CB Nordic looks back at last year and ahead to coming season

Making lemonade out of lemons…

By Mark Reaman and Kendra Walker

The Crested Butte Nordic ski season officially kicks off on November 15 this year. The organization gave an update of last season to both the Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte town councils last month, and CB Nordic was busy.

According to the report, 2,223 season passes were issued while 4,443 day passes were sold. They had 159 participants in the Masters program while 415 kids took part in Nordic events including a Ski 4 PE (physical education) school program. Instructors gave 259 lessons and 48 ski tours while 13,919 pairs of skis were rented. On top of that, more than $2,000 in rental equipment was donated. In peak season, CB Nordic employs 75 staff.

“Crested Butte Nordic made lemonade out of lemons last season,” CB Nordic executive director Hedda Peterson said. “The winter was punctuated by three storms and early, cold temps, which we capitalized on. While the resort was boney, the Nordic trails were skiing great, and this brought more visitors to the Nordic Center.”

In 2024 the organization got the early season trail around Lily Lake open and were able to put on a Thanksgiving ski camp. 

More than 1,400 volunteer hours were logged for Nordic events and community outreach programming was expanded to include other organizations like CB State of Mind, Gunnison Mentors, the Gunnison Middle School English Language Learner groups and the Western Colorado University Multicultural Center Club, The Amigos.

CB Nordic also raised $11,600 for partner organizations. “We really try to keep our season pass and youth programming the same costs every year, but events are getting more and more costly to do. Donations are a good indicator for us that the clientele we’re attracting for our events are not only choosing to pay the registration fee but also making generous donations on top of that,” said Peterson. 

It was the first full year of operations for The Outpost building. That new facility is all electric and is solar powered with 62 panels which also heats the Cat Barn. The system produced enough energy to not only power the two buildings but return 12 megawatt-hours of extra energy back into the electric grid. “We’re arguably in the shadiest part of Crested Butte, and it’s working,” Peterson said. 

For the coming season, things kick off in mid-November with a continuation of adult and junior programming for the 25/26 season. A new snowcat will arrive in November and for those who enjoy skiing to the Magic Meadows yurt, there have been interior improvements that you should notice this winter. CB Nordic also has six community races scheduled.

Last year’s Grand Traverse was cancelled, and this summer CB Nordic gathered those involved in the race to plan for future unpredictable conditions given increasing climate variability. “Our luck turned last March when we found ourselves having to cancel the Grand Traverse. It’s not going away, but it’s no easy task,” said Peterson. “It requires permitting in two different counties, two different ski areas and two different forest districts. Add on top of that the climate variables we’re seeing. It is a logistical puzzle.”

She continued, “We want to keep it moving forward and have every intention of doing that. We’re grateful to work with and live amongst a supportive and understanding community,” Peterson said. 

“For now, we’re getting our seasonal systems going and have the Farmer’s Almanac telling us it will be a good winter!” she concluded.