SAWTOOTH SKI CLUB SKI FESTIVAL 2014

The theme of last winter’s skifest was “at least it’s not raining” and was heard uttered by many across the valley last March 1 and 2. A good dump of wet snow made for challenging conditions all around and the turnout was shy of other years, but total donations yielded a respectable $12,000.

Sylvia Hamilton and Jeff Ballas continue to anchor the saturday event at Park Creek with a chili feed and Poker Run. Participants polished off all the food and even hopped under the tents to help serve the wet and hungry Poker Run participants.

Later that night we grooved to the harmonies and old favorites of “Dewey, Pickett and Howe” at the Community Center. Chef Sean Petersen again served up his famous Hungarian Chicken Goulash while diners bid on a record number of auction contributions. Thanks for all the generous donations, the auction alone raised $7858! This year’s line up will be similar, stay tuned.

Sunday dawned with a little more hope, and though it was not the bluebird day we have become accustomed to for the Alturas soup feed, broken clouds kept folks happy. Trails were groomed early by David Keiski and Karen and copious helpers and volunteers served the soup, bread and mimosas up in style, Tisa McCombs brightened spirits by hiding stuffed birds for a scavenger hunt.

We could not pull off such a grand event without the  support of our dedicated volunteers. Thanks for showing up and caring and making it such a success. The donations of time, pledges and participation make our club stay afloat and keep the skiing happening in the Sawtooth Valley. See you next year on March 7th & 8th, for the 13th Annual Sawtooth Ski Festival