West Yellowstone's Rendezvous Trail System sparked changes in Nordic skiing technique that had world-wide repurcussions for the sport. Today, Nordic skiers from around the world still flock to the Rendezvous ski trails in West Yellowstone.
The Rendezvous trail system was born 30 years ago when a West Yellowstone couple, Neal and Grace Swanson, wanted to create a local area where their sons, Kent and Carl, and friends could ski.
Skiing on groomed trails then was fast growing in popularity, and the Gallatin National Forest officials gave the family permission to groom the old logging roads that begin at the south edge of West Yellowstone. The first grooming equipment consisted of a snowmobile pulling a pair of skis separated by a metal bar weighed down by concrete blocks. Years later, one of the skiers who used the trails, Doug Edgerton, invented high-tech grooming equipment that is still used today.
The Swanson boys and their friends, U.S. Olympic medal winner Bill Koch and World Cup/Olympic racer Audun Endestad, first began skate skiing on the Rendezvous Trails in the winter of 1980/81. Skate skiing requires taking broad sweeps with your skis on smoothly packed snow and is much like ice-skating. Bill Koch used this revolutionary technique to take the cross country world by storm. The technique required a new trail grooming method, and soon the Rendezvous Trail System had a double track for the traditional diagonal technique alongside a nine-foot wide lane for skating.
It wasn’t until 1988 that skate skiing achieved international recognition and was entered into the Olympic games as an event. In the 1990s, West Yellowstone’s reputation as a world-class cross country skating area reached the rest of the world. Throughout the winter, visitors flock to the area to experience the trails here. As use increased, the Forest Service added more trails and included a special course with targets for biathlon events involving skiing and target shooting.
The system now has more than 30 kilometers of trails that are groomed daily. Beginners, world-class athletes, school programs and ski clubs enjoy the trails.
As the trails brought more visitors to West Yellowstone, the business community began to view cross-country skiing as an asset. They supported the inaugural Great American Cross Country Ski Chase 50-kilometer marathon in January 1979. Now held in March, the Yellowstone Rendezvous has a 25 kilometer race as well as youth events, and draws more than 600 skiers. The community also supports an annual Fall Training camp to teach skiers about sports physiology and nutrition.
The Yellowstone Rendezvous Trails start at the intersection of Geyser Street and Obsidian Avenue. Snow permitting, trails are open from December 1 through March 30. Skiers are charged $3 for a day pass, $20 for an individual season pass, and $40 for a family season pass. Passes are on sale at Free Heel and Wheel in West Yellowstone located at the corner of Yellowstone and Canyon Street, (406) 646-7744. The shop also tunes skis and has ski equipment, rentals, race registration forms, fall camping information and mountain bike rentals.
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