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pula58
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pula58
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PostMon Jan 14, 2019 10:37 am 
The sno-park web site says the following: "No dogs or snowshoes on groomed ski track. Do not walk on the groomed trail." So, in terms of snowshoes, are they allowed, but just not (obviously) on the ski tracks themselves, or are they saying no snowshoe-ing at all? The route up Amabalis is basically a dirt road in summer. They usually groom the entire width of the road, and put tracks on one or both sides. In previous years I have snowshow'd up making sure to keep off the tracks....have they changed the rules? Cabin Creek Snow Park Also: Is overnight parking allowed at the sno-parks?

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Randito
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PostMon Jan 14, 2019 11:00 am 
pula58 wrote:
Also: Is overnight parking allowed at the sno-parks?
Mostly, but there are exceptions, like the Hyak sno-park which does not. (Too many ski area employees were living in RVs there) It's too bad that the Price Creek sno-park was eliminated with the I-90 improvement project. Keechelus Ridge was a nice snowshoe objective free from conflict with XC skiers. Cabin Creek is a less than ideal sno-park for snowshoeing as it is crowded and requires the more expensive groomed trail sno-park. Gold Creek offers similar groomed road walking for snowshoers, but sharing the groomed road with snowmobiles rather than xc skiers. A little longer drive will take you to Hex Mtn, Howsen Creek and Jolly Mtn which have ungroomed logging roads in a voluntary non-motorized setting where one only hears far off snowmobiles, but doesn't get buzzed by them.

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thunderhead
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PostMon Jan 14, 2019 11:04 am 
If snowshoeing, walk on the outside portion of the road, on the outside edge of the ski lanes. Its OK to to be on the groomed bit so long as you are on the outermost edge General protocol:

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Cyclopath
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PostMon Jan 14, 2019 12:07 pm 
Walk to the far right, a foot or two right of the two tracks. Amabilis doesn't have much in the way of views. It's very tame, like the Disneyland version of hiking. It's a long trudge. And it will be very crowded, almost entirely with people going faster and having more fun than you. And it requires the much more expensive version of the pass. Plan to arrive by 9 am if you want to park on a weekend. There are a lot of options nearby where you can park for free and snowshoe in wilder, less crowded, and more scenic environments.

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DigitalJanitor
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PostMon Jan 14, 2019 12:46 pm 
Cyclopath wrote:
There are a lot of options nearby where you can park for free and snowshoe in wilder, less crowded, and more scenic environments.
Seems like there would be a ton of other places to 'splore that would be a better use of snowshoes. I thought the point of them was to beat around in deep snow and/or tricky/tight terrain where neither skis nor boots were useful. Snowshoeing on the equivalent of a sidewalk is a total mystery to me. We were watching snowshoers on Amabalis yesterday wondering where the heck these people went wrong, lol. Some folks even gave up on the snowshoes and were just hiking in boots which they may as well have since it was so hard it wasn't making much of a dent.

~Mom jeans on wheels
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Windstorm
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PostMon Jan 14, 2019 1:00 pm 
thunderhead wrote:
General protocol:
What's the difference between the ski tracks and the skate ski lane? -Curious Snowshoer

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DigitalJanitor
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PostMon Jan 14, 2019 1:33 pm 
Windstorm wrote:
What's the difference between the ski tracks and the skate ski lane?
So in this picture you can see two classic ski tracks that are grooves to put your skis in, and in the middle is a 'skate lane' (also the lane to snowplow on a long downhill like Amabalis). If you were using snowshoes, you would want to stay to the right of the grooves on the right.

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Windstorm
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PostMon Jan 14, 2019 1:52 pm 
DigitalJanitor wrote:
So in this picture you can see two classic ski tracks that are grooves to put your skis in, and in the middle is a 'skate lane' (also the lane to snowplow on a long downhill like Amabalis). If you were using snowshoes, you would want to stay to the right of the grooves on the right.
So, do skiers generally go up the skate lane and down the ski tracks (except when snowplowing down a long hill) or is it the other way around? I'm happy to stay out of the way. I'm just curious about what the skiers do because my ski experience is limited to a bit of downhill resort skiing as a teen.

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pula58
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PostMon Jan 14, 2019 2:02 pm 
Thanks for the informative replies to my question(s)!

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Foist
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PostMon Jan 14, 2019 2:16 pm 
Windstorm wrote:
So, do skiers generally go up the skate lane and down the ski tracks (except when snowplowing down a long hill) or is it the other way around? I'm happy to stay out of the way. I'm just curious about what the skiers do because my ski experience is limited to a bit of downhill resort skiing as a teen.
There are two styles of nordic skiing -- "classic" skiing and skate skiing. Skate skiiers are always in the skate lane, up and down. They use their skis like skates, which requires a broad lane. Classic skiers use the tracks on uphill (except when it's too steep and the skis are unable to grip, which does not happen much on Amabilis) and on gentle downhill, but use the skate lane on (relatively) steeper downhill to "snowplow." For both skate-skiing and snow-plowing, it is nicer to have a predictable, groomed surface without bumps and ruts created from snowhoeing or, worse, boots. A lot of money, organization and care goes into getting those groomed surfaces. And as it has been said, it's frankly baffling why snowshoers pay the extra $$ for the "grooming" sticker, fight for a parking spot, and trudge 6 miles up the tediously gentle grade of Amabilis when they can go so many other cooler places... I am actually not sure whether snowshoes are allowed on the other Cabin Creek trails. I vaguely recall seeing a sign discouraging or prohibiting it, but I'm not sure. Again, seems like an odd use of snowshoes anyway, perhaps even odder than Amabilis. I actually did Amabilis yesterday. I will say that snowshoers seem to be complying more consistently with the "walk outside the tracks" rule than they were a couple years ago. There were still a few nincompoops, even some boot prints, but things seem to have improved overall.

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Windstorm
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PostMon Jan 14, 2019 3:06 pm 
Foist wrote:
There are two styles of nordic skiing -- "classic" skiing and skate skiing. Skate skiiers are always in the skate lane, up and down. They use their skis like skates, which requires a broad lane. Classic skiers use the tracks on uphill (except when it's too steep and the skis are unable to grip, which does not happen much on Amabilis) and on gentle downhill, but use the skate lane on (relatively) steeper downhill to "snowplow." For both skate-skiing and snow-plowing, it is nicer to have a predictable, groomed surface without bumps and ruts created from snowhoeing or, worse, boots. A lot of money, organization and care goes into getting those groomed surfaces.
Thanks for the explanation!

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Cyclopath
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PostMon Jan 14, 2019 10:30 pm 
Foist wrote:
For both skate-skiing and snow-plowing, it is nicer to have a predictable, groomed surface without bumps and ruts created from snowhoeing or, worse, boots.
Those ruts can bed hard to see in the mixed forest lighting. Sometimes a rut can grab a ski just wrong and crash somebody.

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MesiJezi
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PostTue Jan 15, 2019 1:56 pm 
Foist wrote:
And as it has been said, it's frankly baffling why snowshoers pay the extra $$ for the "grooming" sticker, fight for a parking spot, and trudge 6 miles up the tediously gentle grade of Amabilis when they can go so many other cooler places...
Some folks see snowshoeing as a means to and end. I think I'm in this camp... I really don't love snowshoeing but if it gets me where I want to go I'll do it. Other folks see it as the end, and go to designated snow parks to enjoy trudging in snow to nowhere in particular. Trade the snowshoes for skis and I'll happily trudge to nowhere all day! Different strokes for different folks.

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