Sunday, December 18, 2011

FAT Double Header

The highly anticipated “La Nina” winter has been a no-show as of December 18, 2011. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. We got just the right amount of snow in late November followed by cold temps and the snow biking is goooood. On a side note, the NWS recently published an interesting read titled “Where is La Nina”?

It was a bit chilly Sunday morning along the Teton River

Saturday at Grand Targhee
A flurry of emails circulated on Friday and the planets aligned for an informal snow bike gathering of epic proportions Saturday morning at Grand Targhee. There were 18 snow bikers enjoying the great conditions on the Targhee Nordic track. We had everything from casual riders to small groups of hammer-heads trying to drill each other into the snow as if it were the Tuesday Night World Championships. It was awesome to see so many snow bikes out on the trails Saturday and everyone was smiling.

Sunday Teton Valley Combo Ride
I wanted to ride for about five hours on Sunday but I also wanted to ride with Jordie, Lis, and M. No problem. I simply started my ride at 8 am and rode for almost three hours before meeting them at the end of Horseshoe Canyon where we began our “planned” ride of the Horseshoe snowmobile trails to Packsaddle and back. The trails have not been groomed yet this season but the snowmobile traffic has packed them down nicely and the riding was great. It was slow and techie in spots but 100% rideable. We are experiencing an inversion in Teton Valley right now so temps were 9F when I left my house, much colder along the Teton River, and then warmed up into the high teens as I climbed up to Horseshoe.


Michelle riding the Targhee Nordic trails

Brandon and Sarah climbing towards Rick's Basin

Sunday's Combo Ride Route

2 comments:

Dave Saurman - Livin' The Dream said...

How awesome was Saturday! I had a blast. Too bad we did not connect more while riding. For once it was not MY fault for being late. I waited for my ride in Wilson. HA. 4 laps with the 'Animals' was a good push. We need to do that again soon. Cheers, DS

Dave Byers said...

DS - I am stoked that you guys made the trip over to ride Targhee. I am totally addicted to riding there!