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Cross-country Skiing at Keystone |
| Cross-country (Nordic) skiing opportunities at Keystone abound.
From the door of Tenderfoot Lodge, one option is simply to put on your skis
and glide up and down the entire valley of the Snake River. During
the short days of early winter, try the Oro Grande-Tenderfoot Rd, a jeep
track along the sunny southern slope of Tenderfoot Mountain.
Need professionally groomed trails? Ski Tip Lodge is the center of the 29 km of set trails at Keystone. Ski Tip is a 'full-service' Nordic skiing center with everything for cross-country and telemark. The ski school is run by Olympian Jana Hlavati. Ski Tip is 2 mi up the Montezuma Rd from Tenderfoot. The Frisco Nordic Center has 35 km of trails on a penninsula surrounded
by Lake Dillon. Olympian Bill Koch liked the scenery well enough
to help in the layout. The Frisco Center is located just south of
Frisco on Route 9 (that is, twd Breckenridge). Breaking TrailThe slightly more adventurous skiers will want to try some of the backcountry trails that surround Keystone. The most popular outings start near Montezuma, 5 miles up the valley from Tenderfoot Lodge. Peru Gulch sees a lot of cross-country traffic. The other popular destination is the network of jeep tracks above Montezuma. The principal tracks are the Saints Johns Rd, the Deer Cr Rd, and the Webster Pass Rd. All offer trail segments 'where others have gone before' as well as possibilities waiting for someone to 'break trail'. And the vistas are, well, spectacular.Check with the Forest Service Information Center, 680 Blue River Parkway in Silverthorne (CO 9 about a half mile north of I70) if you expect to get "off the beaten trail". Snow accumulations are so high that you need to be aware of avalanche zones. The friendly Forest Service folks have one-pagers describing trails throughout the area and are eager to make suggestions for all interests. The name-droppers will want to hear about the Tenth Mountain Division.
Those intrepid snow troopers of WWII trained in a sparsely settled area
stretching from Summit Co. westward toward Aspen. The site of their
Camp Hale lies in an open park alongside US24 on the north side of Tennessee
Pass. The Tenth Mtn ski-hut trail system has now expanded eastward
into Summit County. The Tenth Mtn Div Huts Association website has
details. Renting equipment:Left your three-nailers at home? Don't know purple klister from car wax?Not a problem in Summit County. Try the Ski Tip Lodge or any of the ski rental outlets. |
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