A mid-day skate ski through Magic Meadows on closing day this season left me feeling overwhelmed with gratitude. The snow was fast and forgiving. Signs of a great season were abound. Tips of 6-foot-tall willows poked out from the thick snowpack. Pockets of skiers convened at trail junctions to chat in the sunshine. The season had come to a close and the dust had settled, literally and figuratively. The valley floor and surrounding hillsides were tinted red from a wave of desert dust and there was a sense of lightness knowing that spring was around the corner, giving Crested Butte Nordic time to pause, plan, and re-energize.
For me, this was a season of learning.
The learning curve began with the ease of June and July, a period in which we plan and prepare for the year ahead. Lunch breaks were drawn out as staff worked to complete the latest crossword puzzle. But that ease dissipated as we neared opening day. I came to understand the anxiety evoking weeks of late fall. Weather forecasts were obsessed over as we waited for the next storm. Thankfully, that anxiety was quickly put to rest, as there was no shortage of bountiful winter forecasts. And just like that, we were in it. The Nordic Center pulsed with the coming and going of skiers and snowshoers. The ‘go-time’ that I was warned of in July was upon us.
When the training area emptied of mini skiers in afterschool programs, the front desk staff began suiting up the evening’s yurt diners. And when the Nordic Center's doors closed for the day, a groomer was just beginning their shift. The activity was non-stop.
It was during these moments that I came to realize just how much Crested Butte Nordic does. Behind it all, what makes us pulse, are the people, the community, you. At the end of the day, Crested Butte Nordic is a collection of people that gather each season and make this whole operation happen. Thank you for being a part of our village.
This year, we welcomed six new staff members to our year-round team of eight. That’s a lot of change and we had a lot to learn. We needed you more than ever and you showed up. Throughout the season, there was a constant flow of knowledge between new and old staff, volunteers, partner organizations, trail users, past and present Board members, donors, and many more. But the sharing of knowledge didn’t stop there. Across our programs and events, we also shared our love of skiing, snowshoeing, and the outdoors with you.
Thank you for climbing this learning curve with us. We couldn’t do it without you.
Hedda Peterson
Be careful what you wish for...
We wanted snow, and we got it. All, winter, long.
326 inches to be precise. That is a lot of snow to be moved across 50 kilometers of trail. But it's certainly better than the alternative. The bountiful season enabled us to treat the community with top-notch grooming at Lily Lake in November. It set us up for a smooth Alley Loop, with ample snow for transforming the streets and alleys. To wrap it up, it allowed us to provide a bonus, end-of-season week of grooming on the Bench, where, if you were lucky, you may have been accompanied by a flock of sandhill cranes flying overhead while skiing in a t-shirt. Now that's hard to beat.
Our events have become bucket-list experiences.
It was made clear this season that CB Nordic’s events have become bucket-list experiences for skiers, bikers, and runners near and far. The Alley Loop welcomed skiers from 28 states and multiple countries. We had a record number of registrants and lengthy wait lists across events, and this is not surprising. Who wouldn’t want to experience the beauty of our backyard and the funky character of our downtown, on skis!
More than anything, our events require support from our village. This year, 263 volunteers worked 1,250 hours to help us pull it all off. Perhaps you helped usher traffic around the groomed Elk Avenue for the Alley Loop. Or maybe you helped register, and calm, anxious racers before they set out to circumnavigate Gothic Mountain or traverse to Aspen.
Behind the scenes making our events a reality, was Becky Nation. In her first season as Events Director, Becky reveled her mastery in logistical coordination and party planning.
Trails are a place to come together.
This year marked the fifth year of the Community Outreach Program; a collaborative initiative with the Inmigrantes Unidos de Gunnison. In 2018, staff launched this program in an effort to broaden CB Nordic's community and get more people outside and on skis.
With support from local partners, we’ve provided consistent and free programming for the Hispanic community. The consistency has led to a steady growth in program numbers. Over 130 individuals tested their skills on the trails with us throughout the season.
This February, we were accompanied by Gunnison-based journalist, Stephanie Maltarich, who beautifully captured the liveliness of the Community Outreach Program. You can listen to the story, which aired on Colorado Public Radio, here.
If you build a yurt, they will come.
Being accessible only by ski or snowshoe does not stop our locals and visitors from making the snowy trek to the Magic Meadows Yurt. In fact, it's part of what makes the amenity so special. In 2007, the CB Nordic Board and staff sought opportunities to diversify the organization's income and after a trip the Tennessee Pass Cookhouse (a Yurt) outside of Leadville, the vision was solidified.
Today, the Yurt remains a go-to spot. In addition to the popular Yurt Dinners and Sunday Bistros, we hosted a series of Yurt Triva Nights throughout the season.
Like any remote operation, the Yurt requires a network of individuals to run, especially when you can experience everything from yurt yoga and trivia to fine dining. As the new Nordic Center Manager, Matt Powers was the calm and consistent brain that worked to mesh our many systems.
The kids are alright, and elastic.
The CB Nordic staff were not the only ones learning all season long. The kids learned an awful lot, too. They're sponges, after all. It turns out they’re also elastic once they put nordic skis on! At least that’s what it looks like when they line up for nordic limbo or skirt through the obstacle course of the day. The laughter of 127 kids, across 13 programs, kept the energy levels high at the Nordic Center this season.
Each season, a number of young skiers commit to taking part in our Devo, Race Prep and Comp Team programs. This year, our new Head Coach, Ben Theyerl, trained and traveled with 30 CB Nordic Team members.
We also hosted our first Junior National Qualifier (JNQ) on the Bench Trails since 2019. This event truly showcased the many layers of nordic knowledge within our community. Past Nordic Team members and their parents shared knowledge that is only acquired from years of attending and helping with events like a JNQ race.
We are a hub for lifelong learners.
At the core of our masters community is a network of people who care deeply about the sport of nordic skiing. They can talk for hours about body posture, wax types, and recent World Cup results. They’re also passionate about sharing their skills with you. Joellen Fonken has shared her love of nordic skiing with the Gunnison Valley for many years. Last fall, she stepped up as our Programs Manager and led our team of eleven instructors who together, welcomed over 250 masters participants.
This year, five CB Nordic instructors received their Level 1 PSIA certification, a national recognition of their understanding of nordic skiing and a testament to their ambition and commitment to growing as skiers and teachers.
While our masters program attracts many familiar, local faces, we also welcome hundreds of visitors each year for lessons and tours. Crested Butte is not an easy place to get to, but it is worth it, and we were delighted to share a piece of CB Nordic with over 300 lesson and tour participants this season. We also hosted 8 Ski for Free sessions in an effort to connect more people with the joys of nordic skiing.
We're experiencing a pronounced sense of fullness.
CB Nordic has many tempos. Be it the steady flow of holiday visitors in and out of the Nordic Center, or the scurrying of the Nordic Team through the parking lot and training area as they prepare to leave for a race.
Each tempo has a unique beat, but they share a pronounced sense of fullness. In the last 10 years, CB Nordic’s services have quadrupled, but our facilities have remained the same size since 1987.
As we turn the seasonal corner, we’re thrilled to be approaching the fundraising finish line for the Outpost. Over the course of three years, more than 300 individuals have contributed to the project, including several local partners. Site preparation for the Outpost is underway for a Spring groundbreaking this May. We look forward to celebrating this commemorative moment with the community. Thank you for being a part of our evolution and helping us grow into the future.
This community is a repository of knowledge.
As one might expect in a transitional season with so much newness, our systems were tested. In the end, what made this a successful season was our ability to turn to you, the community, for your insight, feedback, and historical knowledge.
Longtime volunteers helped set race routes. Parents of past Nordic Team members took on highly technical tasks at our home JNQ race. Board members got dirty helping install and remove bridges. Partner organizations shared stories to help us understand why things are done the way they're done. Past and present staff exuded the utmost patience when looked to for countless explanations.
To experience the rich layers of nordic knowledge embedded in this village has been a true joy. We look forward to growing the repository.
Donors
This year, each donation, no matter its size, helped us move forward with confidence. Your support was a constant reminder that what we work towards everyday matters. Thank you for your ongoing support.
Business Sponsors
Our Partners
When overcome by the business or fullness at the Nordic Center, or in life, the trails were there. Thank you to our steadfast partners at the Town of Crested Butte, the Crested Butte Land Trust, and the Gunnison Met Rec for helping ensure access to maintained trails all season long.
