Cliff's Salmon, Idaho Cross-Country Ski Page

Click on one of the following to jump to that section. Hit the Back button to return here.

A. Introduction:
B. General Web Links Re. Local XC Skiing:
C. Descriptions of Local XC Ski Trails:
D. Local Snow, Weather and Road Conditions:
E. General XC & Backcountry Ski Sites & Discussion Groups: New
F. MISC. XC Ski Links:
G. Printing hints for maps and other large files:
H. Editing Instructions (to use this page as a template for your personal version):
I. Web Site Statistics:

What's New? Minor updates made 01/28/2010. An asterisk precedes all new items. (Items updated since 10/16/2007).   Do a   Find   *   to go directly to new items.

A. Introduction:

  1. Hints:

 a. Most maps and other graphic files take a long time to load. If you open the link in a "new window" you can continue to "surf" or read the current page while the page with the graphics is opening. In Internet Explorer rest the cursor on the link and Right-Click the mouse and select "Open in New Window".
 b. Many pages including most of my “tables” will display best when viewed in Full Screen Mode. Hit the F11 key to toggle in and out of “full screen” mode.

  2. Maps: To better understand planned trips and previous trip reports, I encourage you to get three maps:

 a. The latest Chief Joseph Pass Cross-Country Ski Trails Map by the Bitterroot Cross-Country Ski Club is available at the trailhead. Note that this only has the groomed trails but is quite up to date. There are a few very short cutoff trails not listed. ALSO, CLICK HERE for the clubs excellent on-line map. * The same map is available HERE if the 1^st link doesn’t work.
 b. The USFS "Lost Trail and Chief Joseph Pass Cross-country Ski Areas" Map (Revised 01/1995), is somewhat out of date for the groomed Chief Joseph trails, but is the best hard copy source for the un-groomed trails in the area and includes all the trails that we ski most. This map will not be on display, so ask for them at your local Forest Service Office.   * CLICK HERE for an on-line map that covers the un-groomed trails near Chief Joseph Pass on the Wisdom Ranger District (RD). This map is excellent. This takes a long time to load (See #1. Hints above), but it’s worth it. It allows one to zoom in for a very good display of the trails. The map has one minor error in showing the junction of the Ander-Rich and Richardson Ridge Trails incorrectly. CLICK HERE for the corrected location of the Ander-Rich and Richardson Ridge Trail Junction and the south extension of the Ander-Rich Trail.
 b-1. The XC Ski Trails in the Lost Trail Pass area have changed somewhat since the Lost Trail Ski Area expansion in about 1999. Refer to my trails descriptions in Section C, below. Eventually, I hope to have some on-line maps to show the current location of some of these trails.
c. The 1993-1994 Salmon-Challis Nat. Forests William's Creek Summit Cross-Country Ski Trails Map and Description is still the current map for this area. This map doesn't show the Deep Creek Ridge (Fire line), the Upper Shoshoni (telemark run), or the Mukluk trails, but does show most of the trails we regularly ski. .  CLICK HERE for my on-line copy. I’m hoping to get some GPS maps online shortly and hopefully the Forest Service may get a grant to update trail signs and maps. I ALSO have a draft Topo map that has all the trails and is easier to read. Let me know if you want a copy.

B. General Web Links Re. Local XC Skiing:

 * 1. Lost Trail Powder Mountain Home Page. Trail Maps: Fast loading "JPG" map or slower loading high resolution “PDF” map – CLICK HERE for an alternate fast loading map.
                    Lost Trail Snow Conditions: http://www.losttrail.com/snowreport.asp

  2. Bitterroot Cross Country Ski Club:         http://www.bitterrootxcskiclub.net/
            "   Chief Joe Snow Conditions: http://www.bitterrootxcskiclub.net/trail%20reports.htm

  3. Missoula Nordic Ski Club:                  http://www.missoulanordic.org/
      Missoula Area (Includes Chief Jo) XC Snow & Grooming Conditions:
     Click on the following and scroll down to Chief Joseph: http://missoulanordic.org/cgi-bin/snow_grooming/discus.cgi

  4. The Salmon Chamber of Commerce Winter Recreation Page has a good general overview of local skiing opportunities.

  6. Cliff's Salmon Idaho Web Pages (Also see Cliff’s William’s Cr. and Lost Trail/Chief Joseph pages, further below): 
      My Weekly Cross Country (XC) Ski Planned Trip & Trail Condition Report:
         http://home.custertel.net/~ckeene41/xcskirpt.htm 
      My Salmon, Idaho Cross-Country Previous Ski Trip Reports Winter 2007 - 2008:
         http://home.custertel.net/~ckeene41/skitriprpt.htm 
      My Introduction to Cross-Country Skiing 101 page:
         http://home.custertel.net/~ckeene41/IntroToXc101.htm 
      My Welcome to Our Cross Country Ski Group  page: (Has history of the Salmon Nordic Ski Association, etc.) 
         http://home.custertel.net/~ckeene41/Welcome.htm 

    Salmon, Idaho XC Ski Photos Page:
         http://home.custertel.net/~ckeene41/xctripphotos.htm - This site is out of date. I’ll leave the link in case I get time to fix it.
         Refer to notes on what kind of pictures I can post.

      The following link is to the current page, which has numerous local XC Ski Links. (Listed for printing purposes.)
      My General Salmon, Idaho XC Ski Page:
         http://home.custertel.net/~ckeene41/cksalxcski.htm 

C. Descriptions of Local XC Ski Trails:

  1. Chief Joseph Pass, Lost Trail Pass, Saddle Mt. Area: Refer to the Lost Trail and Chief Joseph Cross-country Ski Area map (described in A 2 b., above, and available from the Salmon-Challis NF) for a good overview of these trails including non groomed trails. Another more detailed map of just the groomed Chief Joseph Trails is available at the trailhead. (Refer to A 2 a., above.)
Using this map, my vehicle mileage, and recently my GPS, I’ve created a table that lists individual trail segments. The table above may show that a trail is 2.5 miles long, but it usually doesn’t show that it’s, 1.5 miles on another trail before it starts.
    Go to my draft trail segment table at: http://home.custertel.net/~ckeene41/LtCjTrailSegs.htm for this information.

* a. Beaverhead-Deerlodge (BHDL) "Official" XC trail site. Lists most trails in the Forest, including most of the trails near Chief Joseph, but with some minor mileage errors. Multiply Kilometers times 0.621 to get miles. Note that distance out on Anderson Mountain Road to get to four of the trails is not listed. Refer to my table of miles for more specific details. CLICK HERE for the latest Beaverhead-Deerlodge NF News Releases.
   I’ll try and check this periodically and post a notification in my “weekly” ski trip report. But you may want to check this in case I forget.

b. There are three WinterMT.com sites that list XC Ski Trails in the Lost Trail Chief Joseph Area. Use caution however because many of the mileages are incorrect. 1. Un-Groomed Trails in the Chief Joseph Pass area near Wisdom. 2. Summary of Beaverhead trails including the Groomed Trails at Chief Joseph Pass. 3. XC Trails at Lost Trail Pass. All these trails are at least in part in the Lost Trail Ski Area and all but the Saddle Mtn Road can not be found easily. The Saddle Mtn mileage does not include the mileage (5 miles) to ski to the edge of the Ski Area. This extra mileage can be reduced to a mile or two by taking a chair lift to the top. See my description elsewhere.

c. An AltaMeadow.Com Description & Map of Chief Joseph Trails: This is a good map of the groomed trails, although it’s a little out of date. The “Continental Divide” trail on this map is now “Broadway” with the current CD Trail missing on the map.

 d. The Bitterroot NF used to have an on-line X-C Ski Trails Guide which listed the Saddle Mountain ski trail and had information on the Chief Joseph trails. They don’t list that information any more. However several other web sites still quote the information. It listed incorrect mileage for the Saddle Mtn. Road trail. Skiing the entire Saddle Mountain Road is about 9 km or 5.6 miles. One should use caution skiing up the lower Saddle Mt. Road because this is a ski area "cat track". Another option is to purchase a $5.00 "one trip" pass to the top and ski out to the Saddle Mountain Road. The connector trail starts about 100 yards south west of the top of Lift #2. This is probably 4.8 km as previously listed in this web site, and quoted on several other web sites.

Caution: Some web sites and previous maps list other trails in the Lost Trail area. These are for the most part now in the recent Lost Trail Ski Area “Expansion Area”. You need to get both a Lost Trail Ski Area Map (See Link at B 1., above) and the Lost Trail & Chief Joseph Pass Map cited in A 2 b., above to interpret these old trail descriptions. The "Wildfire Trail" and "Saddle Mountain Burn" are now part of the expanded Lost Trail Ski area. That doesn't mean one couldn't ski these areas, but the three "Wildfire" Trails and the "...Burn" trail are very hard to find because they have been replaced by trails shown on the Lost Trail Ski Area Map. An alternative for strong cross country skiers or beginning telemark skiers is to ski down the Lost Trail "Candy Stick Trail" to the base of the Huckleberry Lift # 3. Then go down and to the north about 100 yards to the end of the "Saddle Mountain Burn Trail" which at this point follows the West Camp Cr. Road out to Highway 93. You'll need a shuttle vehicle here. Lost Trail is a favorite for telemark skiers. In March of 2008 we found another trail that goes from the Lost Trail Rest Area (close

e. A1 Trails Guide: Cross-Country Skiing in Montana - http://www.a1trails.com/xc_ski/xc_mt.html
Select 13A for Chief Joseph. Note that there are a few errors. There are no actual trail "Fees", although there is a box for donations. This area is managed by the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forests, Wisdom RD: 406-689-3243, not the Bitterroot NF. Maps should be available at the trailhead. The other info appears to be correct. Refer to the map cited in A 2 a. above.
Select 13B for the Saddle Mountain-Lost Trail Pass Area. Note that there are a few errors. None of the trails in the Lost Trail Saddle Mountain area connect with the Chief Joseph area. (Although there is a "snowmobile route" north of Hwy 43 that does connect.) There are no trail fees and no opportunity for donations. This area is managed by the Bitterroot National Forest, Sula RD: 406-821-3201, not the Beaverhead-Deerlodge NF. Refer to C 1 d., above for a description of these trails.

f. The Idaho Falls Ski Club has a page of XC Ski Area Maps which includes a General Location Map for the Chief Joseph and Mt Haggin Areas. They also have the original Chief Joseph Pass XC Ski Trails On-Line Map that was listed in Section A above.

  2. Williams Creek Cross-Country Ski Trails Area: Refer to the Salmon-Challis NF William's Creek Cross-Country Ski Trails Map and Description (cited in A 2 c., above) for a good overview of this area. As of 2002/2003 the Deep Creek Ridge, Upper Shoshoni, and Mukluk Trails were not on the map. Contact me for a larger scale draft contour map including these trails.

a. General description - http://www.salmonchamber.com/recreation-winter.htm

b. Cliff's Williams Cr. Ski Trails Sites:
   Trail Descriptions     Trailhead Locations     Trail Map     Trail Segment table

   Salmon Nordic Ski Assn. Salmon Challis NF X-C Needs Discussion. (To be added later.) 

  3. Other Local Areas:

a. Salmon Area Groomed Snowmobile Trails: Currently these are also open to cross country skiers. Please use courtesy and step aside for snowmobiles. These are groomed for snowmobilers and their license fees pay in part for this. Conversely many of the cross-country trails are not open to snowmobiling.  
There is a snowmobile map available at the Chamber of Commerce Office in the City Building, I believe. I’ll see if I can scan a copy of On-Line use.

b. Visit Idaho XC Ski Trails On-Line These don't include our William's Creek or Lost Trail - Chief Joseph areas. The closest trails listed are in the Stanley Area and Craters of the Moon.

  4. Cross-Country Trails in Other Parts of Idaho:

a. Idaho Parks & Rec. Nordic Skiing Site: http://parksandrecreation.idaho.gov/recreation/nordic.aspx

b. Visit Idaho Main Idaho Winter Page. The main page for # b. above – In addition to XC Skiing it has links to snowmobiling, alpine skiing and other winter activities.

D. Local Snow, Weather and Road Conditions:

1. SNOTEL Snow Depth Reports, (Daily Readings): These show Snow Water Equivalent (SWE), Snow Depth, Total Precipitation since Oct. 01, and several temperature readings. SWE is the inches of water in the existing snow pack. Currently snow density is not displayed but can be calculated. Density percent is SWE/Depth100. Another useful calculation is: Inches of Snow Depth per Inch of Snow Water Equivalent. This can help interpret other tables or other sites that only have SWE readings.

Select any time period. I prefer to view 14 days. These all have readings taken at Midnight Pacific Standard Time. For depth, I find these daily reports less confusing. Although I call these "Depth Reports", many sites don't have depth gauges, so the Depth Column will be blank.

Depth Readings Closest to Salmon are from several MONTANA NRCS SNOTEL SITES. Two of these sites are actually on the ID/MT divide. Go to the following site: http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/cgibin/sdr.pl?state=MT and select “Saddle Mountain” for data near Lost Trail and Chief Joseph. Select Lemhi Ridge for data near the William's Creek area or for data in the Lemhi Valley between Salmon and Leadore.   Darkhorse Lake is another site that would give data for the highest elevations in the Beaverheads.

Currently the closest SNOTEL sites in Idaho with depth gauges are Banner Summit, Galena Summit, Hilts Creek & Lolo Pass. These may be useful if one is traveling to Boise or Sun Valley or to compare depths to the south of us. Go to the following site http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/cgibin/sdr.pl?state=ID and select Banner Summit or Galena Summit (or other Idaho site). (All Idaho sites will come up but depth will be missing for most.)

2. Multi-Day SNOTEL Readings.     The Best Source for Temperatures or for Timing of Recent Storms.
The above "Depth Reports" are only taken once a day. The following reports have either one hour or three hour readings. Note that the readings are Pacific Standard Time. Thus if the reading is for 06:00 AM it's 07:00 MST (Mountain Standard Time). These reports are the best source for "Current Temperatures". Sometimes the readings seem to be very current and sometimes there may be a lag of several hours before the data are posted. If the data hasn’t been updated for several hours, try the NOAA reports in Section E, below. Each report is sorted by date and time in descending order. The latest reading is on the bottom. The Site Elevation, Time Interval of Readings, and whether the site measures depth are listed for each:

Saddle Mountain (Elevation: 7900, 3 hour readings with depth): This is usually the best source for Lost Trail and Chief Joseph snow and temperature data. This is actually not on Saddle Mountain but rather a mile or so NW of the Lost Trail Chair Lift #1:
     http://www3.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt.jsp?site=727&days=7&state=MT
Moose Creek (Elevation: 6200, 1 hour readings w/o depth): South of, and lower in elevation than the base of Lost Trail Chair #2.
     http://www3.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt.jsp?site=638&days=7&state=ID
     Take the Saddle Mt. Depth/SWE reduce it slightly and multiply it times Moose Cr. SWE to get a rough depth estimate.
Lemhi Ridge (Elevation: 8100, 3 hour readings with depth): This is one of the closest sites to our William's Creek ski trails:
     http://www3.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt.jsp?site=576&days=7&state=MT
Morgan Creek (Elevation: 7600, 1 hour readings w/o depth): This is also close to William's Creek Summit. One should compare temperatures and SWE values. This doesn't have depth, but does have hourly readings. Sometimes there is less delay in the data:
     http://www3.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt.jsp?site=639&days=7&state=ID
     Take the Lemhi Ridge Depth/SWE and multiply it times Morgan Cr. SWE to get a rough depth estimate.
Schwartz Lake (Elevation: 8620, 1 hour readings w/o depth): (near Basin Lake): 
     http://www3.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt.jsp?site=915&days=7&state=ID
Meadow Lake (Elevation: 9150, 1 hour readings w/o depth): West of Gilmore: 
     http://www3.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt.jsp?site=620&days=7&state=ID
Banner Summit (Elevation: 7040, 1 hour readings with depth): If you're going to the Stanley area or driving to Boise this could be helpful:
     http://www3.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/sntl-datarpt.jsp?site=312&days=7&state=ID - Readings are always very prompt.

To obtain the above reports go to: http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/cgibin/sdr-all.pl and select the desired state and then the desired site.

3. Other Snotel & Surface Weather Observation Sites:
   a. NRCS National Water and Climate Center - Main SNOW Page:
      http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/  Has links to numerous snow reports. Note that the following state sites have links to some of the same reports as this site and links to other reports (usually similar).

   b. Other Idaho Reports: Idaho Snow Survey Home Page.
      This text report shows the % of average SWE & Precipitation for all Idaho sites. We're in the Salmon Basin.
      A slightly different table format report can be found HERE. Check both reports, sometimes one will have an error not in the other.
         Scroll down to the Salmon Basin and select the Site of interest such as Lemhi Ridge or Saddle Mountain or the Basin Wide Summary.
         Then look at the Percent Departure from Avg. Column. Subtracting this value from 100 gives the Percent of Normal Value.
         The above reports use some of the “Montana” sites including Saddle Mtn. & Lemhi Ridge.
      An alternative to the above reports is the similar: Montana % of Average SWE Text Report.
         Look for the “Jefferson River Basin” which also uses Saddle Mtn. & Lemhi Ridge.
      

   c. Other Montana Reports: Montana Snow Survey Home Page:
      Lost Trail Ski Area Snow Report (Only updated during ski season.)

   d. The Western US Snow Depth Map has a symbol for each Snotel site that measures depth. The symbol will give a snow depth range.

   e. NOAA Snotel, and other surface weather observations, searchable map. Once the map is displayed you can click of a variety of weather sites. Hover the mouse to see the type and name of the site. Click to display Snotel or other readings.
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mso/newlcl.php   Note that for sites with multiple stations only one type of station may be shown on the map. For example for Banner Summit, only the RAWS data can be accessed from the map. However one can select Banner Summit Snotel from the list at the bottom of the map. 
   Rather than using the above map or table you can click on one of the links below.  Many of the NRCS Snotel reports list the most recent data on the bottom. These NOAA reports list the most recent data on top. They will often not list all data. I think they weed out data that looks questionable.

NOAA Snotel - Saddle Mountain (Elevation: 7900, 3 hour readings with depth): This is usually the best source for Lost Trail and Chief Joseph snow and temperature data. This is actually not on Saddle Mountain but rather a mile or so NW of the Lost Trail Chair Lift #1.

NOAA Snotel -Moose Creek (Elevation: 6200, 3 hour readings w/o depth): South of, and lower in elevation than the base of Lost Trail Chair #2. Take the Saddle Mt. Depth/SWE reduce it slightly and multiply it times Moose Cr. SWE to get a rough depth estimate.

NOAA Snotel -Lemhi Ridge (Elevation: 8100, 3 hour readings with depth): This is one of the closest sites to our William's Creek ski trails.

NOAA Snotel - Morgan Creek (Elevation: 7600, 1 hour readings w/o depth): This is also close to William's Creek Summit. One should compare temperatures and SWE values. This doesn't have depth, but does have hourly readings. Sometimes there is less delay in the data. Take the Lemhi Ridge Depth/SWE and multiply it times Morgan Cr. SWE to get a rough depth estimate.

NOAA Snotel -Schwartz Lake (Elevation: 8620, 1 hour readings w/o depth): (near Basin Lake).

NOAA Snotel - Meadow Lake (Elevation: 9150, 1 hour readings w/o depth): West of Gilmore.

NOAA Snotel - Banner Summit (Elevation: 7040, 1 hour readings with depth): If you're going to the Stanley area or driving to Boise this could be helpful. See the note above. This link is not available from the map, only from the list below the map.

NOAA – RAWS – SALMON (Has precipitation, temperatures, etc.): This doesn’t have snow information, but the temperatures can be compared against Lemhi Ridge or Saddle Mountain to determine if we are in an “Inversion”, etc. Note also that the site is not exactly in Salmon but almost 1,000 feet higher at 5,100’ elevation.

   f. Other Snow and Weather History Sites:

Desert Research Institute (DRI) - Western Regional Climate Center, Snotel Site - Has links to reports and graphs, including:
N.Idaho/W.Montana Map Link to Snotel Graphs, including: Graph Setup Page for Lemhi Ridge Snotel Site, and Graph Setup Page for Saddle Mtn.
In the above “setup pages” select the starting and ending YYYYMMDD, often October 1 to July 15 makes a good display of snow water.

4. Avalanche and Backcountry Conditions:

 

5. Weather Forecasts and Road Conditions.

   a. Weather Forecasts: (all links have major revisions Oct 2008) CLICK HERE to learn about Point Forecasts.

Lost Trail Pass Area Weather: (Click on the links to get a weather forecast)
   NOAA Tabular “Point Forecast” for LOST TRAIL PASS.  (This was previously called the Prototype Digital Forecast.)
   Other Lost Trail Forecast formats:
        7 Day Text Only Format, The Printable Forecast Format is similar with more graphics.
   Snow Forecast.Com’s Lost Trail Ski Area Forecast. The default is for Metric Units, Click on the “Imper.” (Imperial) link for feet & inches.
   Another good forecast is the backcountry weather forecast. Look for the Bitterroot – Lost Trail Pass area.
      This doesn’t cover as long a period so you need to check it again periodically.
      Notice that this lists the “Snow Level” (The elevation where rain changes to snow.). Caution this report isn’t usually activated until winter.

William's Cr. Summit (Approx.): CLICK HERE for NOAA Tabular Point (formerly Digital) Forecast for Lat.: 45.093, Long. -114.086.
This area is for the Lat./Long. for William's Cr. Summit. This is probably not EXACTLY at William’s Cr. Summit. The NOAA displayed elevation for this Lat/Long. Has varied. Previously it displayed 7774, then 7564, and recently back to 7,774’ - close to the Summit elevation of 7813 and close to the elevations where we ski.
   Other William’s Cr Summit Forecast formats: 7 Day Text Only Format, The Printable Forecast Format is similar with more graphics.

Salmon, ID Weather: (Click on the links to get a weather forecast)
   NOAA Tabular “Point Forecast” for SALMON, ID.  (This was previously called the Prototype Digital Forecast.)
   Other Salmon Forecast formats:
        7 Day Text Only Format, The Printable Forecast Format is similar with more graphics.

Missoula National Weather Service (NWS), Forecast Area forecasts for selected points: CLICK HERE to select a town or a Latitude Longitude in the Missoula Weather Forecast Area or Click on a location on the map at the bottom. This allows one to get a forecast for more than just an official town. I’m not sure if there are options for the Latitude – Longitude, but I know that 45.093,-114.086 will work. (Latitude in decimal degrees, a coma, and latitude preceded by a minus sign (for west) and decimal degrees).

   b. Road Conditions:

Idaho Road Reports:
     Idaho Roads Home Page: http://511.idaho.gov/
Idaho Road Link to Lemhi County Weather.     Idaho Road Conditions: http://511.idaho.gov/ -   Click on desired highway. For example: US-93, SH-28, SH-29, SH-75, SH-21. Roads not in numeric order, use the browser "Find" feature if necessary.
Montana Road Reports:
     MT Travel Info. Home Page: http://www.mdt.mt.gov/travinfo/
     Winter Storm Warnings: http://www.mdt.mt.gov/travinfo/scripts/rdrpt.pl?rptname=Hazardous+Weather&box=No
     Detailed Road Rpt: needs to be added - Look for MT-43 & US-93.
     Road Condition Map: needs to be added

E. General XC & Backcountry Ski Sites & Discussion Groups:

1. Telemark Tips at: http://www.telemarktips.com/ is one of the best. Be sure and click on their "Telemark Talk Forum"

2. Couloir Magazine at: http://www.couloirmag.com/ also has some good articles.

3. Cross Country Ski Magazine at: http://www.crosscountryskier.com/.

4. The Rec.Sking.Backcountry "Newsgroup" has messages related to backcountry skiing.

The most dependable way to access this is probably via "Google Groups". This used to be called "Deja News" before Google took it over. Click HERE to go to the latest messages.

Another way is to do a Google Groups Advanced Search at: http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search and enter in rec.skiing.backcountry for the newsgroup. I prefer to list 100 messages but limit the search to the last few years. A typical search might be for "wax waxless", without the quotes, in the "With All The Words" box. When you see a message with an applicable subject, click on "View Thread" and then click on the first message. You'll also see the next several answers to the first message. Click on Next 7, or whatever number is showing, to see the next several answers.

Here's another way to read the most recent messages. It won't work on any of the government computers, but if you have set up your computer properly, it should work for those using Salmon Internet, if you have one of the following: Microsoft Internet News, Microsoft Outlook Express, or Netscape. It may be necessary to have Netscape as your default browser for it to work. Click on the following: news:rec.skiing.backcountry and one of the previously mentioned programs should open. Allow 2 or 3 minutes for the messages to display. Click on any message that has an interesting subject. If you want to look at this newsgroup regularly you may want to use the "Subscribe To This Newsgroup" feature. Note that normally the messages are NOT downloaded to your computer only the subject titles. Holler if you want more information on Newsgroups. Be careful with the "alt" news groups. Some are very good, such as alt.genealogy, but some are xx rated. (At least that's what they appear to be based on their titles.)

F. Misc. XC Ski Links:

1. Cabin & Yurt Rentals.
    - Cape Horn Guard Station: - http://www.fs.fed.us/r4/sc/yankeefork/capehorn.shtml
    - Beaverhead Deerlodge NF cabin rental including May Cr. and Hogan’s Cabin - http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/bdnf/cabins.htm
    - Huts And Yurts For Backcountry Skiing (Select the State, Province or Country): - http://www.math.utah.edu/~eyre/rsbfaq/huts.html
    
2. Other:
   Backcountry Skiing in Idaho Video for sale: - http://www.trailside.com
   IdahoSummits.Com is more about climbing and hiking but some is skiing related. There is a message board and during the winter there's sometimes ski discussion. - http://www.idahosummits.com/ Note especially the link on Copper Mountain. Let's go there sometime! - http://www.idahosummits.com/copper/copper.htm
   Western Montana Visitor Guide at http://www.missoula.com/visitorguide/ has several ski related articles, including one on 24 Nov 2003 titled Ski Conditioning 101.
    
3. Previously The Missoulian: had a Recreation Report and an "Outdoor Briefs" Report.
   Check the following periodically to see it they start these again or for other ski related articles:
   http://www.missoulian.com/outdoors/
    

G. Printing hints for map and other large files:

To print a copy of one of the maps or larger images, it's faster to save the file to your disk and print it later. In MS Explorer, rest your cursor on the link to the desired file and right click and select "Save Target As". You can click on the file later and read it with your browser or other default program for that type of file. I have a $15 Photoworks Plus V2.31 from Seattle Filmworks. It works better for printing maps than MS Explorer or MS Photo Editor. If necessary, I use the "Poster Mode" to distribute the map over several pages.

H. Editing Instructions (to use this page as a template for your personal version):
     Caution, the following may not work any more. I’m now using the MS Office 2003 version of word and it puts a massive amount of extra “garbage” into the source file so it would be hard for someone to edit this now unless they also have the same version of word. I’ll probably delete these instructions soon.

You can save this file and edit it to reflect your personal needs. To save this file, make sure that it's saved as an HTML file with an ".htm" or ".html" extension (suffix). You can then double click on the file name and your web browser will launch. You can also launch your browser and then open this file (Using File, Open, Browse, etc.). Click on any of the above links to go to that site. If not already connected your web browser will open and will dial your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Once filed, this can be edited by most modern word processors. For example: if you have MS Office 97, then within MS Internet Explorer Version 5, you can select "File" and "Edit with Microsoft Word for Windows 97". Other Browsers and other word processors will vary as to commands. Note that you cannot line up or space words with the space bar or with tabs in an Internet document. You can insert a "Nonbreaking Space" as was done here, or you can use Tables to accomplish this. In MS Word you enter a Nonbreaking space by typing the Ctrl-Shift-SpaceBar at the same time. Save the document periodically and then go back to the Browser version and hit the Refresh Button to see your changes.

I. Web Site Statistics:	4,635 Words
Web Location	http://home.custertel.net/~ckeene41/cksalxcski.htm
Last revised on web: 1/	10/16/2007 00:00 PM
Previously revised on web:	Spring 2007
Home Page Location	http://home.custertel.net/~ckeene41/
Contact:	Email is: ckeene41-b4 followed by an @ and then yahoo.com (Cliff Keene, 1405 Tendoy Ave, Salmon, ID 83467).

  1/    Items with an "*" were added since previous revision. *
      Two ** indicate added to file but not yet on web. Minor Revisions made on 02/11/06