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For the week of March 21 through 27, 2001

Happy (Gourmet) trails to us


By DANA DUGAN

Express Staff Writer

The Gourmet Ski Tour on Saturday coincided with St. Patrick’s Day, adding a bit of extra festivity to the yearly event. The green and the white of the snow blended perfectly to make a successful day at one of Ketchum’s most popular benefits.

At the first stop on the Gourmet Ski Tour the wild gals of the Hailey café Chi Chi’s serve up yummy Asian Noodle Salad along with a sampling of Haberno and Moroccan sausage, while wearing St. Patrick’s day hats and lots of green.

North Valley Trails firecracker Jenny Busdon started this event nine years ago after the former Galena Gourmet Ski tour ceased being held. The money raised goes to the maintenance of the North Valley Trails System. This year more than $10,000 was raised from the nearly 250 tickets Busdon sold. Busdon, who calls herself a one-woman committee, does nearly everything from organizing the restaurants to putting up tents to placing silly but encouraging signs on the trails.

"Everybody pitches in," she said modestly. "It’s such a fun fund-raiser."

She said "quite a lot of tourists" came this year and enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Claiming she had no connections regarding weather from on high, the skiers were treated to nearly every kind of weather imaginable, from sunny and blue sky, to windy and gray overcasts to snow showers. Though the trails were rather springtime slushy by the afternoon, it was a marvelous day for both advanced and beginner Nordic skiers.

Some jolly fellows enjoy Cottonwood’s Shrimp Curry and Table Rock beer at the entree stop on the ski tour, Saturday afternoon. From left to right: Bill Alban and John Berry of Sun Valley and Verlin Campbell and Rich Bray (ex-owner of the Ex Libris Bookstore in Sun Valley) visiting from Portland. Express photos by Dana DuGan

Nordic ski team members jauntily covered the trails going uphill, while the rest of the crowd skied downhill, sort of. Then they’d re-pass the slower skiers as they reversed the process. The fact was, said Busdon, the trail had more uphills in it than previously since the Harriman Trail now takes the tour around the campgrounds instead of through them.

Despite all of that, the 14k trail was fortuitously broken up by the three gourmet food stations, where one could obtain sustenance and Trinity water, donated to keep everyone hydrated.

Of course, in between it was a bit like driving cross-country with all of Busdon’s signs (a la Burma Shave or Stuckey’s) encouraging one to keep moving. Busdon had put out these humorous signs the night before along the entire course. They said such things as: "Smile you’re on Candid Camera," "Survivor Show recruiting sign-ups at end of course," "You’re almost to the treats," which prepped the skiers for each tasty gourmet stop along the way.

The first stop had Suzanne from Chi Chi’s serving Asian Noodle Salad and sausage, and Christina’s Restaurant offering a buffet of grilled chicken, Italian meats, babaganoush, spring rolls, pot stickers, cheese and breads.

Local artist Gay Odmark remarked to the ubiquitous Christina: "Everywhere we go there you are¾ it’s like a Zen Buddhist thing."

The next stop was Esta’s where she was ladling up her famous matzo ball soup and chili with the works.

Finding a place to sit and rest one’s weary muscles was a bit of a trick, but some logs thrown on the snow, with an ominous ax leaning nearby, offered a respite, which sufficed as long as the restaurants weren’t stocking their fires, and therefore burning the perches.

The entree was supplied further down the course by Lynn McCarthy of Cottonwood. She served shrimp curry over rice, with an organic salad and wine. It being St. Patrick’s Day, Table Rock beer was provided at this stop as well.

The temptation of cheesecake, brownies and cookies and coffee at the end of the trail in the SNRA headquarters kept most of the hearty skiers moving along, despite the incoming snow and low clouds.

From John Jepson in his yearly outfit of tux jacket and shorts, the green outfits, funny hats and pins for St. Patty’s day to the delectable scents of food being prepared and devoured in the great outdoors, the North Valley Trails were alive with whimsy and camaraderie last Saturday afternoon.

 

 

 

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Copyright © 2001 Express Publishing Inc. All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited.