Crested Butte Snowsports Foundation slides into season

“We’re coming out of the gate strong”

[ by Than Acuff ]

With winter coming on, one of the great stoke events in any ski town is and always has been, the ski swap. The Crested Butte Snowsports Foundation (CBSF) carries that tradition on here in the Gunnison valley and they’re ramping up right now for their Winter Kick Off Party and Gear Swap this Friday and Saturday, November 5-6.

But the CBSF is much, much more than the host of the annual gear swap and is back to full strength with new board members in place and Erica Rasmussen hired on as the new executive director on September 1. They’ve hit the ground at warp speed with their sights set on short-term goals for this season and long-term plans in the works.

It’s a comeback of sorts as the CBSF struggled last year with COVID having a huge effect on the organization and its efforts both on and off the snow.

“Starting in March 2020 we couldn’t do a variety of our fundraisers,” says board chair Jill Sickels Matlock. “It just really crushed us.”
“The board opted to take an operational pause,” adds Rasmussen. “We didn’t have as much fundraising and couldn’t serve the community like we usually do.”

But now the CBSF has been pulling out all of the stops to get back to doing what they do, and then some, with a host of new support programs in place and building a variety of partnerships that stretches valley wide.

“From Gunnison to Gothic,” says Sickels Matlock.

“We’re coming out of the gate strong,” adds Rasmussen. “It’s been a busy 60 days.”

Their mission remains to provide financial assistance to youth and their families in the Gunnison Valley to get out and enjoy the snow. So much so that even after a tough 2020, they’ve successfully awarded close to $30,000 in scholarships to families for their kids to participate in a variety of snow sports activities. Whether it is a three-year-old looking to get on alpine skis, a middle schooler wanting to continue Nordic skiing or a high school athlete pursuing their dreams of the competitive freeskiing or snowboarding, CBSF managed to say yes to scholarships across the board for the 2021-2022 season.

“It’s multidiscipline and no one got turned down,” says Rasmussen.

They’ve revamped their membership program as well that has seen massive success in its early stages with support from local businesses as well as individuals to keep the energy up.

“That’s a big reason why we’re able to do a lot of the things we do,” says Rasmussen.

They’re committed to providing funding for transportation for the Ski for P.E. programs at the local schools as well and are even taking that a step further as they have partnered with Gunnison Parks and Recreation to provide free skiing at Cranor Hill Ski Area outside of Gunnison.

“Five Wednesdays throughout the winter Cranor will be open and free from 1-4 p.m.” explains Rasmussen. “One more way for people to get on snow another day.”

There are even plans in the works to line up free rental equipment at those Cranor Hill ski days.

“Get to Cranor and go have fun,” says Rasmussen. “I think that speaks to our valley-wide concept.”

Continuing in their valley-wide effort, CBSF has the I ♥ Snow program in place this winter. Every participant and/or member will get either a hoody sweatshirt or t-shirt with that phrase on it and the supporting businesses on the back.

“We want to do some community building around people who love snow,” says Rasmussen. “Instill pride and passion in being a snow sports participant. If you’re a kid, on snow we want to make sure you get one of these.”

Looking ahead, the CBSF has ideas cooking for a spring event and want to continue building off this new surge of momentum in the coming years.

“We’re back to being able to do things,” says Sickels Matlock.

“What we did is exciting but we have to have bigger dreams to have a bigger impact,” adds Rasmussen.

The Gear Swap this weekend is just one smaller part of those dreams, and while it may not be the biggest fundraiser for the CBSF, it is another part of what they’re bringing to the enthusiasm for snow sports in the Gunnison valley.

“The swap is an important community piece for us,” says Rasmussen.