We just wanted to thank you for providing the Yurts for our enjoyment.  Our
family had a great experience spending Christmas Eve at the East Fork Yurt.
We did want to notify you of a couple things.  The Carbon Monoxide detector
alarmed a couple of times.  We turned off the propane heater and things were
fine.  You may want to have the heater checked.

Also, the pre-cut wood is great ( I sure would not want to cut/chop it
all!).  Most of the wood lengths cut were a few inches longer than would fit
it the stove.    Maybe just a few inches shorter for next year.

Again, thanks so much for all the hard work and effort of maintaining the
Yurt's and trails.  Our family has enjoyed skiing the trails and staying in
the Yurts for years.  Keep up the great work!

Thanks,

The Pehrson Family.



p.s. The trails were in great shape this early in the season.

BRORA is celebrating 25 years of Nordic ski trail grooming. Come join us for a day of skiing eating and camaraderie.

Progressive dinner, cost $10. RSVP to P.O.B. 2600 by Jan. 31^st . Please indicate extent of participation . ( all day, Just hors d’oeuvres, etc.) Please feel free to join in and leave at your convenience. The cost remains the same. Kids 12 and under free.

Agenda

10:00am. Warming hut coffee, juice, hot chocolate, pastries, breakfast goodies, etc.

Ski

12:00-1:00 Warming hut- hors d’oeuvres

1:00-1:45 Ski

1:45-2:45 Bear Claw Yurt- first course

2:45-3:30 Ski

3:30-4:30 East Fork Yurt-second course

4:30-5:15 Ski

5:15- Warming hut- desert

5:55 Sunset

Joe

I have not gotten a trail update from Ted this week, due to the holiday schedule.  But, I received a call from Eric Heltzel saying that he skied on the Wolverine Trail above Ridge yurt Thursday.  The snow and conditions were excellent throughout.  The grooming is good for early season - tracks not set yet.  It is clear to me that the Lily Lake Nordic Ski trails are the place to be this weekend.

Sorry, I'm a little slow in reporting. I stayed in the yurt the evening of December 12th when we received some much needed snowfall. It appeared the white gas lantern and stove were out of fuel with no extra at the yurt. No paper towels or TP or fire-starter paper. I'm wondering if these were all used for fire-starter. I managed to finely chop enough kindling to get a fire going. The chimney luckily drafted well enough to where I didn't need paper to get the smoke going up, just keep the doors mostly closed. The propane lantern glass was gone and mantles pretty worn. My previous experience with wood stoves like these was that they work much better with a minimum layer of ashes - maybe 1". The practice to clean out completely, sets it up for poor start-up for the next occupant. Then it just gets enough ashes to work well after about a days use. Is this really the intent? Has there been any consideration to putting in another double bunk to replace one of the singles (recommended, if not on the list)? Do you still try to set-up a fenced-off clean snow area or was I just too early in the snow fall season? The Rendezvous yurts in the Tetons provide clean 5 gal plastic buckets for snow collection, then a stainless steel melting tank. Would a nicer set-up wander off? Is there a way to find out yurt condition prior to travel. I would be willing to help pack in a few extra items, just need to make proper contact plan ahead. Thanks, Steven

WOW, what a storm for the north slope, at the trailhead we received upwards of 12-14" and in the higher elevations over 2' of fresh snow. Actually, it is too much too fast, we went from no snow to looking like mid-winter conditions in two days. That means it takes twice as long to groom the trails, we are having to make a couple of passes just to pack in the new snow before we can try and set track. The conditions right now are okay, believe it or not there are still rocks showing and we anticipate having some track set for the weekend. Be safe and have fun.

Attachments:

Great news at the BRORA board meeting this evening.  Ted missed the meeting because he was up grooming the trail.  Of course, it is going to take a while before the trails are in top shape, but this weekend may a good time to start getting tuned up.

A quick trail update for the Lily Lake Cross-Country Ski Area.  We are
still waiting for more snow to begin grooming, currently we have a
combination of dirt and snow with many areas of the trail having no snow.
Here are a few early season reminders to help you enjoy the forest.

               _  The trailhead and ski area are both part of the
National Recreation Enhancement Area and require a parking pass.  Passes
are available at the trailhead and Bear River Lodge located
                    at the forest boundary on Highway 150.
               _   If you are planning to be on the forest over weekends,
please try and park as close to other vehicles as possible, this will
allow others more room and help our folks who plow the area.
               _   While out on the trail, please be mindful of other
trail users.  Visitors who are traveling to Yurts and pulling sleds,
please do not ski or snowshoe over the prepared ski tracks and pets  
should be kept under control along with picking up after them.
               _   Watch for grooming equipment and be alert for trail
obstacles.


               Have a great and safe visit. 

25 Years of Nordic Grooming on the North Slope of the Uinta Mountains

The evolution of ski opportunities on the Uinta North Slope is something the original Lily Lake Nordic Ski Association couldn’t have envisioned. Originally we struggled to groom 6km of track for diagonal stride skiing. Now grooming has increased to close to 20km, groomed for skating and diagonal stride skiing. In the early years, our warming hut was a tipi. Now we have a log structure with a wood burning stove. Winter camping was, well, winter camping. Currently, we have five yurts which furnished over 3,000 user days of forest use.

How has this come about? Over the years, first Lily Lake Nordic Ski Association and then BRORA were fortunate to have board members with vision. That vision would have accomplished very little without the help of our partners: United States Forest Service, City of Evanston Parks and Recreation, Wyoming State Parks, Utah State Parks, and our many volunteers who have given countless hours to build and maintain our trail system.

We’ve seen the first 25 years. Won’t the next 25 years be interesting! These will soon be “The Good Old Days.”

Mike Kessenich