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Out cold;
Portland hot shooting too much for Vandals

by Jake Alger
argonaut staff

The University of Idaho men's basketball team played its guts out and put on a late surge Wednesday night at the Cowan Spectrum, but it wasn't enough to overcome the University of Portland's unbelievable shooting as the Pilots nipped the Vandals 71-66 in a wire-to-wire affair.
The Pilots (2-2) shot .609 from the field and .412 from the three-point line, compared to a dismal .311 field goal percentage for the Vandals. Idaho held a decisive 17-6 edge on the offensive glass, but their inability to put the ball in the bucket all but negated that advantage.
"We've got to hold teams to 31 percent shooting," UI head coach Leonard Perry said. "Instead we're being held to 31 percent shooting and we're giving up 60 (percent). We got no chance."

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by Brian Armstrong
argonaut staff

And then there were seven. The Vandal women's basketball team lost senior Suzy Goss to a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in her left knee. This was Goss' sixth year with the Vandals, granted this final season because of two other season-ending injuries in her previous years. She will now miss the remainder of this season as well.
"I feel really bad for our team right now because it puts them in a tough situation," Goss said. "The only reason I came back this season was because I wanted to play for coach (Mike Divilbiss) and I wish I could have played a whole year under him. But it's more about the team right now."
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by Jade Janes
opinion editor

Strapping wood to their feet and sliding down a gentle slope may satisfy the recreational needs of some students, but for those looking to enjoy winter the way it was meant to be enjoyed - thumb to the throttle, blazing the trails on a beastly mountain machine - snowmobiling is the sport of choice.
Within Latah County, there are over 300 miles of trails in three main regions. Northeast of town, Moscow Mountain boasts a small trail system that weaves on the ridge of the mountain. Between the towns of Elk River and Bovill there is a larger system of trails. Harvard, 28 miles east of Moscow, provides a good day's ride on tamer trails.
The average annual snowfall for Latah County is 100 inches. The elevation ranges from 2,300 to 6,000 feet, providing a wide riding variety.
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Winter brings the opportunity to participate in many extreme sports: ski jumping, snowboarding, and my personal favorite - sledding.
Many may not consider sledding an extreme sport. Clearly they didn't grow up at my house.
I grew up in Rexburg. How, you may ask, does one learn how to become a world-class sled master in Rexburg?
It is difficult. The first problem is the apparent lack of hills in the Snake River Valley. Fortunately I grew up on one of the two hills in the region. Of course, the hill that made up my front yard also doubled as a fault line. I think my geology teacher once said something about how fault lines are somehow connected to volcanic activity. This explains the plethora of volcanic rocks on my sledding course. I have seven broken sleds and a couple of scars to prove it.
Back when I was 9 years old, I looked upon the early setting of the winter sun with great dismay. Shorter days meant less training time, less time to become a world-class sled master.
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KYLE JOHNSON
Argonaut staff

On Nov. 17, I once again found myself not using my vacation time to relax. Instead I was huddled next to my partner at 10,000 feet on Mt. Rainier in one of the worst storms of the approaching winter trying to stay warm and guessing how long food and fuel supplies would last if we got stranded. It was my first time on the volcano and an excellent mountaineering learning experience.
At 14,411 feet, Mt. Rainier is the highest mountain inWashington state and the fifth highest in the lower 48. It is more glaciated than all of the mountains in the Cascades combined, and although Rainier has been asleep for many years it is still a very active volcano.
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by Ryan Town
Argonaut staff

Switchblade. Wonder Dog. Oval Office. Triple Crown.
These are the names most mountain bikers forget as snow covers Moscow Mountain for the winter, but diehard mountain bikers do not let winter get them down. They replace those names with ones such as Devil's Slide and Hell's Gate.
About 30 miles south of Moscow lies Hell's Gate State Park. The park, sometimes referred to as Idaho's banana belt, receives little or no snow each year, making it perfect for mountain bikers who do not want to give up their sport for the winter.
The park is also useful for anyone who wants to take a break from the snow and ice that is likely to cover Moscow for the next couple of months.
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by Brian Armstrong
argonaut staff

It's that time of year again. Shoveling driveways, breaking out the warm coat and falling down on the ice must mean one thing: It is skiing and snowboarding season.
Whether you ride or ski, there are plenty of choices around this area to equip you with top brands and find top notch runs on beautiful mountains.
First of all, if you don't already own your own board or skis, there are several choices around Moscow. Gart Sports rents snowboards for one or two days costing $18 and $36 respectively. They also rent skis for the entire season for only $50, although supply quickly is running out quickly.
Follet's Mountain Sports on Jefferson rents boards for $25 daily and $250 for the whole season, and skis for $13 daily and $150 for the whole season.
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