The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
The Crested Butte Ski Club has developed many a fine ski racer since its official incorporation in 1982. In recent years, however, the club’s role in nurturing young snowsport athletes has changed.
Today, ski training is the milieu of Crested Butte Mountain Resort and includes snowboard and big mountain programs. ”Once the mountain started running the programs, the club, which was still very much alive, needed a new mission,” said interim director Brian Krill. So, the CBSC relinquished its coaching role in favor of a broader focus and re-defined purpose, to make snowsports of all kinds accessible to more kids.
“We have been making this transition to a ‘foundation’ model for several years,” said out-going board president Nancy Osmundson, “and we’re excited to make it official now, with a name change, new leadership and new initiatives.” This year, the Crested Butte Ski Club officially becomes the Crested Butte Snowsports Foundation (CBSF).
“Our goal is to drive the numbers up,” said Krill. They want to increase the quality of coaching, participation and access to kids from a wide range of economic circumstances. “Our number one priority is scholarships, with the goal to maintain or increase those in coming years.”
Paramount to the newly christened CBSF is the Ski for PE Program. “We want to ensure at least that entry-level experience,” said Krill. “We’d like to introduce those kids to all snowsports opportunities in the valley, to get that pipeline flowing.”
Skiing was a cultural mainstay for residents of the Gunnison Valley long before Crested Butte Mountain Resort existed. During the 1930s, the Gunnison Valley Ski Club built and operated “Sagebrush Ski Area” with the help of the WPA (Works Projects Administration), an agency instituted by Franklin Roosevelt as a part of the New Deal. The club later developed and moved to the Pioneer Ski Area, which operated from 1939 to 1952. Pioneer hosted national and collegiate championships. A ski hill and and a ski jump were operated on Rozman Ranch in the 1950s, where Western State College (now WSCU, Western State Colorado University) hosted competitions. CBMR opened in 1961, and Cranor Hill in Gunnison cranked up the tow in 1962.
Waxing nostalgic about the history of skiing in the area, Krill lamented the loss of a national-caliber alpine and Nordic race team once fielded by Western State. “In the history of skiing in this valley, Gunnison was huge.” He noted a vestige of those glory days, the small, but enthusiastic Gunnison Nordic Team coached by Olympians Ingrid Butts and Rebecca Dussault. “We feel the Gunnison Valley can be a destination for snowsports, with the potential to return to its former glory, a major player in the snowsports world.”
For Krill and the Foundation, quality trumps quantity. “We’ll never have the 500 kids participating that Vail or Winter Park have. To me, that’s our advantage. Where we’ll thrive is in producing national and international-caliber athletes out of fewer numbers. Crested Butte is like the Slovakia of snow sports. At one time, of the top 100 USSA (United States Ski Association) racers, we had four kids on that list, all locals.”
Today, there are upwards of 185 developing alpine, freeride and snowboard athletes valley-wide, and more than 60 junior Nordic athletes in the Gunnison valley. The Crested Butte Ski Club has, in recent years, provided scholarships to local student-athletes in alpine skiing, snowboarding and freeride disciplines, and will continue to do so. Now, the foundation plans to extend its funding to include Nordic athletes. In addition to more aggressive support of Ski for P.E., the CBSF will inaugurate a Junior Backcountry Program through Crested Butte Mountain Guides, and a subsidy for tutoring athletes who travel to competitions. A grant process for local programs is in the works, too. “We’re also looking to start a weekend ski bus for kids from Gunnison,” said Krill.
“I’ve been involved with the ski and snowsports programs in this valley for over 16 years,” he said. “The new focus and goal of the Crested Butte Snowsports Foundation will make a major impact on the quality and future of snowsports for local student-athletes. There has never been an organization solely devoted to developing resources for these endeavors, and bringing all snowsports together.” In addition to his role as interim director, Krill is president of Peak Nonprofit Consulting.
The Crested Butte Snowsports Foundation has revamped its website, with a new URL at www.crestedbuttesnowsports.org. Their annual ski swap on November 9 and 10 will add a “Think Snow Party,” and fundraising events are slated throughout the winter season. For information on the foundation, to become a member or supporter, contact Brian Krill, (970) 349-2830 or email director@cbsnowsports.org.
