There has been a serious shift from several bike makers in what they consider “off season.” The days of hanging up the bike when the snow comes isn’t what some companies have in mind, or if they do think you should hang up one bike then you should hit the trails with another. This is the age of the “fat tire” snow bikes. Of course there is the issue where to ride such bikes.
More and more ski resorts and trails are opening to fat tires and this includes Methow Valley in Winthrop, Wash., which just happens to be the largest cross-country ski area. This season the resort is making a few of the trails open to bikes, and only when the conditions are right. And the trails will only be open to “purpose-built snow bikes” such as the Surly Pugsley or Moonlander or other bikes that have tires wider than 3.7 inches and must roll with tire pressure less than 10psi. These factors will ensure that riders don’t blow through the trails at high speeds, and if the rut is deeper than an inch it is too soft to be riding on the Nordic trails.
This might seem like a lot of rules, but it is about sharing the trails with skiers, so it seems reasonable to us.