Tour the Summit – kick off the New Year in Nordic style

FasterSkier · January 6, 2009

After the holiday season of good food and good cheer, the 3rd Annual Tour the Summit is the perfect way to kick off 2009. Join the Summit County community on January 11 for a fun recreational Nordic ski and snowshoe tour. The tour starts at Gold Run Nordic Center, continues along the Summit Country recreation path, and finishes at Frisco Nordic Center. Proceeds benefit Friends of the Dillon Ranger District.

This event is open to cross country skiers and snowshoers of ALL ages and abilities. Bring your family, kids, friends, co-workers and neighbors! 10 k, 20 k, and kid-friendly loops provide something for everyone. The kid-friendly loop starts at 11 AM and includes a short tour and scavenger hunt. Smokey Bear will attend the tour-end celebration to raise awareness of fire prevention and greet tour attendees. To add to the Tour’s festive atmosphere, costumes are encouraged and rewarded! Register by January 9 to receive an early registration discount of $10 per entry.

In its first two years, Tour the Summit has attracted over 250 participants. This year, the Tour hopes to attract even more participants. Tour co-founder and coordinator, Louisa Morrissey is excited about the event’s growth and popularity. “Tour the Summit is a great opportunity for the community to come together and enjoy a day with friends and family. This Nordic event is unique in that it is completely recreational – it is not a race! Skiers and snowshoers of all abilities and ages are encouraged to participate in this fun festival!”

For those interested in the tour-end celebration, tasty food provided by Food Hedz and other local restaurants, your favorite brew provided by Backcountry Brewery, fun tunes provided by a local DJ, and fabulous prizes for best costumed tour participants await your arrival.

Along the route, educational information will provide participants with knowledge about the surrounding forest and how they can help care for it. In addition, gourmet snack and drink stops provided by Gilchrist Catering, Cool River Coffee Shop, and Blue Moon Bakery will keep participants happy and well fueled.

“We are thrilled to be part of this community event,” said Guff Van Vooren, FDRD’s Executive Director. “Getting outdoors, enjoying our local National Forest lands, and learning how to care for them are year-round endeavors for all of us!”

Proceeds will support FDRD’s stewardship efforts on these lands, including: trail maintenance, fuels reduction, forest restoration, invasive weed pulls, tree clearing, litter pick ups, buck-n-rail fence construction, outreach education, and leader

ship training. These efforts improve the quality of our local natural resources and improve the quality of the recreationists’ experience, provide visitor information, foster public land stewardship, and help address issues threatening our local National Forest lands. Through these stewardship efforts, volunteers connect to each other and to these lands, leading to their increased investment and stewardship of these lands and of each other.

Tour participants can register at all local Nordic Centers or http://www.active.com. For more information on Tour the Summit, visit http://www.TourTheSummitEvent.com or contact Louisa Morrissey at 970-406-0158. For more information on FDRD, visit http://www.fdrd.org or contact Guff Van Vooren at 970-389-6058.

Dave Poole, Mark Troutman and Taiga Young (Photo: Ben Young)