Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Sliding down the old rail line

Nordic enthusiasts ?Ski the Rails? from Ketchum to Hailey

---

By DANA DUGAN
Express Staff Writer

Twenty years and counting: Nordic trail enthusiasts get geared up at the start of the Ski the Rails tour from Ketchum to Hailey. Photo by Willy Cook

Approximately 250 hardy folks took to the Wood River Valley trail system on Saturday for the 20th annual Ski the Rails event, sponsored by the Blaine County Recreation District. Skiers either cross-country or skate skied on the old Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way from the top of Serenade Lane in southern Ketchum to Myrtle Street on the northeastern edge of Old Hailey.

A celebratory lunch was then served at the Café at the Brewery in Hailey, after which shuttle buses returned skiers back north.

"We were really pleased," recreation district Director Jim Keating said. "I skied and it was dense the whole way down. Someone told me it was one of their favorite events. First because it was free and also he said he could go out and do that every day, but to be out there with so many people was what made it so fun."

Power Engineers, The Community School, KECH Radio and the Idaho Mountain Express manned aid stations equipped with snacks, water, coffee and tea along the 11-mile route.

The gratified trails director, Janelle Connors, waited for the tired and hungry masses at the brewery. "Everyone came in with a smile on their faces," she said.

• viagra
• acheter viagra
• comprar viagra

And that's what makes it all worthwhile.