The Wyoming High School skiing weekend will be less busy than originally planned this weekend. Alpine skiers were set to make their season debut, but due to the extremely cold weather forecast in Casper, they will have to wait for another week. Nordic skiers are in Jackson this weekend. Some will be competing in a high school race, while others will compete in a Junior National Qualifier. This is officially Week 4 of the high school skiing season.
WYOMING HIGH SCHOOL SKIING SCHEDULE ON JAN. 11-13, 2024
Alpine Skiing
Downhill skiers started practice back in mid-November before the Thanksgiving holiday. They were supposed to be skiing Thursday and Friday at Hogadon Basin to start the season, but a decision was made on Wednesday to postpone the weekend to Jan. 25 and 26, 2024. That means, if the weather holds, the season will begin next weekend with the Laramie Invite at Snowy Range Ski Area.
Nordic Skiing
Cross-country skiers will be splitting up in Jackson this weekend. There is a high school race on Friday and Saturday. It is the Trail Creek Invitational at Trail Creek Nordic Center at Wilson, just west of Jackson. Friday is a 5km skate or freestyle race with a mass start at 11 a.m. The varsity girls will ski first, followed by the varsity boys, and then JV. Saturday is a 5km classic race beginning at noon. Skiers will start the race in intervals. Varsity boys will ski first, then varsity girls, and JV.
Also at Jackson is the Johnny Curtis Memorial JNQ 2024. It’s an Intermountain Junior National Qualifier race for U10-U20 athletes on Saturday and Sunday. The race on Saturday is a classic discipline. U16, U18, and U20 skiers will compete in a 5km between 9 a.m. and noon. Younger levels will compete after the high school race. Sunday is a freestyle race that is 10km for U18 and U20 athletes and 5km for U16 athletes.
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Skiers will choose which competition they will race in, either the high school races or the JNQ. They cannot do both.
State Nordic Skiing
Gallery Credit: Robert Galbreath-Pinedale Round Up
CASPER, Wyo. — Here is a list of those who filed for a divorce from Dec. 22 through Dec. 29. All filings are reported to Oil City News by the Natrona County District Court.
The log is not a comprehensive document and may not represent all of the divorces in Natrona County. The report excludes sealed cases and confidential parties.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The Wyoming Game and Fish Department recently announced its plan to move forward in 2026 with developing Feedground Management Action Plans, a key component of the broader Wyoming Elk Feedgrounds Plan.
A release from the Game and Fish Department states that as part of the department’s statewide Chronic Management Plan, the Wyoming Elk Feedgrounds Plan was established to guide the department’s overall and long-term approach to elk management for the 21 feedgrounds across Wyoming. The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission approved the final draft of the strategy in March 2024, following close to four years of collaborative planning with more than 60 volunteer stakeholders.
The release notes that the development of the individual FMAPs is the next step in the process. The department will be working closely with stakeholders, as well as the public, to address key concerns and priorities.
“Game and Fish remains committed to the management of our state’s feedgrounds in an adaptable manner that utilizes the best science available,” said Game and Fish director Angi Bruce. “Supplemental winter feeding of elk has continued to grow in complexity. These plans will allow us to adjust to current and future conditions in feedground management.”
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Specific FMAPs will be developed for each of the six elk herds, as well as their corresponding feedgrounds in the Jackson and Pinedale regions. They’re intended to be a playbook of strategies guiding feedground management through biological, social, and economic factors. FMAPs are designed to be adaptable as on-the-ground-conditions change and science emerges.
In early 2026, draft FMAP documents will be shared during a series of public meetings. They will be presented to the Game and Fish Commission later in the year.
“The goal of the FMAP process is to ensure our strategies are not only sustainable for our agency, but supported and beneficial to the public,” Bruce said. “This is an important issue that has an impact on our state’s wildlife, business owners and residents in our state. Their buy-in and feedback will be essential to a successful long-term plan for feedground management.”
Times and locations for the public meetings will be announced in January on the Game and Fish website. More information on elk feedgrounds, as well as the Feedground Management Plan, can be found on the Elk Feedgrounds page at the Game and Fish Department’s website.
The biggest wind gust in Colorado history blew through Monarch Pass on Feb. 16, 2018, at 148 mph. Not long after that, I moved here, in part to avoid the hurricanes that were pummeling me back East. Now I experience Hurricane Sandy-adjacent conditions while taking mail from my mailbox on random Tuesdays in Fort Collins.
I liked to think that our National Weather Service would at least give me fair warning for wind events. But now the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder is being dismantled for parts.
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)
That very building got smacked with a 113-mph gust on Dec. 19, two days after Peak 6 at Brekenfridge was hit with a Polar Express clocked at 124 mph. If there had been any snow, I might have been skiing there, caught air off a mogul and landed at Arapahoe Basin.
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)
Little known fact: Colorado’s breezes are actually under the control of the four Greek gods of wind, plus their local representatives. No wonder it’s so breezy here!
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)
Fortunately, electric company officials employ a four-part strategy when dangerous winds threaten.
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)
Style-conscious Coloradans are learning to cope. (Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)
No one is beyond the reach of wind. Especially not Denver Broncos field-goal kicker Wil Lutz.
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)
As concerning as our wind situation is, there is one consolation.
(Peter Moore, Special to The Colorado Sun)
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Peter Moore is an editor, writer, illustrator, ghostwriter, co-author, radio host, TV guest, speaker, editorial consultant, and journalism lecturer.
In his most recent gig he was interim editor-in-chief of BACKPACKER magazine. Peter…
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