Summit & Wickiup Creeks - FR 1651, 1410 etc. 12/18/16

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Location: Co 62 to Summit Prairie.  FR 16 west to 1651 south to 1410 east to 368 to 1410 to 14 north 16 north back to summit prairie

Road & Trail Conditions: Hwy 26 worst in shaded curves east of JD. Co. 62 plowed, packed, blowing sno

Snow Conditions: solid 24" base froze recently, groomed trails are fab! no new on top

Skis on & temperature: 10am -8° (not sure this is accurate, maybe it was 0; tacoma pickup sensor may be freaking out a little) JD 8°  PC 12°

Skis off & temperature: 4:30pm 8° PC 14°  JD 16°

Distance: 16+ miles 1500' elevation

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10+; this trip calls for a new scale

Comments: this was an awesome trip. blue sky, full sun, no wind.  remember sunscreen, for lips, too & sunglasses.

longest distance & highest climb of the season. started out and ended cold, in between, good while moving or in the sun.  shadows got cold quickly. forecast wind did not drive windchill further down.  summit creek section mainly sunny.  wickiup creek section mainly shadows.

ungroomed 16 west with snomo tracks; 1651 to left

these roads were recently groomed.  only first 2 mile section of 16 west had 2 snomobile tracks; the rest were pristine.  could have used some kick wax on the steep section of 368; just ordered online, should be here wed. ready for thurs. ski.

pristine 1651 heading down summit creek from fr 16

the rd along summit creek is gorgeous & flat:

turning east on 1410 starts a gradual climb that gets a little steep after transition to 368:

 the sno so firm, can't hardly see ski tracks.

can't say enough about this loop. need some good legs; today needed some good layering.

saw one snomobile on a trailer at huddleston.  no tracks, no nothing.

the climb up 368 was a little steep.  the downhill to fr 14 was zippy, fun, enough traction to be in control - something i need to practice.  1mph going up; 10mph coming down.

pausing at the highest point, it was so quiet......................

frosty the ski bum

i gauge the cold by the thickness of breath condensation ice on beard. switched from hydration bladder as the tube froze last trip.  this time water bottle button froze, unscrewed cap.  later, cap froze. need a new system.

this is some of the best conditions i've seen in 4 winters of skiing here. forecast shows 1-3" on monday;  2-4" mon. nite; 1-3" tues.

have a lovely............

Grooming Report - Summit Prairie 12/17/16

from glen johnston:

Bill Prophet took Cat 1 from Huddleston to the lower lot at Summit Prairie, SW on FR 16, SW and south on FR 1651 (Summit Cr), east on FR 1410 (Wickiup Cr) to FR 14, north to FR 16 and Summit Prairie, east on FR 1660, north on FR 650 and FR 598 back to start.  Bill reports good snow and grooming well;-)

FR 16 Summit Prairie 12/15/16 Backwards Day

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Location: Co 62 to Summit Prairie.  FR 16 south

Road & Trail Conditions: Hwy 26 plowed, packed, blowing sno, worse at curves east of JD. co 62 being plowed as i drove up:

gratitude to the grant county road dept for keeping the 62 rd open:

FR 16 not plowed west of summit prairie. sounds like it won't be unless logging extends east from FR 15, Parish cabin jct.

Snow Conditions: First grooming yesterday. 18+" base with 1-3" new powder since.  moist.

Skis on & temperature:  11am 34° (JD 22°)

Skis off & temperature: 4:30pm 29°(PC & JD 24°)

Distance: 12+ miles;

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 9.5 (-.5 for sticky sno in dec.)

Comments: this is backwards day.  colder in the valley than the summit.  more sno overnite at starr ridge than huddleston, sticky sno in dec., less sno further east you go on 16.  it is useful to be flexible.

saw a number of insects flying & on the sno.   they'll need some warm coats.  fri nite forecast for summit prairie: Mostly clear, with a low around -16. Wind chill values as low as -31

just groomed yesterday, still 2-3" powder overnite made for some breaking of trail.  something very satisfying about skiing back on the trail you broke.

noon:30 stopped for snack & maxiglide wax on skis; resolved sticking sno

i like this trip for conditioning.  first 1.5 miles has gradual 600' elevation climb.  after that, moderate slopes.  i love the 16 rd as it heads east above crane prairie. would like to extend conditioning & mileage (+9) to get to little crane campground (& back).

ice crystal diamonds falling out of black sky on slow drive down co 62

 i love this place

Grooming Report - Huddleston/Summit Prairie 12/14/16

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 > HOORAY!!! Grooming started today.  Here is operator Dave Hannibal's report;-)

> Grooming report
> Cat one out of Huddleston for 47 miles in 10.2 hours.
> 1665 to 625 to1660 to 478 back on the 1665 down to 16 then out to Short creek and back on 16  to summit prairie, dressed up lower lot and 135 to upper and around Huddleston lot but not the loop.  14ish down trees moved and all cattle gaurds filled on route.
>  Real nice snow,  had to run lockers more than a few times up high as its deep.
> Cat running good, light snow all day and a great start on the season!
> Dave
>

Snowshoe Trail - Bear Valley 12/11/16

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Location: Hwy 395 south to Co. 63 west 12+ miles

Road & Trail Conditions: 395 plowed with icy patches, Co 63 plowed & packed; FR 4920 from starr ridge campground has several ski tracks & sno looks good

Snow Conditions: 12" powder starting to form base, continued sno thruout day,

Skis on & temperature:  9:30am 29°

Skis off & temperature: 12:30pm  29°

Distance: 6 miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10+

Comments: allen taylor & i ventured out to the first run on his favorite trail in bear valley.

alternating blue skies:

and moderate sno. there is one hill in the first mile, 100 yds, a little steep, with todays deeper sno required some herring bone technique.

not too long, good conditioning, the remainder of trail basically flat to slight downhill:

we finished the loop going from fr31 to 63 & back to 014 as last section is not well marked & requires stream crossings.  will map this out in detail later.

there is also a side road, 650 at the highest point that leads out to a lovely lookout east toward south fork john day. passed on this today, too cloudy.

can access this trail from Co. 63 & fr 014 jct (easier to see fr 594 up to flagtail mtn. on other side of road) or down fr 31. easier to climb the elevation from 014.

there are some lovely aspen & pine stands along the creeks on the east side:

Starr Ridge Sno Park - FR 333 12/8/16

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Location: Hwy 395 to Starr Ridge Snow Park

Road & Trail Conditions: 395 plowed & packed sno, FR 333 12", packed tire tracks, +1" fresh powder.

Snow Conditions: recent 4" added to thruout the day

Skis on & temperature: 3:30pm 18 °

Skis off & temperature: 5:30pm 20°

Distance: 5+miles

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10+

Comments: late start after extensive scouting trip up fields creek rd, murerers creek, izee, bear valley

south fork rd

 

 

snowed all day from flurries to moderate with strong winds.  love it.

FR 333 is easy access, basically flat except first 1/4 mile slight hill.  from this road there are several smaller roads angling north up to the 4920. 

at windfall creek there is also a closed rd. marked ski trail (blue diamonds) as a short loop.

sno conditions were fab as the truck tires packed the recent 12" & the fresh powder was.....

                                                       smooth..............

it is getting dark early as winter solstice draws near. carry a headlamp

Crane Prairie - FR 14 12/5/16

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Location: South of Summit Prairie: FR 16 to 14 jct, then south to 185 jct

Road & Trail Conditions: hwy 26 packed sno-ice until a few miles east of JD, then clear. Co. 62 clear to reynolds creek rd. packed sno-ice, plowing started as i went up, ends at summit prairie.  FR 16 west not plowed. wouldn't take anything less than 4wd up the FR 16 from summit prairie to 14 jct.

a few snowmobiles have ventured out from huddleston

Snow Conditions: new 5" powder over another 5" base forming

Skis on & temperature: 11:15am 12° (JD 18° )

Skis off & temperature: 2:15pm 22°  (JD 33°)

Distance: 7.5 miles, slight up & down, basically flat

Rating (1-10; 10 awesome): 10

FR 16 continues to left, 14 due south

Comments: good cold temp conditioning run. drove, then skied in tracks. hey, it's grant county.   sno is a little deep at this elevation to break trail.  a base is forming and may be able to break trail later.

 lovely with sun out, clouds turned it quite cold.  an occasional, short breeze dropped 10° quickly.

FR 14 continues left; 185 to right

 




learning how to drive the tacoma in the deep stuff.  haven't got stuck - new standard for a good trip