want fussy buttons or Velcro tabs. Even poorly designed rainflys over the zippers can make a jacket a pain to use.

My favorite value shell is the O2 rain jacket. It’s

cheap (about $30) and breathes better than any other rain jacket that I’ve tried. It wads up pretty small so you can always have it in your bag. It is fragile, so be gentle with it.

For a fancy jacket, I can’t think of a better one than the Ibex Dash Hybrid. It’s out of production this year, but according to Terry at Ibex, they will have it back in their line-up next year. The Dash Hybrid has a weather-proof wool/poly shell in the front to block the wind, snow, and rain, and a merino back panel that maintains warmth. The back wool panel also allows the excess heat to burn off. It’s a genius jacket and worth every penny. It’s the one piece of cycling clothing I can unreservedly recommend to anyone looking for the best-in-class cycling jacket. Other cycling jackets use a similar design, but none that I know of use wool, which breathes better than any poly I’ve tried.

For legs, I wear poly long underwear as the base layer. I used to wear wool, but I wear out the seats too quickly in my underwear to justify spending $50+ on long wool underwear. If you wear cycling shorts, you may have a way around this.

Over the long undies, I wear either thrift store wool slacks or some other poly technical pant. Ibex also makes a Dash Hybrid pant that is wonderful, but a bit too technical and “bikey” looking for me to be wearing around town.

Toes and fingers are especially susceptible to the cold when you cycle. The best cold-weather mittens I’ve used are lobster claw-type mittens.

I’m sure you can spend a ton of money on serious mountaineering or snowmobile mittens to stay warm. Whatever it takes, it’s worth it.

For feet, boots are ideal if you don’t clip into your pedals. I think waterproof hiking boots with room for a couple layers of thin wool socks make the most sense. They’re not as heavy as winter boots, so they’ll keep you dry and warm while being easy to get around in. If you must have foot retention, then check out PowerGrips, which are like an abbreviated version of a toe clip that can fit over wide shoes and most boots.

Finally, pack some chemical foot warmers in your commuting bag. These cheap and effective little packets of heaven can make all the difference when you’ve miscalculated or have an unexpected turn of events.

John Speare grew up and lives in Spokane. He rides his bike everywhere. Check out his blog at http://cyclingspokane.blogspot.com.

MUSIC REVIEWS BY DR. OSLONORWAY more subdued and melodic variation on the formula.

CHARLIE LOUVIN Sings Murder Ballads and Disaster Songs (Tompkins Square)

THE CURE 4:13 Dream (Geffen)

Ever-determined to extend indefinitely their legacy as deathless stalwarts of goth-inflected dream pop, The Cure have cranked out a new album that contains no surprises but holds up admirably next to most of their canon. The songwriting on 4:13 Dream tends to focus on the lighter side of their sensibilities, although a majority of the material is shot through with a dark streak missing from such classics as “Just like Heaven” and “Friday I’m In Love.” Case in point is the dirge-like opener and strongest song of the bunch, “Underneath the Stars,” a sort of darker cousin to “Pictures of You” despite its more upbeat lyrical content.

Perhaps the most notable thing about the album is its assurance of the continued relevance of the band—a quality that almost none of their contemporaries still possess.

DIDO Safe Trip Home (Arista)

Dido hasn’t lost her touch for well-crafted, low key, emotional pop songs with her long-awaited third release, which appears five years after her last album. Jon Brion’s subtle soundscapes compliment well Dido’s breathy vocals and deceptively simple songwriting, and Brian Eno acquits himself well for his turn behind the boards on the synth-washed “Grafton Street,” during which Dido gets to show off her mastery of the recorder.

Mick Fleetwood, ?uestlove and Citizen Cope also make cameos, but it’s Dido’s knack for injecting a rare depth of feeling into her writing and delivery that carries her efforts once again.

HOT LAVA Lavalogy (Bar None)

Virginia’s Hot Lava subscribes to the CSS school of female-fronted tongue-in-cheek indie dance rock; in fact, they even wrote a graphic lesbian ode to that group’s lead singer entitled “El Retorno da Lovefoxxx.” The Lava’s approach is very lo-fi but extremely poppy and altogether charming, thanks in large part to singer Allison Apperton’s breezy vocals and lyrics about blue dragons, mummy beaches and ghosties. It’s not exactly weighty material, but the songs’ very disposability works in the band’s favor; since their presentation is so cutesy anyway, they might never be able to get away with earnest love ballads or arch political diatribes or what have you. Just listen and have fun.

LADYFINGER (NE) Dusk (Saddle Creek)

The alt-metal anomaly in the Saddle Creek stable is back with a second album of angsty aggression that carries on as though the 2000s never happened. Amongst the rather pedestrian (albeit skillful) riffing and semi-hackneyed lyrics about alienation and disenfranchisement lies some interesting, melodic songwriting, particularly on the slow-building standout “Little Things.”

Perhaps this band’s most problematic trait is its almost absolute dedication to one unvarying sound, making for a very repetitious album that begins to wear on the ears about halfway through.

“Plans” almost saves the day with its somewhat

Charlie Louvin was the clean and sober half of the Louvin Brothers, who tore up the country charts with their old-style harmonies for a couple of decades until they broke up in 1963. Although his brother Ira battled with alcoholism throughout his life and died in a car crash in 1965, Charlie stayed on the straight and narrow and was able to forge out a fairly successful solo career in the wake of the duo’s breakup. He’s never really stopped recording, although a star-studded release last year brought his music somewhat back into the limelight. This year he’s put out a collection of his takes on classic, well, murder ballads and disaster songs that show he still has a way with a tune.

POINT JUNCTURE, WA Heart to Elk (Mt. Fuji)

Though Portland, OR’s Point Juncture, WA may owe some small debt to Stereolab with their gossamer, spacy pop (complete with easy-listening trumpet sounds), they actually seem to put a good deal more thought into tight arrangements and well-crafted songs. Recorded in the band’s own basement studio, Heart to Elk belies its humble origins, sounding by turns as big, small, ethereal and loud as its creators’ whims directed.

Entrancing, wistful male and female vocals, low key vibes, heavily distorted guitars, retro synths, drum loops and acoustic drums all playfully pop in and out of the mix, making for a truly dynamic and highly addictive set.

// OTM SUGGESTS //

UPCOMING SHOWS!

WELCOME WAGON

January 2 (Cardboard Instruments)

Welcome to the Welcome Wagon (Asthmatic Kitty)

Comprised of the husband-and-wife duo of the Reverend Vito and Monique Aiuto, Welcome Wagon sing beguiling, harmonic folksy gospel in an indie pop vein. Their debut album is apparently a pet project of Sufjan Stevens, who produced the project and saw fit to add all sorts of instrumentation to the couple’s simple tunes. Be prepared for some over-the-top choir vocals and horns, but overall the baroque-pop-ish flourishes work well and compliment the material. It is, however, refreshing to hear “Deep Were His Wounds, and Red,” the final track that’s completely unadorned and showcases the duo’s considerable talents brilliantly.

THE WHORE MOANS

JS Butcher Band, Kimberly Wescott, Rajah Bose.

Caterina Winery, 905 N. Washington, 328-5069 JANUARY 3-4 (COMEDY JOKES)

LEWIS BLACK NORTHERN QUEST CASINO, 800-325-SEAT January 13 (PUNK)

The Meteors Cretin Hop, 1317 N. Howard, 327-7195 January 16 (Hip-Hop +)

LoveyouLongTime, GoodnightSunrise, JiggyWatts, JamesPants empyrean 154 S Madison St, 838-9819

Hello from the Radio Wasteland! (Mt. Fuji)

Of all the straightforward rock bands currently kicking around the Seattle scene, the Whore Moans can perhaps lay the most legitimate claim to carrying on the direct lineage of Northwestbrand garage punk that began with the Wailers and the Sonics and continued through Mudhoney and the Murder City Devils. Despite keeping up a fairly punishing (and quite tasty) aural assault throughout Hello from the Radio Wasteland!, the band by no means eschews melody, and singer/ guitarist Nick Anderson generally displays a knack for aggressive-yet-affecting songwriting.

Strangely, the acoustic closing number, “Before the Frost,” comes across as more effective than all the bombast preceding it. //

January 24 (Stoner Jokes)

Cheech & Chong INB Perfoming Arts Center, 325-SEAT January 24 (Alt Rock)

Belt of Vapor ALL AGES CD RELEASE w/ palms and x-verhexen.

Caterina Winery, 905 N. Washington, 328-5069 January 31 (Pop-Folk)

Tiny Vipers, The Globes, Kaylee Cole, Grant Olson empyrean 154 S Madison St, 838-9819 //

SNOW PATROL A Hundred Million Suns (Geffen)

After a successful bid for superstardom with the ubiquitous ballad “Chasing Cars” from their last record, Snow Patrol serve up even more of their customary slick, straightforward balladry and borderline-generic rock than usual on A Hundred Million Suns. Perhaps the band’s most shameless attempt on this album to replicate past success is the characteristically over-saccharine “Crack the Shutters,” which actually plays out effectively despite obvious similarities to their huge hit. The first single “Take Back the City” works well as a latter-era U2-type arena rocker, and the band proves elsewhere that it can still be interesting with tracks like the slow-building “Lifeboats” and the driving “Please Just Take These Photos from My Hands.”

BRITNEY SPEARS Circus (Jive)

In the aftermath of the most entertaining public meltdown of any superstar in the history of mankind—and after being drawn, quartered, sliced, diced and lightly sautéed by the press-Britney was apparently still able to drag her sorry ass back into the studio and crank out yet another assembly-line pop dance floor-filler in the same vein as last year’s Blackout. This time around, her team has managed to come up with a cliche-riddled number one hit (“Womanizer”) and they’ve thrown some cloying ballads into the mix to mildly temper the nonstop death-disco onslaught. They’ve even tossed off a Kate Perry clone of a lesbian anthem in the regrettably-titled “If U Seek Amy.” Not much to recommend here for anyone interested in something other than a creative black hole.

Belly Dance� Workshop with� Jayna� 10:00 am- 1:00 pm� The Dance� Emporium, 13105� E. Sprague Ave.� $75�

Souk (Barter Faire) -- 3:00 pm� $15 or 5 Cans of Food� Mid- East Drumming Workshop with� Yasmin -- 4:30 pm/ $25� Local Drum & Dancer Performances� -- 7:00 pm/ $5 or 2 Cans of Food� Chinese Gardens Restaurant,� 5207 E. Trent Ave.� Visit Nadiyahs.com or Call 509-993-4423� january 2009

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Out There Monthly

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BOOK REVIEWS Grizzly Wars: The Public Fight Over the Great Bear David Knibb, Eastern Washington University Press, 2008, 284 pages

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Spokane WA, (509) 242-2739 22

Out There Monthly

/ january 2009

1610 N. Monroe, Spokane

Clearly, nationwide, the public has strong feelings about species management. Grizzly Wars focuses on grizzlies, but the bear’s recovery parallels and intertwines with dozens of other species.

Sadly, the very network of bureaucracy dedicated to resolving, managing, promoting and ensuring that endangered species live on—be it spotted owls or wolves—is a log jam hindered further by special interests, politics, and sue-happy environmental groups. No joke, the book could easily be renamed Grizzly Wars: A Study of Invisible Anchors.

To be fair, Knibb stresses this is not a logging issue, a Republican issue, a state’s rights issue, or something that needs to be handled in the court system. The notion of invisible anchors shows up early and continues as the book traces the decades of recovery efforts. He unravels the relationship between Canadian and US bear populations. He reports on the years and years of studies and field tests to gauge grizzly populations, alongside the ebb and flow of public opinion. He writes about individual efforts on both sides of the issue, and significant happenings with far-reaching consequences.

This well-written book exposes what’s right and what’s wrong within species management, and Knibb is not afraid to point out some ironic details. For example, in an effort to have grizzly recovery efforts revised or redraw the lines of a certain recovery area, a rogue rancher might kill one or two grizzlies. Sadly the rogue rancher doesn’t seem to understand that quotas are one of the main components in delisting a species, so his action is actually doubling the efforts in the recovery area he wants left alone.

Spokane is one of a few epicenters for grizzly recovery due to our relative location to the North Cascades, Cabinet-Yaak, Bitterroots, and Selkirks.

This book is timely, relevant and local (printed at EWU press). Frankly, it ought to be required reading for any of the area’s biology programs, as well as the outdoor recreation programs. Yes, it’s that good. Jon Jonckers.

The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest Lawrence Kreisman and Glenn Mason, Timber Press, 2007, 398 beautiful pages

If you are a fan of the Arts and Crafts movement, you want Lawrence Kreisman and Glenn Mason’s The Arts and Crafts Movement in the Pacific Northwest. Though something of a scholarly work, the text is an eminently readable look at the Arts and Crafts movement in Washington and Oregon.

The authors weave a historical tapestry of Washington and Oregon through the lens of the Arts and Crafts influenced art and architecture of the early 20th century. In doing so, they explore the people and businesses, prominent and obscure, which sustained the movement. Some threads of this tapestry come from the writers of the day, reproduced in ad, newspaper and magazine copy, all promoting the beauty, utility, and simplicity of Arts and Crafts wares.

Another thread of the tapestry is the nearly 400 images. Most publications chronicling the movement discarded their photographs, requiring that many of the images be reproduced from archived

publications. There was little effort to save photos illustrating the movement, though the artisans and their supporters were consciously charting new ground, no longer looking backwards for inspiration, instead looking to inspire with their creations both “useful and beautiful.”

The text illustrates how regional artisans and craftsmen (and women) promulgated the joys arising from worthwhile labor. The manifestations of that labor—buildings, furniture, lighting fixtures, pottery and the other decorative arts—were to adorn our dwellings, workplaces, and social spaces, enhancing our lives with a discernible combination of beauty and utility.

The lasting joy of this book is the light it sheds on our surroundings. Eyes will be opened to a new Spokane and Inland Northwest. You’ll see Kirtland Cutter’s inspirations in the Swiss chalet style, the Mission style’s stucco and the warmth it’s meant to evoke in the Davenport Hotel. You’ll see basalt and river rock and large timbers as part of an early sustainability movement, all fostered

by Arts and Crafts thinking. If you are a fan of Arts and Crafts, you’ll love this book. Bradley Bleck

Sketches from the Ranch: A Montana Memoir Dan Aadland, University of Nebraska Press, November 3, 2008, 260 pages

Sketches from the Ranch presents a series of vignettes describing a year of experiences on Aadland’s small Montana ranch. Though in the book only one year passes, frequent digressions describe experiences of his earlier life and that of his predecessors on the land; he describes the evolution of ranch life. In the early days “ranching” included subsistence farming with the raising and sale of cattle serving mostly to provide cash for staples that couldn’t be grown on the farm, salt, sugar, and coffee, or to replace worn out equipment. Aadland also describes the evolution of power on the range. Locally raised horses and oxen as beasts of burden powered the first wave of settlers. The next era saw draft horses imported from Europe being bred and used for plowing and pulling wagons. Then by the 1950’s, the transition to use of petroleum fueled tractors and trucks was finally complete.

Refreshingly, Aadland does not romanticize ranching and the mythical “cowboy.” Rather, he honestly portrays modern ranching as a business that often requires the cowboy to have a “day job” and to work long hours to keep the ranch going.

Using his own circumstances, he acknowledges that the majority of ranches are not the multithousand acre units of corporate cattle factories.

Today most ranches are units of a few hundred acres, at most a thousand or so, operated by families.

Aadland provides an unexpected environmental slant to ranching. Proper management of grazing lands can emulate the conditions of pre-western European influence. Using grassland for cattle, horses and other grazers and browsers can prevent attempts to use marginal lands for farming. They can produce human food directly from land best left unfarmed.

Sketches from the Ranch became a difficult read for me; the childhood memories triggered, demanded pauses to ponder my own life. Anyone with a history of time “on the farm” will no doubt encounter the same circumstances. For the uninitiated Sketches accurately portrays the ranchers life. Stan Miller //

OUTDOOR CALENDAR AVALANCHE TRAINING

SUBMIT your event at www.outtheremonthly.com

CYCLING (Ongoing) Spokane’s Bike Buddy Program.

When: Ongoing. Where: Spokane, WA. The Bike Buddy Program matches you with a trained volunteer familiar with the commute between your neighborhood and workplace. Sponsored by the Spokane Bicycle Club and Bicycle Alliance of Washington. Info: SpokaneBikeBuddy@aol. com.

(January 15) Avalanche Awareness by Flow Adventures. When: 7PM. Where: REI,1125

(January 1) New Year’s Day Hangover Handicap. When: 9:30am. Where: Coeur

BIRDWATCHING

(January 17) Frostbite Five-K Footrace. When: 10:00am. Where: 315 E. Crawford Ave., Deer Park, WA. A part of Deer Park Winterfest. Info: ceclark@cet.com.

N Monroe St. Come join Flow Adventures for an informative clinic where you will look at & play with the latest in avalanche beacons and other essential equipment. Info: (509) 328-9900, www.rei.com/spokane.

(January 10) FAMILY MACFEST: GOING TO THE BIRDS! When: Noon to 3pm. Where: the MAC,

2316 W. First Avenue, Spokane. Find out about birds of the Inland Northwest. Activities relate to our Dabblers, Divers, Murderers, Travelers: Birds of the Inland Northwest exhibition. Join Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge and the Spokane Audubon Society for activities on wildlife preservation. Hands on activities will focus on birds and their specialties. We’ll even have live birds of prey visit from the West Valley Outdoor Center’s Hawk and Owl Sanctuary!

Special admission of only $15 per family. Free for MAC members. Sponsored by STCU. Info: (509) 456-3931.

CLIMBING (Ongoing, Mondays) Women’s Climb Night.

Where: Wild Walls, 202 W. 2nd Ave. For kids ages 4 – 10 years. Please call ahead. Come climb with friends! Cost $12 (single visit), $74 (8 punch pass). Info: (509) 455-9596.

(Ongoing Tuesdays & Thursdays) Vertical Intro. When: 6PM – 8PM. Where: Wild Walls,

202 W. 2nd Ave. Two hour class and seven days of free climbing. Please call ahead. Come climb with friends! Cost $35. Info: (509) 455-9596.

(Tuesdays January) Discover Rock Climbing.

When: 6 PM – 8 PM. Where: Mountain Gear, 2002 North Division. Everything you need to harness up, tie in and belay with confidence.

This class is for those who wish to get into climbing, as well as for parents wishing to get their young ones climbing safely. Cost: $20.

Info: www.mgear.com.

d”Alene, ID. Start the new year with a run. Info: www.teshinc.com

SNOWSPORTS (Ongoing October- January) Ski/Snowboard Conditioning Class. When: Tuesday/Thursday

7-8am, noon-1pm, 6-7pm. Where: U-District Physical Therapy, 730 N. Hamilton. 5th annual Ski/Snowboard Conditioning Class. Get in shape for the upcoming season. $75 per month (8 sessions). More info www.udistrictpt.com Info: (509) 458-7686, www.udistrictpt.com.

(January 1) 3rd annual Int’l KILT RUN and 1st night Bonfire. When: 1:00pm first run.

Where: Schweitzer Mtn. Resort. Show the stuff yer made of, ski or board down the mountain, wear a kilt! win prizes. Registration begins at 11:00am, or go online.Info: (208) 255-9829, http://www.st-joseph-church.net/sjpd/ (January 10, 11) WinterFest 09. When: All –day. Where: 49º North. Come join us for a wonderful, winter-filled weekend at 49º North Resort and Nordic area. There will be exciting events for everyone – demonstrations, events, and races for Nordic, Telemark and Alpine Touring. We’ll offer free classes and tours along with a winter safety course. In the evening enjoy a band, bonfire, BBQ and night-time ski and snowshoe tours. Register online today!

Info: Mountain Gear, (509) 325-9000.

(January 8, 22) XC Ski Classes. When: 6:30

pm, 1/8, Thursday – Mountain Gear classroom, 1/22, Thursday – Mountain Gear classroom.

Where: Mountain Gear, 2002 N. Division.

Learn the basics of cross-country skiing in this two-session class (on-snow session at Mt Spokane). Come learn an inexpensive way to exercise, socialize and see the great outdoors.

Cost: $25/$9 rental. For registration info, go to www.spokaneparks.org or call (509) 625-6200.

(January 10) USASA Boardercross and skiercross. When: TBD. Where: Silver Mountain.

First of three sanctioned races in the Inland Northwest. Second race in series at 49 Degrees

(January 23, 30 & February 6) Toyota ski free days.

When: All dayl. Where: See below. January 23: Silver Mountain, January 30: Schweitzer Mountain Resort, February 6: Mt. Spokane. Drive a Toyota to these resorts on the designated days and get a free lift ticket for the driver. Sponsored by Inland Empire Toyota Dealers.

(January 30-31) 24 Hours at Schweitzer. When: Call. Where: Schweitzer Mountain Resort. 24 hour ski race to raise money for Henry “Hank” Sturgis and Cystinosis research. Ski all day and all night.

Info: (208) 255-3081.

(January 30, 31, February 1) Kan Jam Freestyle Series. When: See below. Where. Mt. Spokane Friday

30th – Rail Jam 6pm. Saturday 31st – Slopestyle 12 noon. Sunday Feb 1 – Big Air 11am/Super Bowl pregame. Info: www.mtsppokane.com.

SNIOWSHOEING (January 15, 29) Snowshoe Class. When: 6:30 pm.

Where: Mountain Gear, 2002 N. Division. Cost: $25/$9 rental. Learn the basics of snowshoeing - you will receive information on clothing, equipment, and snowshoe technique. Enjoy traveling through the snow-covered trees and hills around Mt Spokane. 2 sessions (ages 14 & over) For registration info, go to www.spokaneparks.org or call (509) 625-6200.

EVENTS, MOVIES, MISC. (January 10-11) Health*Beauty spa show. When: Sat: 10-7pm, Sun: 11-5pm. Where: Spokane Community College Lair. This event is designed to help people explore their wellness options and re-energize their busy lives. The show is benefitting the YWCA’s Alternatives to Domestic Violence Program, donating 10% of the show admission and treatment ticket proceeds to the program and conducting a food and hygiene supply drive at the entrance for the YWCA’s women’s safe shelter. Info: www.healthbeautyshow.com.

(January 13) Community Roots Market. When: 11 AM to 4 PM. Where:Fresh Abundance, 2015 N Division. Community Roots Winter Market December 14th from 11-4 located at 2015 North Division. We are a BUY LOCAL venue that celebrates the farmers, musicians, crafts people. Info: (509) 435-5210, brightspirit@freshabundance.com.

(January 15 – 18) Sandpoint Winter Carnival.

When: See website. Where; Downtown Sandpoint, ID. Sandpoint celebrates their love of snow. Presented

by Seasons at Sandpoint and The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, Winter Carnival returns with art, fire, food, drink, and rails with events in downtown Sandpoint, at Schweitzer Mountain Resort and at Dover Bay. Includes bonfire, rail jam, ArtFest, and torchlight parade. Info: www.

SandpointWinterCarnival.org

OUTDOOR

(Ongoing Tuesdays & Saturdays) Spider Monkey climbing Club. When: 6PM – 8PM.

RUNNING/WALKING/MARATHONS

9:30PM. Where: Mt Spokane Ski and Snowboard Park. $10 in advance or $14 at the ticket window.

Tickets available at any Life Services or Troys Tires Locations. $35 lift, lesson, rental at the mountain.

Info: (509) 327-0701, http://www.lifeservices.org/ events.htm.

CALENDAR

When: 6PM – 8PM. Where: Wild Walls, 202 W. 2nd Ave. Please call ahead. Come climb and learn to climb with other women in the Spokane area every Monday Night. Cost is $12. Join the Fun at Wild Walls! Info: (509) 455-9596.

(January 11) Full Moon Fiasco. When: 8pm.

Where: Starts at The Swamp. A relaxed bike ride through Spokane during the full moon. Any bike. Any level of rider. Any level of beverage enjoyer. Info: http://fbcspokane.blogspot.com

(January 18) Christian Ski Night. When: 5PM to

JAN2009

(January 14, 15) Avalanche Class – Level 1.

When: 5 – 9:30 pm. Where: Mountain Gear, 2002 N. Division. The Level I avalanche course is targeted at recreational skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers. It is taught over three days, with both classroom and field sessions.

In the classroom, students become acquainted with the three principle contributing factors to avalanches, learn how to evaluate each as they relate to the probable hazard, and use this data during decision making. The field session focuses on route selection, hazard identification and evaluation, decision making and rescue (beacon search, group and self-rescue). Cost: $200. Info: Call or stop by Mountain Gear, (509) 325-9000.

North. Third race in series at Mt. Spokane. Info: (866) 344-2675, www.silvermt.com.

january 2009

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Out There Monthly

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outdoor calendar (January 22-25) Inland Northwest RV Show.

When: Th. noon-8pm, Fr & Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-4pm. Where: Spokane County Fair and Expo Center. Come see over 13 million dollars in RV’s and accessories. Motorhomes, minihomes, 5th wheels, campers, tent trailers and more! Info: (509) 466-4256, www.spokanervshow.com.

(January 22 – 23) 2009 Spokane River Forum Conference. When: Call. Where: Centerplace

Regional Event Center 2426 N. Discovery Place,

Spokane Valley. The conference is expected to address a wide range of issues and topics. Water quality will be discussed in relation to waste water treatment, toxic chemicals, heavy metals, sediment contamination, fish Consumption, human health, phosphorus, and DO & PCB TMDLs. Water quantity will be addressed in relation to in-stream flows, dam operations, water withdrawal, water use demands, water rights and adjudication, and of course conservation. Other topics include recreation, collaboration and community. Cost for the 2 day confer-

SIX MONTH TRAINING CALENDAR // CLIMBING

kaneriverrun.com.

(March) Red Rock Rendezvous. Las Vegas,

(April) Komen Eastern Washington Race for the Cure. Downtown Spokane. Info: (509)

NV. Info: www.mgear.com.

363-8188 or www.komenspokane.org

CYCLING (April) Frozen Flatlands. Cheney, WA. Info:

www.baddlands.org.

(May 12) INland Empire Century. Richland,WA.

Info: tricitybicycleclub.org.

(May) Twilight Series. Spokane, WA. Info:

(May 3) Lilac Bloomsday Run. Info: www.

bloomsdayrun.org.

(May) Coeur d’Alene Marathon. Coeur

d’Alene, ID. Info: www.cdamarathon.com.

(May) Vancouver International Marathon.

www.baddlands.org.

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Info: (604) 872-2928 or www.adidasvanmarathon.ca/hm.

(May) 24 Hours Round the Clock. Riverside

(May) Hippie Chick Half Marathon. Portland,

State Park, Spokane, WA. Info: www.roundandround.com.

OR. Info: (503) 691-6888 or www.allwomenshalf.com.

MARATHONS

(May)

Brooks

Peach

City

Penticton, B.C. Info: (250) 490-3334 or www. peachcityrunners.com/marathon/main.htm.

(July 12) Missoula Marathon, Missoula MT.

(May) Capital City Marathon and Half Marathon. Olympia, WA. Info: (360) 786-

Pullman, WA. Info: www.palouseroadrunners.org.

❄

(January 29) SPECIAL PROGRAM & RECEPTION: TEXT MESSAGING PRAYERS: GEORGE LONGFISH AND HIS ART OF COMMUNICATION.

When: 6 – 8pm. Where: Eric A. Johnston Memorial Auditorium, the MAC, 2316 W. First Avenue, Spokane. Author and poet Molly McGlennen, whose heritage includes Anishinaabe, French, and Irish ancestors, comes to the MAC to help the museum celebrate the opening of its fabulous George Longfish: A Retrospective exhibition. Dr. McGlennen earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Mills College in 1998, and her PhD in Native American Studies from University of California, Davis in 2005. She is presently Assistant Professor of English and Native American Studies at Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY. A reception and Longfish gallery viewing follows the lecture. Included in regular MAC admission ($7 adults/$5 senior and students). Free for MAC members. Info: (509) 456-3931. //

make a

FUN New Year’s

Resolution

1-5 Climbers $69 6-10 Climbers $129 each additional $12 Package includes:

all gear 1 hour climb time 1 belayer per five climbers 1 hour @ our party table

(February) Starlight Race Series. Schweitzer Ski Resort, Idaho. Info: www.schweitzer.com.

(February) Langlauf Cross-Country Ski Race. Mt. Spokane. Info: www.spokanelan-

glauf.org.

Calendar Women’s Night - Monday Super discounts for women.

Spider Monkeys Tues & Sat • 6pm - 8pm Vertical Intro - $35 Tues & Thurs • 6pm - 8pm

(March) Winter Triathlon. Winthrop,WA.

Info: www.mvsta.com.

(MAY 8-10) 6th annual Reno River Festival.

Top professional kayakers and amateur athletes from around the world compete on the Truckee River. Along with world-class whitewater competitions and free instructional clinics, the 2nd annual Run Amuck fun run. Info: www.RenoRiverFestival.com.

(May) NIChallenge Sprint Adventure Race.

Sat • 4pm - 6pm

Coeur d’Alene, ID. Info: www.nic.edu/activities.

2 hour class & 7 days of FREE climbing included.

(May) ONion Man Triathlon. Walla Walla, WA

College Night - Friday

Info: www.multisports.com.

(May) Triathlon @ Rigby Lake. Idaho Falls State Park, ID. Info: www.triclubidaho.org. //

RUNNING (April) Spokane River Run. Info: www.spo-

HAVE AN EVENT YOU WOULD LIKE TO LIST? // Please visit www.outtheremonthly.com and click the “Submit Your Event” link. // Events MUST be sent in by the 20th of the month to be listed in the following month’s issue. Please follow the when, where format as seen in the calendar. Ongoing events need to be re-submitted each month.

24

Out There Monthly

/ january 2009

❄

-1 HOUR BLOCK-

program for military service members who use wheelchairs for sports competition due to (March) Tandem Ski Races. Lookout Pass Ski spinal cord injuries, amputations, or certain Resort, ID. Info: www.skilookout.com. // neurological probelms. Info: (509) 434-7216, www.wheelchairgames.va.gov.

TRIATHLONS

PADDLING

❄

this year. . .

SKIING/SNOWBOARDING

(July 13-18) 29th National Veterans Wheelchair Games, Spokane Convention Center, Spokane Valley Gun Club, Spokane Falls Community College and Riverfront Park. A mult-event sports and rehabilitation

Climbing Gym

Birthday Parties & Groups

Full and half marathon, marathon relay and 1786 or www.capitalcitymarathon.org. kids marathon. Info: (406) 626-4055, www. missoulamarathon.org.

OTHER

WILD WALLS

CLIMB ❄

Marathon.

(March) Snake River Canyon Half Marathon.

❄

ence is $75, includes breakfast & lunch each day. It is open to the public. Group rates and scholarship information is available. Info: (509) 535-7084, info@spokaneriver.net, or www.spokaneriver.net.

Ymir, B.C.

✷

#1 route setter of the month: ARTHUR DEBOWSKI

✷

509.455.9596

202 W 2nd Ave Spokane, WA 99201 in the historic Armory Building OT_0108_WW.indd 1

12/22/08 5:48:46 PM

relax

pamper

escape

mountaingear.com/coldsmoke

FEB 20 - 23, 2009 NELSON, BC CANADA

January 10-11, 2009

Spokane Community College Lair

Treat Yourself to a Buffet of Spa Treatments

anti-aging * massage * spas * facials * laser treatments * airbrush tan manicures * stress management * nutrition * weight management paraffin treatments * detox foot baths * hair removal * skin care * makeovers Bring this ad for FREE admission for mom* with paid daughter over 18 (*mother in law, step mom, aunt, godmother....)

Saturday 10-7 * Sunday 11-5 $5 Sample Spa Treaments Admission $7

$2 off admisssion with a donation of a non-perishable food or a hygiene item to the YWCA Domestic Violence Women’s Safe Shelter

www.healthbeautyshow.com Exhibit Space Available (509) 218-6519

They need you more then ever!

Festival Activities: • Ski & Snowboard Clinics for a wide range of interests and skill levels • Advanced Clinics with Celebrated Athletes • Avalanche Awareness • Beacon & Self-Rescue • Navigation and Route Finding

Celebrate the culture of backcountry pursuits amongst breathtaking scenery and world-renowned snow at Whitewater Winter Resort in Nelson, British Columbia.

Demos & Exhibitors:

Presented by

• Industry and product experts will be on hand to set you up in the latest outdoor gear for testing.

Gold Sponsors

Media Sponsors

Supporter Sponsors

National Mentoring Month Make a difference in a child’s life!

Registration NOW OPEN mountaingear.com/coldsmoke or 800.829.2009

509-328-8310 x233 or northwestbigs.org january 2009

/

Out There Monthly

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LASTPAGE

Palouse Divide Ski Area

Cross-Country Ski Gem in the Hoodoos

PPHOTO esther holmes

The snow belt at Palouse Divide Nordic Ski Area is a recreational gem tucked into the Hoodoo Mountains atop a 3,600-foot pass in Idaho’s southern Benewah County. The groomed ski area and charming retreat center next door make this a rural destination worth checking out.

The trail system straddles the border between the St. Joe and Clearwater National Forests where stands of towering evergreens periodically break into expansive views. You may see deer, elk, bear, moose and eagles while gliding silently along gen-

The area is closed to motorized vehicles in winter. tly sloped trails that meander through stands of spruce, tamarack, hemlock and Douglas fir. The area is closed to motorized vehicles in winter.

Turnouts at Harvard Pass on Hwy. 6 signal your arrival at the ski area entrance. There are five trails to the east and three on the west. Dogs are welcome only on the west side where trails are not groomed. A nice choice for snowshoes, the initial climb may be a bit daunting for beginning skiers. Nevertheless, the first .4-mile is rated easy, and continues by bearing left to the 1.6-mile outand-back Sampson Trail. Advanced trails climb to the right to views of the valleys and surrounding mountains.

The road on the east side leads to a small parking area, a large map and the trailhead. There are no public facilities here or along the trails, and it’s a Park ‘N Ski area, which requires a sticker so check the end of the article for permit contacts.

Pete Minard, a retired Forest service employee drives up from Orofino each Friday to groom and set track on about 8 miles of the 20-mile system.

Since manpower and snow grooming equipment are at a premium, he focuses his efforts on Little Loop and Big Loop. They are appropriate for beginners but do include some short inclines.

Those who prefer not to downhill on cross-country skis are advised to follow the suggested routes, which lead uphill on the steep parts.

All the trails are well marked. Stay to the right to reach Little Loop .7-miles from the trailhead.

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Out There Monthly

/ january 2009

BY ESTHER HOLMES

Head right to ski this trail in a counter-clockwise direction.

From the trailhead, bear left for Big Loop. “It has some pretty views off to the southeast and goes through some really nice woody sections where overhanging trees make a tunnel, but watch for icy spots through there,” Minard suggests. The scenic views and an uphill section are about three miles out.

At the junction a mile later, keep right to return to the trailhead.

A sharp left at the junction leads to the Palouse Divide Trail. Two miles of it belong to the Nordic trail system, which is groomed only if time and conditions allow.

It is seven miles from the junction to Bald Mountain, the highest point in the Hoodoos and home to a Forest Service lookout rental. The lookout is only available in summer but you can experience similar accommodations year-round at the Palouse Divide Lodge where Lane and Shirley Hathaway provide a lookout for their guests. They also offer a private cabin and numerous hostelstyle rooms in the rustic lodge. Nutritious and wheat-free meals are served in the gathering hall, which is warmly decorated with locally made quilts and other homespun wares. There is also plenty of Nordic ski equipment for guests to use free. The place mainly caters to groups of 10 or more by reservation only and fills up fast, so plan well ahead.

On the way to the Palouse Divide, stop at the Drifters Western Bar & Grill in Emida to get the lowdown on local culture and a hearty breakfast.

They open weekdays at 6 a.m., and 8 a.m. on weekends. Sample their homemade pies, gourmet mustards, ketchup and wild berry jams. The Drifters also has an upscale motor home for overnighters a mile uphill behind the restaurant. It is off the grid with solar panels, a generator and great views of the valley and Tyson Peak. This is the only overnight lodging in the immediate area, other than the Palouse Divide Lodge. See www.southlakecda. com/lodgings for contact information.

The ski area is funded through the Park ‘N Ski Pass system. It costs $7.50 a day or $25 annually.

To get a permit call the Idaho parks department at 800-247-6332. //

WHEN YOU GO //

It’s 75 miles from Spokane if you go

through St. Maries, which is the shortest and most scenic route. From Spokane, take the Palouse Highway from the South Hill to WA 27. From Spokane Valley take Pines south on WA-27. Turn left at Rockford onto WA-278, which leads to Idaho and joins Hwy 95 at the Coeur d’Alene Casino. Go south to Plummer and turn left onto winding Hwy 5 toward St. Maries. When you come to the ‘T’ in St Maries, turn left and stay on this road, which becomes the White Pine Scenic Byway (SR3). Fourteen miles south of St. Maries turn right onto Hwy 6. From there it’s a straight shot to the pass. From Coeur d’Alene, the most direct route is I-90 to the Rose Lake exit onto SR-3. //

ginormous indoor waterpark

*

$45

stay & play packages starting at

PER PERSON 1 NIGHT LODGING 2 DAYS OF FUN! Weatherproof Your Vacation Silver Mountain Resort, the Northwest’s most unique vacation destination, has something for everyone. Silver is the only ski resort in the west that combines great family skiing with a year-round waterpark the size of a football field.

Hop on our high-speed village gondola and access 73 ski runs, endless glades and heaps of fresh, deep powder. Or try tubing on four lanes of snow-packed fun.

Dreaming of a beach vacation to go with your ski trip? Head to Silver Rapids, our giant indoor waterpark in Gondola Village. It’s a perfect 84 degrees every day at Silver Rapids, where the whole family can surf, splash and play all day. Silver Rapids is an included amenity of the Morning Star Lodge, so as a guest you gain exclusive access. Availability is limited! Make your reservation today. * Based on quad occupancy. Subject to availablitiy. Some restrictions apply.

easy access from I-90 - just a half hour east of Coeur d’Alene

(866) 921-0503

Kellogg, Idaho january 2009

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silvermt.com Out There Monthly

27

Salomon cross-country ski package Package includes: Salomon Elite 5 ski, Salomon Escape 4 boot Salomon SNS Profil Universal binding Karhu Nordic Way ski pole regular $338.95 Package: $259.00

Your Adventure Starts Here.

Full-service shop, rentals, demos, classes and an experienced staff!

Everything you need to enjoy

winter

Atomic skate ski package Package includes: Atomic Team skate ski Salomon Active Combi Pilot boot Salomon SNS Pilot Sport skate binding Leki Aulite Trigger ski pole regular $665.90 Package: $527.41

Atlas 2-piece pole $29.95

Atlas 8 Series Snowshoe men’s & women’s $129.95

Upcoming Events 10 - 11 y r a u n Ja d n e est Wesoerk WinteorrF t Re 14 - 15 y r at 49º N th Ski a u n Ja I evel L s s ate TBA) a (d l & C e h c n a l Ava y 20 - 23 r a u r b e F t s e f r e d Coldsmoke Pow

Photo: Jon Jonckers

2002 N Division, Spokane • (509) 325-9000 • mountaingear.com/retail

Store hours: Mon - Fri 9:30 am - 8 pm, Sat 9:30 am - 6 pm, Sun 11 am - 5 pm 28

Out There Monthly

/ january 2009

Sporthill Nirvana Zip Top men’s & women’s $84.95

Sporthill XC Pant men’s & women’s $105.00