For all you Hoksters, Hokettes, and Hokstars – (and Kōm Skiers too) ! Saturday, January 28th at Sitzmark Ski Area in the Okanogan Highlands of NE Washington We had such a good time at last years festival that we decided to do a  repeat! This years Altai Skis event is on Saturday, January 28th and again will be a demo and ski day at Sitzmark Ski Area, the smallest most retro ski area in the state. The area is close to our world headquarters in Curlew, Washington and has been a favorite for many years with its laid back atmosphere and total absence of hype. It is a ski area for locals and a great fit for the Altai Skis demo and gathering as we have a certain inclination to retro as well 🙂 Demos and activities are scheduled from 10 AM until 3 PM.  Lessons on skiing with the Hoks  (up down and on the flats) will run through out the day and discounted lift tickets are available for those registered attendees interested in using the chair lift. The lift is optional to the festival though, so come and join us even if you are inclined to the less tilted version of Hok skiing.  We will have a bunch of Tiaks there as well and will be offering up some tips on this unique and ancient style of skiing  that is ideally suited to the Hoks. We will have a few tours going out as well, in some of the ideal Hok country adjacent to the ski area. On board will be Keith Wakefield, a long time Hokster and part of the original team at Altai Skis, Nils Larsen, Altai Ski owner and cofounder, Lisa Green, founding Hokette member, and special guest from the Methow Don Portman, Northwest crosscountry skiing guru, and recently, a dedicated Hokster.  We have some of the Tahoe Hok posse coming up for the event as well as a lot of locals. It will be fun! Some lodging options  are available for those coming from out of the area – A nice AirBandB close to the ski area – here . In Tonasket (closest to Sitzmark) there are some AirBnBs – here and some motels here. Oroville if you are coming from up north, eh, is also quite close. Wauconda there is Diamond Belle Ranch – good skiing and beds for more then 20 with kitchen too.. Republic has some lodging as well.  Over an hour from Sitzmark, it is on the west side of Sherman pass(excellent skiing) and on the way home if you are coming from Spokane or points east. Also of note there is the Republic Brew Pub . A general map of the region can be seen here with my notes on it.     HokStars   Sitzmark Ski Area Sooo….. Where is Sitzmark? From Oroville, where you would be if you came down through Osoyoos, BC. From Tonasket, if you were coming from the south on Hwy 97. From Curlew or crossing from BC at Grand Forks and also crossing at Midway. From Republic and Highway 20 (this is the very scenic route!). From Colville and traveling north on Hwy 395. Sitzmark:  Openning with a rope tow in the 1950s, Sitzmark  now has a double chairlift and a rope tow. The terrain is a mix of mostly beginner through advanced intermediate with some nice open forest. The area is very kid friendly and has rentals  of alpine gear and snowboards for kids. We will also have some Ballahoks (the kids hok ski) available As well as quite a few of the 125 Hoks. The lodge is small and cozy with a big fireplace. There is food and hot drinks available and brown bags (your own food) are welcome. We will post updates here and on our Facebook page. We hope you can make it and – BRING YOUR HOKS! We will try and do a group picture of as many Hoks in one place as possible – perhaps a Guinness record!

NEWS FLASH!  – Saturday February 6th  For all Hok Skiers or  Wannabe Hoks Skiers Altai Skis is having a demo and ski day at Sitzmark Ski Area, probably the smallest most retro ski area in the state. The area is close to our world headquarters in Curlew and has been a favorite for many years with its laid back atmosphere and total absence of hype. It is a ski area for locals and a great fit for a Altai Skis demo and gathering as we have a certain inclination to retro as well 🙂 Demos and activities will run from 10 AM until 3:30PM. We will have demos and lessons in Hok skiing (both up and down) and will offer discounted lift tickets for those interested in joining the Altai Skis program. Also a chance to try a Tiak and learn how to use it.  We will also have a few pairs of Kōms available to try, and lots of 3 pin boots for Hoks and/or Kōms. Lift tickets are optional.   On board will be Keith Wakefield, a long time Hokster and part of the team at Altai Skis , Nils Larsen, Altai Ski owner and cofounder, Lisa Green, Hok Maven, and special guest from the Methow Don Portman, Northwest cross country skiing guru, and recently, a dedicated Hokster. Sitzmark Ski Area Sooo….. Where is Sitzmark? From Oroville, where you would be if you came down through Osoyoos, BC. From Tonasket, if you were coming from the south on Hwy 97. From Curlew or crossing from BC at Grand Forks and also crossing at Midway. From Republic and Highway 20 (this is the very scenic route!). From Colville and traveling north on Hwy 395.   Sitzmark: Openning with a rope tow in the 1950s, Sitzmark  now has a double chairlift and a rope tow. The terrain is a mix of mostly beginner through advanced intermediate with some nice open forest. The area is very kid friendly and has rentals  of alpine gear and snowboards for kids. We will also have some Ballahoks (the kids hok ski) available As well as quite a few of the 125 Hoks. The lodge is small and cozy with a big fireplace. There is food and hot drinks available and brown bags (your own food) are welcome. We will post updates here and on our Facebook page. We hope you can make it and – BRING YOUR HOKS! We will try and do a group picture of as many Hoks in one place as possible – perhaps a Guinness record!                        

If your close by in Canada or the US come to the 6th annual Rail Trail Ski Day. Free demos of xc skis and Hoks for all ages. The location this year is different – This year the event is moved to the trail head at the N end of Curlew Lake (Kiwanis Rd) and will include the rail trail going south over the recently renovated trestle across the lake – this should make for some great views. There also will likely be a Hok route set up as there is excellent low elevation snow this year :-).   Hope you can make it!

Many people have heard about the fires in NE WA recently. Sadly, one of the casualties of the fires locally was the Deer Creek (Boulder Pass) ski trails, the closest trails and higher elevation terrain to Altai Skis headquarters. We have been skiing these trails since their origin in the early 1980s. Along with the only groomed trails in the county they offer a lot of great Hok terrain and we have been using them a lot for testing, photos, and tours out of Altai Skis in Curlew. At 4600 ft the pass is the 2nd highest all season pass in the state, and has (had) a great mix of terrain that was heavily forested – much of it old growth – and hard to ski on much else then the Hoks. I took a look at it yesterday and the fire came through with a lot of wind and extremely dry conditions, so the forest is 99.99% torched. Below are some pictures of the area before and after. We will all be sad to see this go as it was a beautiful forest with some really nice old growth fir and larch to ski in. It will be more open now and easier skiing but there is nothing quite like skiing through ancient trees stacked with snow.

We have just added a FAQ page to the site. Any additional information you would like to see on there please email us a request. We are also updating the site generally, adding a media page for on line published media, and a testimonial page – thanks to all those who sent in their comments! The FAQ page is set up with a submenu for easy searching. It will expand over time. We do not have any of these in French as yet but we will try and get that translated soon.