The Winter Carnival’s big event on Sunday was the Monster Dog Pull at Alpine Village.   Over 100 dogs - big, small, short and tall – competed in this fun event with all proceeds benefitting MCPAWS Regional Animal Shelter in McCall.

With nearly five feet of snow over the last week and cooler temps, cross country trails in town are sweet!   The entire system at Bear Basin was cat groomed this morning – just what we live here for!

The Payette River is raging high from the record snowpack and recent storms to the area that produced flash flood warnings Monday and into Tuesday.  The photo above is just south of Smith’s Ferry.  Monday afternoon brought hail, thunder and lightning to McCall in a way many of us have never seen!    The size of the hail and the intensity of the hailstorm was indescribable!  

Payette Lake is coming back and today we should see open water from our office at McCall Real Estate!   This is one of the latest thaws we’ve seen in recent years, with three very cold snaps this winter season and late Spring storms and freezing temps.  Brundage Mountain Resort remains open for bonus ski weekends through May 15 with the prospect of additional weekends.   Check wwww.brundage.com  for updates.   We still have two to three feet of snow at higher elevations around town but it is going fast with the warmer temps over the last few days.    Bikers are out there with several layers on and the nurseries in town are gearing up for flower power!

While the Nordic trails around McCall are winding down the season,  avid cross country skiiers know the best terrain and conditions for field or “crust” skiing!    Sunny blue skies and snow capped peaks make for an excellent spring outing for both of us and our youngest Lab, Timber.

Over 200 competitors – many from McCall, Sun Valley and the Treasure Valley and as far away as Fairbanks, Alaska –  participated in the 2011 Payette Lakes Marathon last Saturday on a relatively tough course at Bear Basin Nordic Center last Saturday.  The rolling terrain along with freshly groomed powder provided a challenging course for skiiers at all levels. 

We’ve had LOTS of fresh powder over the last few days and all cross country venues are rocking!

  Scott and Michelle Reagan of Gravity Sports in McCall can barely contain “Zoka”, their young and spiritied Husky chomping at the bit to do what he does best – PULL!  This annual Winter Carnival event was a real crowd pleaser and successful fundraiser for MCPAWS Regional Animal Shelter.

Abundant snow sculptures and lively crowds exemplify McCall’s annual Winter Carnival.     Sub Zero temps over the last few nights have kept the sculptures crisp and intact for week 2 and beyond.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/ct-trav-0116-skate-ski-20110116,0,6724762.story

Read all about the Chicago Tribune’s take on five great skate skiing venues – including McCall!    For more information on McCall’s world class cross country skiing venues go to http://mountainsofexperience.com/nordic-skiing.html

Watching Payette Lake freeze every year is quite a sight.  This season the lake froze from shore to shore on New Year’s Day while we were watching the Rose Bowl.     McCall is still very cold with sub zero temps at night (with 8 below forecast tonite) but it will be 10 to 15 degrees warmer toward the end of the week.     Brundage Mountain and Tamarack Resort both reported record crowds over the Christmas holidays and the cross country trails are busy.  The snow is very cold and you need to wax right or your skis will not be fast –  and we all know fast skis are fun skis!