42nd Annual Boulder Mountain Tour to take place on Sat., Feb. 4
By Dana DuGan
The Sun Valley Nordic Festival will be held on snow-covered, well-groomed trails around the upper Wood River Valley from Thursday, Feb. 2 through Sunday, Feb. 5.
With more than 200 kilometers of groomed trails, the Sun Valley area has a well-deserved reputation as “Nordic Town USA” for having some of the best Nordic skiing in the country. The 2017 Sun Valley Nordic Festival includes one of the premier Nordic races in the U.S.—the 42nd Zions Bank Boulder Mountain Tour.
The Festival will begin with Nordic Town Sprints from 3-5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 2 on Second Avenue North across from the post office in Ketchum, followed by the opening ceremony starting at 4:15 p.m.
On Friday, starting at 8 a.m., Lizzy’s Fresh Coffee will supply handcrafted coffee at the bar or to go, a tour of the roasterie, and free tasters. Lizzy’s is located at 971-4 North Main Street in Ketchum.
Boulder Mountain Tour race packet pick-ups will be held at the Limelight Hotel on Main Street in Ketchum, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb 3.
The Boulder Mountain Tour will be held the next day, Saturday, Feb. 4, starting at 10 a.m. from Senate Meadows at Galena Lodge and moving south to the Sawtooth National Recreation Area, along the Harriman Trail. The Half Boulder will start at 11:30 a.m. from Baker Creek to the SNRA.
The Boulder Mountain Tour Expo and Demo Day will take place at the Sun Valley Nordic & Snowshoe Center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb 5.
The Banff Mountain Film Festival will screen adventure films at the nexStage Theatre in Ketchum, from 6-10 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Monday.
The Blaine County Recreation District will again offer a $49 nine-day Valley-wide ski trail pass good from Friday, Jan. 28 through Sunday, Feb. 5. Passes will be sold at Backwoods Mountain Sports, The Elephant’s Perch, Sturtevants, Sturtos Hailey, Galena Lodge and the Sawtooth National Recreation Area Headquarters north of Ketchum.
For more information and a schedule of events, visit nordictownUSA.com
New Winter Recreation Map Includes Upper Wood River Valley
A new, updated recreation map is now available to the public. The map is the product of a collaborative effort that started 18 years ago by the Wood River Winter Recreation Coalition, which included members of the Nordic and Backcountry (NAB) Skiers Alliance, the Sawtooth Snowmobile Club, Blaine County Recreation District and U.S. Forest Service. The updated map shows current non-motorized and motorized winter recreation zones and adjustments resulting from the new Hemingway-Boulders Wilderness designation, as well as groomed trails, backcountry ski areas and yurts in the Wood River Valley and Pioneer Mountains, and groomed snowmobile trails and roads.
For more information about groomed cross-country ski trails, visit wintertraillink.bcrd.org or call (208) 578-9754; for updated snowmobile trail grooming, visit the Sawtooth Snowmobile Club’s Facebook page or sawtoothsnowmobileclub.org.
