Nordic Center preps new race-sanctioned course on Bench

Should help early season skiing

The Crested Butte Nordic Center is making a move in the Euro direction. Work has started this summer on construction of a homologated 5-kilometer and 1.2-kilometer sprint racecourse on the Bench area above Crested Butte. Homologated roughly translates to sanctioned.
Crested Butte Nordic Council director Keith Bauer presented the idea to the Town Council on Monday, June 17. He said there are only about a dozen such courses in the United States, but they are prolific in Europe.

“If we were in Europe, we’d already have one of these,” said Bauer.
The Nordic Council received a substantial anonymous donation last winter to be allocated toward the course construction. “While we were anticipating making some improvements to the trails on the Bench this summer, this donation will allow us to build trails that meet standards accepted in the industry and will provide a race venue that will bring more racers and families to our community,” Bauer wrote the council.
It was the potential boom that raised a few concerns from the council. Councilperson David Owen wanted to make sure that homeowners in the area knew the impact of the upgrade.
Bauer said he has talked with the homeowners and/or their representatives and they are on board with the project, both from the easement and construction standpoint and from the ramification of having a new attraction. He said the course could attract a couple of additional races each season, “but realistically it wouldn’t be much more than that, given our high elevation.”
The new course should provide early season skiing opportunities, according to Bauer, by being able to groom with as little as six to eight inches of snow. Grooming currently takes close to 18 inches.
The homologation standard for the 5K loop is to be six meters wide, while for the sprint climbs the trail is nine meters wide. The sanctioned 5k course requires a minimum of 150 meters total elevation gain and has to include an “A” climb, which needs to be a minimum climb of 30 meters. The Bench provides the ability to meet the standards. Trail easements were part of the agreement with the town when the Bench was approved for development.
Bauer said the beginning of the Green Lake Trail will become part of the ski trail for approximately 50 meters. The Nordic Center hopes to start trail construction soon and anticipates it will take two months.
The council approved of the idea and will enter into an Operations and Maintenance Agreement with the Nordic Council.