Park City Skids » xc

Nordic Skids, Park City Style

admin — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:41:24 +0000

The nordic ski scene in the Park City area is blowing up, in a good way. Although part of me wishes Round Valley stayed a secret, it’s great to have the trail access and grooming in multiple places, not just the golf course and the Farm. Round Valley, Willow Creek, there are new trails popping up all over the place thanks to great early season snowpack, and the tireless efforts of Basin Recreation folks, Mountain Trails folks, and of course, Isaac and his gang at White Pine Touring. The Utah ski industry is starting to pay nordic a little more attention too. Here is a short video from a recent Ski Utah member ski day, which included track passes, demo equipment and lessons from White Pine staff.

Voice Your Opinion About Park City’s Winter Trails

admin — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 06:54:43 +0000

Here’s your chance to tell some folks in the city what you think about Park City’s winter trail system. Let’s face it: as recently as 5 or 6 years ago, if you wanted to nordic ski on groomed trails, your options were pretty much Whitepine and Whitepine. The Round Valley network has been getting better and better every season, with new spurs and loops being groomed. Sure, you have to dodge sticks and poop every now and again, but the grooming has regularly been top shelf this season. Take this survey, and let the Park City Municipal folks know that the collective efforts of many folks are appreciated, and we value open space and maintained trails in our community:

Take the Park City Winter Trails Survey

Round Valley Skate Ski

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:26:14 +0000

I have been trying to squeeze in a few early morning nordic ski laps in the Round Valley trail system, before heading off to work in the big city. I find that if I time it just right, I usually meet up with the groomer making his rounds. Then I get a magic carpet ride on fresh corduroy. Thanks to Eric L. for dragging my ass out this morning.

Round Valley Skate Skiing

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 06:22:14 +0000

On the first Saturday of 2010, I took advantage of sun, snow, and skate skis, to check out some of the Round Valley multi-use trails. I wanted to ski somewhere where I could dial up some good music on the iPod and go off the grid for a little while. Off the grid, right out my back door. Hey people, I’m all for taking your dogs out on the trails, but when they gnaw off big hunks of sagebrush and drop them in the middle of the track, do us all a favor and kick it off to the side. I had to stop a few times to do this for the benefit of other skiers out there. The ticket in Round Valley is to time your ski shortly after the groomer makes his pass, and before the masses of walkers get out there to avoid the lumpy footprints. I haven’t figured out exactly when this magical time is yet. Or you could just ski it on a shitty day when nobody else is out, but that’s no fun. I took a digger on the backside of the loop when I was stepping around a downhill turn and hooked a tip on the soft side of the trail. Went down in a heap. Wanted to blame it on a stick left on the trail, but I couldn’t find one. I also explored a new section that went under the highway, out towards Richardson Flats, and connecting to the Rail Trail. Here are some iPhone stills, after experimenting with some basic iPhoto filters:

Groomed trail out towards Richardson Flats.

Undulating terrain all the way out to Rail Trail.

The view heading back towards Park City.

Playing around with a little color boost in iPhoto.