Methow Valley Mountain Bike Trail Conditions

The wildflowers are out and the high country snow is melting fast thus mountain bike season in the Methow is in full swing. Here is an update of current mountain bike trail conditions (July 9th) in the Methow Valley.

Sun Mountain Trails are lovely, simply lovely
Twisp River Trail is clear and in good shape
Buck Mountain is clear and in good shape, cows are grazing up there
Virginia Ridge is clear and in good shape
Pearrygin Ridge Trail is clear and in good shape thanks to the efforts of Methow Cycle&Sport, the Forest Service, local smoke jumpers and volunteers that cleared over 100 blowdowns off this trail
Falls Creek-8 Mile Ridge Loop Fall Creek trail to Burch Mountain has 10 blowdowns on the trail but the trail is otherwise in good shape although maybe hard to follow in places. The 8 mile ridge loop trail has well over 50 blowdowns and the trail can be hard to follow. Tree clearing has begun on the lower 1/3 of the trail.
Bear Mountain Figure 8, Lightning Creek, Starvation Mountain and Blue Buck Trails are all in good shape although a bit dusty and sandy in places
Pipestone Canyon This trail is best ridden in the spring and fall to avoid the rattlesnakes. The Pipestone ridge trail or "hard loop" is in horrible condition due to a flash flood of water running down the trail. Pipestone "easy loop" riding Beaver Creek and Lester Road is a much better option.
West Fork of Methow River Trail Again thanks to the efforts of Methow Cycle&Sport, the Forest Service and local volunteers this trail was cleared about 5 miles in. The last 3 miles of this trail are still very brushy but the trail is in good shape. Long pants are highly recommended when riding this trail.
Cutthroat Lake trail is in great shape. Some snow at the very top.
Cedar Creek Trail is in good shape
Rendezvous Trails: the singletrack trails have been cleared and signed in the Rendezvous!!! This wasn't easy after some intense logging in this area. More signs will be added soon until then you may have to look closely but the trails are there! The doubletrack ski trails in and around the huts are also fine for biking.
Foggy Dew/Angels Staircase We have no report yet for these trails. We should have an update early next week.

Sweet, Summer Singletrack

What are you waiting for?

Methow Valley Lands Big Nordic Ski Race

The Wenatchee World did a great article on the SuperTour ski race in last Sunday's paper.

Winthrop's Very Own Olympics

MVSTA is excited to announce that we will be hosting a SuperTour ski race on January 16th and 17th, 2010.

The SuperTour is a United States Ski Association (USSA) sanctioned ski race series and is the highest level of cross country ski competition in North America. The Methow Valley SuperTour is one of thirteen races in the nationwide SuperTour race circuit in which racers compete for cash prizes and series points. The Methow Valley SuperTour will be held Martin Luther King Weekend, one month before the 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, Canada. It is expected that the best Nordic ski racers from the United States and Canada will attend.

Youth skiers will also compete this weekend in Junior Olympic Qualifying Races as part of the SuperTour weekend. This is a tremendous opportunity for junior skiers to race right alongside some of the best skiers in the world. We anticipate youth ski teams from across the West will take advantage of this incredible opportunity.

Collegiate ski teams, Senior and Master skiers will also be racing this weekend in their respective categories.

The race will be held on Methow Valley ski trails specifically created for competition. The race course is located next to Liberty Bell High School in Winthrop. Racers will compete in a 1.3km skate sprint race on Saturday. On Sunday the men race a 15km classic distance race and the women and juniors a 10K classic distance race. The race course is very spectator-friendly allowing viewing from the stadium bleachers as well as alongside the race course.

MVSTA is honored to host a race of this caliber. Racers and spectators will be treated to the all best the Methow Valley has to offer. More information can be found here.

The Methow Valley SuperTour title sponsors are AeroMech and Nordic Ultratune.

Additional race sponsors are Backcountry Coffee, Central Reservations, The Chewuch Inn, Methow Cycle & Sport, Mazama Ranch House, River’s Edge Resort, Sun Mountain Lodge, Winthrop Mountain Sports and the Winthrop Red Apple Market.

If your business is interested in sponsoring this race, please contact Kristen at MVSTA: 509-996-3287.

Methow Valley Tour Road Race

Thank you to all the racers for joining us in the beautiful Methow Valley for our 4th Annual Methow Valley Tour. We sure enjoyed hosting you.
Here's some photos from the Road Race. We hope to see you again next year.

Day #1 Methow Valley Tour

Congratulations to all the riders on day #1 of the Methow Valley Tour. Here's some photos from the Time Trail and Hill Climb.

Click on the photo enlarge the photos or to view thumbnails.

Mazama Fun Run was all that and more

Wow! What a day. Thank you everyone for coming out to the Mazama Fun Run and Pancake Extravaganza. Enjoy the photos.

There are a lot of photos. If you click on the slideshow you can then choose by viewing the thumbnails.