Author: Jesse Crocker

Chief Joseph Pass 1/14

The trails at Chief Joseph Pass currently have about 3 inches of snow on top of the last grooming. Conditions are great for classic skiing and snowshoeing, and pretty ok for skate skiing. Trails will be groomed again Thursday.
If you notice a few snowmobile tracks on the trails tomorrow, don’t be alarmed. The ski club and USFS were out today working on trail signs.

This weekend is the Darby Dog Derby, a dog sled and skijoring race. The race happens on the multi use trails, and while the trails are still open for skiing, we request that you do not bring your dogs out during the day.

Como 1/7/2025

Trails at Como were groomed last night. Upper road, wolf track, and lower road were groomed. There are several hazard trees on wolf track brush sticking up through the snow, probably best to only go up it(not down) for now.

Trail Update, 1/2/2025

Hello Skiers,

I don’t know about you, but I think yesterday was the kind of day our community lives for.

The ski trails and multi use trails at Chief Joseph Pass were groomed early in the morning, then it snowed steadily all day, and by Noon the parking lot was nearly full. Skiers of all ages were out enjoying a beautiful winter day, and drinking hot chocolate at the cabin.

Como was groomed Tuesday night, that snow set up very firm, then it snowed an inch Wednesday morning which provided perfect traction. The parking lot was nearly full multiple times during the day, and there were many people out enjoying the new year on skis, snowshoes, fat bikes, and with dogs.

There will not be any grooming today, but both locations are still in good shape for skiing. With the holidays over we will switch to a more normal schedule at Chief Joseph Pass, generally grooming Thursday and Saturday, or more often if there is a big storm. The schedule at Como is more erratic, because it is so dependent on weather, but expect grooming again over the weekend or early next week.

The Bitterroot Ridge Runners has started grooming snowmobile trails. Skalkaho pass was groomed this week, and will be groomed weekly. Lost Horse is currently scheduled to be groomed next week for the first time this season.

A few reminders:

* On weekends and holidays please park close together at Chief Joseph Pass. The parking lot does fill up.

* We recommend parking at the Boat Ramp lot at Como and walking up, the road up from there is passable for now, but it is very icy.

* Please do not pee off the porch of the cabin. There is a downstairs door that we use for moving supplies in and out, and

walking through yellow snow is a bummer.

* No dogs on the groomed ski trails at Chief Joseph Pass, but they are welcome on the multi use trails, across the highway on Anderson Mountain Road, and at Como.

If you are not a member of the club, or have not renewed for this season, now is the time to do it. All funds go directly to helping fund trail grooming.

Happy New Year,

Jesse Crocker

Como, 12/31

Upper road and Middle road at Como were groomed New Year’s Eve. The trails are still a little rough(I’d give tonight’s grooming a C), but it’s still better than any time last year, and should be good conditions for skate skiing tomorrow. No classic tracks yet, but that is in the plan if we get more snow.

Como, 12/30/24

Yesterday’s storm left enough snow at Como for us to start grooming last night! Conditions today will not be great, probably not even good, the trail surface is very rough but we have a good base to work on once we get more snow.