There is no finer winter exercise than XC (or “Nordic”) skiing. Your choice: a gentle glide on a perfectly groomed trail or a day of exhilarating exhaustion. Either way, the sunshine and fresh air invigorate and revitalize.
Some years ago, IVGID groomed Nordic ski trails in the high country up in the Old Mt. Rose Highway-Chickadee Ridge area just a few miles outside Incline Village. When that ceased to be, only the most advanced Nordic skiers or most intrepid snowshoers could enjoy the delights – and workout! -- of skiing in our beautiful winter forests.
Until now. A coalition of snowshoers, fat tire bike riders and Nordic skiers banded together to form Nevada Nordic (NN), a 501c3 non-profit organization, dedicated to opening the pleasures of our local winter wonderland to more than just a few hardy and experienced skiers. Now there is a community of people who are learning on and enjoying the use of well-groomed trails.
Grooming is a “no trace left behind” winter activity. We can only groom when there is a good layer of snow, but that ensures that we never touch the soil or remove any natural features. Yet it provides an even and slightly packed surface to ski or snowshoe on.
Groomed trails mean that even beginners can have the joy of learning to ski on skinny skis. Nevada Nordic provides this service on a completely “no fee” basis. We exist solely from donations from happy users of our trails. Sometimes that is enough, sometimes -- well, not as much. But we soldier on!
IVGID has endorsed Nevada Nordic’s activities to provide winter recreation for residents of IV/CB. NDOT has given a permit to Nevada Nordic to use the unpaved Old Mt. Rose Highway in the area. We await only the approval of the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit of the US Forest Service. We have spent the past 9 months providing responses to ever more forms, training, certifications, requests for information and other documentation. We hope now the LTBMU will provide a Special Use Permit (SUP) for NN to provide groomed trails on this public land. (Official USFS maps show motorized access is allowed in this area.)
If you have not tried Nordic skiing, Nevada Nordic’s website and Facebook page will give you the basics, show the breadth of appreciation from current users, and help you get started.
If you are hesitant to try any of the winter sports available where we groom, come on up and observe or chat with those who are enjoying themselves already.
Where We Are
We groom, pending LTBMU issuance of the SUP, in the area on the map below bordered by the blue and green double lines. From the roundabout at Highways 28 and 431, our groomed area begins 5.2 miles east on Mt. Rose Hwy at the Parking area where Old Mt. Rose Hwy intersects current Mt. Rose Highway and continues to the Parking area at the crest at Incline Lake Road.
Nevada Nordic would like to invite our entire IV/CB community to come and enjoy a morning or afternoon of skiing, snowshoeing or just getting out into the fresh mountain air on a sunny winter’s day. You provide the enthusiasm, Nevada Nordic will provide the grooming that makes for comfortable snowshoeing or skiing, and we will all walk away with a smile on our face. That is the joy of XC skiing. That is the delight of wintertime. That is the pleasure and the privilege of living in the most beautiful place in America.
Joseph L. Shaefer, for the board of Directors, Nevada Nordic