Cross-country Ski - Erling Stordahl

We had a chilly (+18F) start on a sunny day for an advanced beginner trip on easy terrain.  Our party consisted of eight, a mix of recent Nordic ski course graduates, regulars, and some getting back into the sport after some time away.  Mike Forsyth was the leader, on his first Mountaineers outing as primary leader, mentored by Karen Pyle.  Mike led many trips with the Adirondack Mountain Club in upstate New York, but this was his PNW debut.  We  skied freshly groomed Forest Road 54, and passed by ungroomed Erling Stordahl hoping it would be groomed later.  We got into the Sled Dogs trails, the Iron Mountain Cut-Off, and the Cascades to Palouse trail. 

We went east and returned west a bit on the Cascades to Palouse Trail, turning onto the Three Dog Cutoffto take a few dowhill runs, then found a place in the sun out of the wind with some views for our lunch break.

After lunch, we skied west on the Cascades to Palouse Trail, which is multi-use, including dog sledding.  We encountered a musher with a team of four dogs.

A trail groomer passed us, going west.  We headed back towards Erling Stordahl, hoping to find it groomed during our absence, but no such luck.  We officially wrapped up the trip.  Some of us got back on the trail to have a sporty run on Rollercoaster.  Although it had not been groomed for a few days, a few inches new snow on top of a well-consolidated base made for excellent skiing, and a great finish to the day.