Hog Loppet Beta

Maybe a little off the TAY norm but...I'm always up for a party, especially if it includes boards on your feet.  Thinking of doing the Hog Loppet in February. 20 miles mostly downhill is a bonus. Plan is to go with my son and 14 month old grand daughter. Any input or suggestions?

i'm curious to hear what folks have to say as well.... are regular ol' xc skis okay or does one need nordic gear that has metal edges?

they don't groom the route do they? (skate gear not appropriate, right?)

Gearwise, I'd go light. The route is typically groomed for both skate and classic skiing once you descend around Mission Peak and hit the road for the remainder of the tour. My preferred rig is a combi ski with which I can skate and classic. There are a few sustained uphill grades that are tough if your skate technique isn't that good. Edged skis are overkill although I've seen a few odd people do the tour on AT gear.

A 14 month-old? She must be precocious.

The Leavenworth Winter Sports club website has a lot of good info as to the route, logistics, etc. Ski gear will probably be regular waxless touring, maybe AT. My main question is about the logistics with the young one. Precocious, you bet. Born in December with 3 feet to snow on the front yard. Likes to play in it, look at it, roll in it, eat it. Enjoys laps with her dad up and down Hyak. Not condoning, just saying. We'll probably skip the bus and work out our own transportation in and out. I'd like to rig a pulk for the trip but really wondering how to get it to the top of Mission Ridge. Skin it up?

I have done the Hogloppet 3 times. The first 2 times on metal edged no-wax nordic gear, the last on very light waxless track skis. Both worked well, but I was just a little happier on the metal edged gear. I also used very skinny skins for two uphill sections to conserve energy. Participants use everything from skate skis to full-on backcountry gear, but most are on classic nordic skis.

The Hogloppet route has four distinct sections: 1) A short section of groomed ski area run off the top. This can be icy. 2) A short section of true backcountry on the traverse around Mission Peak. This can be anything from breakable crust to powder. There is a short, steep uphill followed by a short, steep (for nordic gear) downhill, follwed by more downhill in this section. 3) Many miles of forest service road groomed for skiers to Haney Meadow. There is a sustained uphill section before the first rest stop (about 800 ft gain) 4) After Haney Meadow (second rest stop), 7 miles of packed forest service road where you are *sharing* with snowmobiles, which naturallly obliterates any groomed ski track. The last 5 miles are quite flat. While the route has a net elevation loss overall, there is about 1200 ft. of gain.

You can try to guess what snow conditions will be like and take the variety of terrain into account when choosing your gear. Also consider which of your boots would be most comfortable for that distance.

Contact the trip organizers and get their feedback about the pulk. I would bet they would let you load it onto the lifts, especially if you have let them know ahead of time.

Great advice AlpineRose. I'll send them an email. Getting up to the top with a pulk was the main unknown. I'd rather go the pulk route but my son may want to do a pack and it would be hard for me to argue.