Board Members

President February 2016 Pete Tryon 922-7065

Vice President Jim Rhodes 734 -8246

Secretary Dana Downs 325-3480

Treasurer Lynne Oliver 592-9005

Program Coordinator Dick Etter 734-3555

Gail Garman 371-3554 Wendy Nichols 306-0306 Bill Laughlin 961-2725

Other Volunteers Salmon Ridge Coordinators Gail Garman 371-3554 Jim Rhodes 734-8246 Are You Prepared For An Emergency In The Woods?

Membership by Jim Rhodes 734-8246 George Ratayczak

Publicity Wendy Nichols 306-0306

Hospitality Chair SharonHolmes 647-8606 Club Meeting Newsletter Editor Lynn Alderson 509-885-6342 When – Thursday, February 4th Webmaster Pete Tryon @tryonhayes.com Membership Orientation at 7:00 PM Meeting starts at 7:30 PM. Trip Coordinator Kurt Duey 820-4174 Who - Anyone is welcome! Day Trip Coordinator Don Hicks 733-4815 Where – Garden Street Methodist

Grooming Coordinators Church at 1326 N. Garden St. in Joe Nolting 656-6995 Bellingham, WA Peter Tryon 922-7065

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FOR SALE groomed sticker to obtain more where income eventually equals frequent grooming. expenses. SnoPark permit revenues exactly match Feeling a little Annual board elections will take SnoPark permit expenses. Club out of shape for the cross- place at the February general trip funds go through our country experience? I have an meeting. Pete, Jim and Dana checking account, but expenses extra Nordic Track ski machine have agreed to run again. One should equal receipts. that I would be happy to sell to new board member is needed to anyone who wants to get ready fill the remaining vacancy. The club pays for Salmon Ridge to ski. trail maintenance and grooming The WA State Parks Recreation of White Salmon and Hannegan For more details contact Commission has established a Roads, then seeks NRTP Kurt at 360-820-4174 or Winter Recreation Strategic reimbursement. We quickly [email protected]. Plan which calls for adjust NRTP-funded activities development of Area Plans. Gail on the size of biennial (every 2 has prepared a draft plan for years) NRTP grants. If NRTP Salmon Ridge. The Board has funds are not awarded, as FEBRUARY’S been asked to read the draft and happened just a few years go, PRESENTATION make recommendations then we curtail grooming outside the SnoPark and reduce Our speaker for February 4th is As of Nov 30, the club account or delay paid maintenance. The George Ratayczak. For 12 years balance is $11,174. Treasurer club simply cannot afford those George was one of only 2 reports show funding, expenses, kinds expenses out of the Emergency Rescue experts and balances similar to the last treasury. We juggle allocation of serving Whatcom County. few years. that NRTP funding between 2 Today he is a Deputy Sheriff. years of budget as well. He will cover his experiences Ask any board member if you’d and explore what we need to do like a copy of the full minutes Last year, we received a $5,000 if we find a person in distress on grant from REI that we spent on a trail in a remote area. What Jim Rhodes specific types of trail emergency materials we all development expenses (shown need to be sure to carry in our on the 2014-15 budget as packs. What are the first things NNSC FINANCES Connector Trails expense and a to do if a person appears to be $5,000 Donation). suffering from hypothermia? Last year, we published an overview of the club budget in After all of these large expenses BOARD MEETING Snow News. The club is in a are done, the bottom line is that SUMMARY stable position financially, and the club, outside of Salmon the 2015-16 budget looks much Ridge, runs on about $2,500 in like the previous one, and the dues. Dues pay for meeting one before that. Due to lack of room rentals, web site snow, grooming expenses were maintenance, newsletter minimal in 2014-15. We’re preparation and mailing, assuming more normal publicity and administrative operation in the current budget. expenses. Administrative expenses are things like 501(c)3 The table (next page) shows a comparison of actual 2014-15 filing, state non-profit fees, any The NNSC survey has had 80 legal expenses, post office box, responses to date, with about results versus anticipated 2015- 16 expenses and income. postage, and anything else that 1/3 from NNSC members. comes up. Responders want Razorhone The numbers look quite large. A groomed and about 50% are in Actual membership for 2015-16 favor of using the special number of line items are essentially “flow through” funds YTD is down about 20%, which the board is assuming is a Visit Our Website for the Latest Information: www.nooksacknordicskiclub.org response to the ongoing low also was not eligible for NRTP CROSS COUNTRY snow conditions. Membership funding. IN BEND, OREGON had been stable several years prior to this. We are currently seeking an We just returned from Nordic $8,000 RAC grant repair the skiing in Bend, Oregon. It On rare occasion, the board has wash out on Anderson Creek snowed a LOT while we were approved use of club funds for Road. RAC stands for US there, and conditions were work at Salmon Ridge. Survey Forest Service Resource great. One word that comes to work on the original snow shoe Advisory Committee. mind when thinking about skiing trails was one such expense. Bend: hills. You cannot escape Another was drainage work on Jim Rhodes them! There are basically two Razorhone and Cougar Loop groomed Nordic areas near critical to life of those ski trails Bend: Mt. Bachelor Nordic and that USFS would not do and

Visit Our Website for the Latest Information: www.nooksacknordicskiclub.org Meissner Sno-Park. There’s If it’s windy or foggy or other and I carpooled in my new Audi also a ton of adverse conditions at Bachelor, Allroad, leaving the deserted around Bend and other Sno- it may be sunny and nice at streets and roads of Whatcom Parks. Meissner so it’s great to have County at 0800. Last night’s both options. We used New Year revelers were not out Mt. Bachelor Nordic elevation is backcountry at Meissner and about. We crossed the 6,350’ and has a long season – when it snowed a lot and wasn’t border at Sumas without any generally mid-November groomed. wait and arrived at the Blue through mid-May. We skied Moose in Hope at 0930, where Bachelor in November the past The closest lodging to Mt. we met Lynne Oliver and two years and it has been good. Bachelor is Seventh Mountain Elizabeth Martindale. Over There’s a nice lodge with food, Resort, or hotels in town about coffee and Scones we decided retail items, rentals and a wax 20 miles away. Bend has many to stop at Kane Valley to check bench. From the lodge you must good restaurants, breweries, a out a trail system that isn’t ski down – which means that Regal 16 theatre, museums and always skiable. This time there coming back at the end of your other activities. was good groomed snow and ski you must ski up! The daily temperatures around 17 grooming at Mt. Bachelor’s 56 Susanne Margol Holmes degrees. Dick and I skied km of trails is good, and the Holmes Homestead Loop. It online daily Nordic conditions was as beautiful and quiet as report is very accurate including always. The 15 inches of snow air and snow temperatures. On was fluffy and not icy, making a clear day you will find nice for an easy ski. We rejoined the views of Mt. Bachelor, Broken ladies in the parking lot in a few Top and other surrounding hours and proceeded to the mountains. Highland House outside of Logan Lake, where we met the http://www.mtbachelor.com/nord rest of our party; the Rhodes ic-conditions/ Family Jim and Sue, along with Jeff and Amber and their five Meissner Sno-Park elevation is year old daughter, Sabrina and 5,350’ and is only 15 miles from new members Dana and Pat Bend. There are 40km of Downs. As usual, the hosts at groomed trails, with grooming the B&B, Don and Jill made sure on Tuesday, Thursday, we were well cared for, with Saturday and Sunday. During prepared meals, hot showers and a comfy living room in which the holiday weeks we were there, trails were groomed daily. to do whatever we pleased. Meissner is supported purely Brian Holmes Skiing Mount through volunteers and Bachelor in Oregon The second day we all went to donations – there’s a donation Stake Lake to ski the well box at the trailhead or you can groomed and tracked trails of CLUB TRIP TO LOGAN the Overlander Ski Club out of donate online. You do need an LAKE DISCOVERS GREAT Oregon Sno-Park permit to park. Kamloops. They have a variety SNOW ! of terrain and trail lengths for

There’s a new lodge with a everyone. This system has I have gone on this trip many always been the best wood stove but no food or retail. times over the years and this trip Meissner’s online grooming maintained in the Logan Lake was one of the best yet to Logan area. I enjoyed skiing it with report isn’t good, but the Lake. Last year some of the Dick Etter but the next day, Dick Facebook page was updated trails were closed due to lack of most days. went back to ski Stake Lake snow but not this year. Nine while I went with Dana and Pat members went, though our ever to ski the trails at Logan Lake, http://www.meissnernordic.org competent and eager leader, which I hadn’t been on for a few Sharon Holmes, was unable to years. Again the fluffy snow attend due to illness. Dick Etter made for easy skiing. The Visit Our Website for the Latest Information: www.nooksacknordicskiclub.org temperatures were between 28 The previous night Dick and I and 7 degrees, so there was no went to sup at a place icing due to refreezing. I went to recommended by our hosts. It the Outer Limits and back down was very nice and I have to say Hellfire Road. Again there were that the Black and White Crème wild horse tracks to be seen. Brule was memorable. Hooray Driving into the Highland for Vernon with its many places Houses driveway, a pair of wild to dine and stay! horses was grazing alongside the road. They weren’t too wild, The previous fall I had as they had been jumping into purchased an all-wheel drive Lunch at Stake Lake with the corral to eat the horse feed Audi, as I was tired of not being Elizabeth Martindale in front, that Jill gives to her horses. able to get up the last mile or so Dana and Pat Downs in the They would even graze in front of road to various ski trailheads. back. of the living room picture With snow tires this new car is a windows. Talk about bold. The real ski machine; taking us locals don’t bother them, so the everywhere we needed to go wide. The temperatures were wild ponies will tolerate without any slipping or other higher but still below freezing, proximity to people and take dramatics. I haven’t figured it so the snow remained very advantage of whatever out completely but it does not forgiving to ski. It was resources they can get. mind the ice or snow, so I am approaching freezing the next satisfied with it. day around noon and the snow On Monday most of our party started to stick to our skis but returned to the States but four of The last day of our weeklong trip with maxi-glide and the falling us; Elizabeth, Lynne, Dick and I, we drove back, leaving Vernon afternoon temperatures the continued on to B&B’s above at 0945 and with two breaks snow once again allowed easy Vernon on the road to Silver found ourselves back in gliding. Star Provincial Park. On the Bellingham by 1630, six hours way we stopped at the Larch on good roads. It was one of The third day Dick and I went to Hills Trail System above Salmon the best ski trips I have had, the top of the Silver Star Arm. It was our first time there thanks to good snow conditions Mountain on a . The only and again the snow was great, and the many friendly and bad skiing that day was when with wide groomed and tracked helpful people I met. If you have we had to ski down to the lift on trails and extremely hospitable not been to Logan Lake, I would a course churned up by locals, who were proud to show urge you to sign up for the next snowboarders and downhill- us their trails. One member, trip there on February 12, 13, skiers. After we got to the peak, Rinehart even acted as our and 14. I am the trip leader and we had some trouble finding the guide, taking us on a pleasant we still have empty rooms if you right Nordic trail to catch Lars loop back to their heated are interested in a great and Taylor back to the Black Prince clubhouse. With good snow, affordable ski trip. Cabin but eventually we did find this was a very nice addition to it and proceeded through a our trip and I hope to ski there winter wonderland of snow Kurt Duey again. covered spruce and fir. After

two miles of gentle downhill with Elizabeth and Lynne stayed at turns and hills we came to the LAKE WENATCHEE TRIP IS one B&B, Alpine Flowers and Black Prince, where we had our FULL Dick and I stayed at Deerwood lunch and then skied back up to Gardens. We would get the Silver Star village where we together to ski and have supper met up with Elizabeth and Lynne in Vernon. That first day there and agreed on our plans for the we skied Sovereign Lakes, evening. The host at their B&B which is run by the Vernon Club. recommended a place to dine, Its reputation for reliable snow so we went out together to try brings Nordic skiers from far and another of the many restaurants in Vernon.

Visit Our Website for the Latest Information: www.nooksacknordicskiclub.org STAKE LK / LOGAN LKS seasons in the western members will share the cost of AND KANE VALLEY hemisphere, with trails for all the food. There will be three abilities. Elevation is 6,000 feet. dinners and three breakfasts. Feb 12 thru Feb 15, 2016 Bring your own food for lunch. Nickel Plate has a warm and Alcohol is not included in the food costs. 4 days of skiing staying 3 nights cozy 4,000 square foot day at a cost of $256 USD per lodge with kitchen, eating and person including meals. lounge areas, and separate Cost is $130 USD per person for heated washrooms and shower lodging, per the exchange rate facilities. Source: as of December 23, 2015. Make This high altitude ski destination nickelplatenordic.org. checks payable to NNSC for has three different settings to ski $130. Spaces are assigned in: ultra-groomed Stake Lake, based on payment date. Mail to semi-groomed Logan Lake, and We will be staying in a house 3310 Burch Mountain Road, seldom groomed Kane Valley near Apex . It will be a Wenatchee, WA 98801. offering a variety of ski 10 minute drive to the Nickel opportunities. We will be staying Plate Nordic Center. The house again at the luxurious Highland is called Mountain Time Chalet. Coordinator Lynn Alderson at House B&B in Logan Lake, BC It can be seen at 509-885-6342 or (http://www.highlandhouse.ca). www.airnb.com. You will have to [email protected] The cost of $256 per person enter Hedley, BC as the area includes meals with special you wish to search, and then dietary needs accommodated. enter a date that the house is UPCOMING MEETINGS There is a maximum of 10 or 11 not booked for. Entering a people. middle of the week date is better Monthly meetings are the first than weekend dates. Thursday, 7:30 PM For more details contact Kurt at 360-820-4174 or Mountain Time Chalet is a March 3 [email protected]. family friendly, spacious 3 story cabin. It is located on White Tail Road, a quiet cul-de-sac close These trips have been very to the village (5 minute walk). It popular in past years and fill is a short walk down the street very quickly. You must be a to the ski in/ski out trail. On the member to participate in any first floor enjoy the combined trip. To hold a space send a living dining area with cozy check for the full amount made wood burning stove. The kitchen out to NNSC to the trip is fully equipped with a table that coordinator, Kurt Duey, 2601 seats 8. The second floor Park Dr., Bellingham, WA, includes a loft with games area, 98225. TV, DVD, VCR, stereo, foosball, and more. Also on the second floor are two bedrooms (each NICKEL PLATE with a queen bed) and a loft sleeping nook with a double Mar 11 thru Mar 14, 2016 bed. The third floor is a bright 400 sq. ft. with one queen bed Nickel Plate Nordic Centre is and two double beds, this floor located in the Okanagan Valley, also has a bath. Additional just 45 minutes from Penticton. features include large boot It has approximately 34 miles of room, deck, covered BBQ area, groomed trails for both classic covered wood storage, fire pit, and skate skiing. Additionally, washer and dryer, and plenty of there is 9 miles of marked space. Source: www.airnb.com. snowshoe trails. Nickel Plate has one of the longest ski Meals will be planned and

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Nooksack Nordic Ski Club Membership Application and SnoPark Order Form

Use this form to purchase SnoPark permits, join the club or renew your membership. Sign and mail to the club with your check. Or, bring it to the next meeting.

Name(s):

Address: Street/PO Box City State Zip

Phone 1: (Home, Cell, Work) Phone 2: (H, C, W)

Email 1: Email 2:

Dues and SnoPark Information Check Membership Level: $30 Individual ____ $45 Household ____ $15 Student ____ Amount $______

SnoPark Permit – Vehicle License Required for Permit: ______$40 SnoPark Fee $ Vehicle License

Optional Donation – we are a 501(c)3 $______

Total membership + SnoPark + Optional $______

Please read this agreement carefully before signing and dating:

In signing and submitting this form, I recognize that cross-country skiing involves strenuous activities, is potentially hazardous, and involves inherent risk. I knowingly and voluntarily assume all responsibility and risk for my actions and my family’s actions while cross-country skiing, during travel related to Nooksack Nordic Ski Club (NNSC) activities, and during use of facilities and equipment. This includes, but is not limited to falls, collisions, effects of weather, conditions of equipment and trails and other areas while skiing or participating in NNSC activities. I hereby for myself, my heirs, administrators, or anyone else who may bring claims on my or my family members’ behalf, covenant not to sue, release and discharge the NNSC, its Board and Committee members, and all related organizations or individuals, from any and all claims of liability for death, personal injury, or property damage arising from my or my family members’ participation in NNSC activities.

Name (Print please):

Signature:

Other family member(s):

Other signatures:

Date:

Do you wish to share your contact information with the membership? We omit street address from the distribution list, showing only city, phone and email address(es), Please note, if you decline to be listed, then you won’t get the list, either.

Yes No

I would like to receive Snow News is Good News newsletter by:

Email: U.S. mail:

Please make checks out to: Nooksack Nordic Ski Club and mail with this form to: Deposit Date Nooksack Nordic Ski Club, P.O. Box 28793, Bellingham, WA 98228 Sno Park #

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