WinterFest thrills usher in the New Year
Photo by CHANSE WATSON WinterFest attendees saw some serious speed on Cedar St. when daredevils strapped on their skis and snowboards for the first Skijoring event in Wallace. Participants got dragged down a frozen stretch of road by a rope with the goal of getting the to the finish line with the fastest time.
The more than almost 200-yard skijoring track stretched from the front of Wallace city hall to Harry F. Magnuson Way and included two jumps that riders had to go off.
Photo by HEATHER COWAN BRRAAAP! Snowbike competitors tear up the course up in Mullan last weekend during Winterfest.
Photo by HEATHER COWAN In its second year, the snowbike event is starting to become an annual occurrence here in the Silver Valley that has attracted many dirt bike and snowmobile enthusiasts to watch and participate.
WALLACE — Many have said that the Silver Valley (and perhaps Wallace specifically) could use a strong winter event to keep spirits up, businesses open, and break up the long wait to the spring festival season. With the help of many volunteers, businesses, and groups, event organizer Sheena Braulick did just that over New Year’s weekend with the first run of Wallace WinterFest.
“I think it went really well,” Braulick said when commenting on how the event was. “Overall, what I heard back from everyone, they enjoyed it and that was really good for restaurants, bars, and businesses.”
The three day festival began on Friday, Dec. 29 with a low-key shop walk and a snowman storytime at the Wallace Library. The day capped of with a downtown Wallace pub crawl.
Saturday kicked off in a big way with vintage snowmobile races down the interstate in Mullan. For the second year in a row, the city also hosted snowbike races on the following day (see Mullan motorized winter sports story).
Back in Wallace, local kids got to build snowmen next to the Northern Pacific Depot and check out a tour of the old Wallace firehouse near city hall. The Depot also held events of its own such as a lecture from local historian Ron Roizen regarding Ed Pulaski, “Hero of the Great Fire of 1910.”
A big draw during the day was a snowy hike down the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes from Wallace to Mullan, led by Geoff Harvey from the Panhandle Nordic Club.
As the day wore on, it was time to start one of the main action-filled events that WinterFest had to offer — the new skijoring competition.
Skijoring, a winter activity in which a skier or snowboarder is pulled by a vehicle or animal over snow very quickly, was new to the Silver Valley’s list of held activities; but certainly not an unwelcome one.
Spectators lined the course on Cedar St. that stretched from city hall to the Brooks Hotel so that they could take in the high-speed thrills. Competitors had to hit two jumps and make it to the finish line in the fastest time possible without falling. To do this, not only did the skier or snowboarder have to have great balance, but the driver of the vehicle pulling them had to steer just right with the right amount of speed. Suffice it to say, its not as easy as it looks.
“I thought it was really great, Braulick said. “Having ten teams turn out for the first one was a great...and people loved the prizes.”
The last day of WinterFest had just as much excitement as the previous days. With snowbike races going on in Mullan, local historian Heather Branstetter led a snowshoe tour of the Pulaski Trail that was well attended.
In the afternoon, the skijoring championships were held and prizes were given away at the awards ceremony. Although the conditions of the track on the second night of skijoring were not as good as the previous day due to weather, Braulick still thought spectators and participants alike had fun.
WinterFest 2017 came to a conclusion on 2018 when festival goers gathered at the Wallace Elks Lodge building for a New Year’s eve party with live music.
On top of the simple fact that it was fun for those who came and took part in the festival, Braulick was happy that she helped out local businesses and got people together.
“I was happy to see people out spending money in our community, she said. “My overall goal was to get people in the community, in a quieter (part of the year), having fun and having family time.
Of course with any large function held here in the Silver Valley, Braulick stresses that this could not have been accomplished without tremendous community support.
She would like to send out a big thank you to the volunteers who put in hours of effort, the businesses who contributed and stayed open, the cities of Wallace and Mullan, and the many organizations that lent a hand.
With a nice bow on top of this year’s WinterFest, plans are already in the works to make WinterFest 2018 even better than the first.
WinterFest 2017 Skijoring competition winners are as follows:
Novice skier:
1) Ryder Gauteraux 13.32
2) Sera White 18.94
Novice snowboarder:
1) Tony Scarponi 14.64
Open skier:
1) Joe Ploharz 10.04
2) Heather Branstetter 11.74
Open snowboarder:
1) Chad Self 10.56
2) Robert Novak 11.85
3) Sam Achord 12.66