December 4, 2007 (Jackson, NH) – Jackson Ski Touring Foundation opened on December 3 for the season with additional snowfall expected overnight. Early season trail work has allowed Jackson Ski Touring to open 16 kilometers of groomed terrain on their first morning with more expected to open soon.

Recently, the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation received a generous donation from a club member for ski trail improvements. This donation was specifically targeted towards adapting the most crucial trails in the ski network to provide a high standard of grooming in the event of minimal snowfalls (4″ or less). The donation has kicked off a 10 year trail improvement program starting by smoothing and improving the existing trail surfaces on the Ellis River Trail, Yodel Trail and the Wave, three of the most popular trails in the Jackson Ski Touring network.

The trail improvement program resulted from concerns by the Board of Directors and Executive Director about providing the highest level of skiing with unpredictable early snowfall levels.

“Our goal is to establish stable, maintainable and easily groomed surfaces on our trails during times of minimal snowfall. The greenest and most economical solution to the problem of early season diminished snowfall is a trail improvement program. This generous gift from our club member will go a long way in helping us to achieve our goal and allow us to preserve cross country skiing in Jackson in the future” said Thom Perkins, Executive Director of Jackson Ski Touring.

In addition to the trail improvement program, a major redesign of the Wave trail is also in progress. With new FIS rules and requirements, Jackson has decided to upgrade its traditional race course to meet course regulations. Currently there are only five homologated race courses in the United States. With the new redesign of the Wave, Jackson will become the sixth homologated course, allowing for high level national and international races to be held in Jackson in the future. Permits, designs and engineering have been approved and trail construction is the next stage of the project. The trail redesign has been based on the quality of the ski experience and the needs of recreational skiers.

“We are not going to impact the fun of the Wave just to satisfy strict FIS regulations” commented Perkins. “What we have designed is very much like the current Wave, just more so. It’s got climbs, dips, bumps and curves. I can’t wait to ski it.”

The Jackson Ski Touring Foundation is a community based not-for-profit charitable organization chartered to maintain trails in and around the village of Jackson, New Hampshire. The “Foundation” maintains 154+ km of trails, with state of the art grooming on trails designed to suit every taste and ability level. The Foundation operates under a Special-Use Permit with the White Mountain National Forest, and with the cooperation of 82 private landowners, and the town of Jackson. Detailed information about trails, rates, programs, events, clinics and more can be found at the Foundation web site at www.jacksonxc.org. Further information can also be obtained by calling 603-383-9355 or 1-800-X-C-SNOWS (1-800-927-6697).