Crested Butte Nordic opens for winter

Snow on the valley floor means
early season trail openings

In a serendipitous moment, Crested Butte Nordic opened its doors for the winter last Saturday—just as town received its first major snowfall of the season.
With average accumulation ranging from eight to 20 inches on the upper valley floor, the Nordic Center was able to pack and groom several trails in town, including the new race course located on the Bench, Pooches Paradise and the trail from the Gronk to Mike’s Mile. The storm also brought the end of grooming at Lily Lake, and the possible relocation of the Nordic Center’s annual Thanksgiving Camp from the Irwin area to the town trails.
“The whole idea behind the new trail and the sanctioned course on the Bench is early-season skiing,” said CB Nordic events and marketing director Drew Holbrook. “Given the option and the right conditions we would love to have our Thanksgiving clinics on the local trails. People are really excited about the new trail, and we’re excited to have skiers out there trying it out.”
The new trail, also known as the homologated course, may not be suited to everyone, however. It’s an advanced course with big climbs, technical aspects and sharp downhill corners.
“More trails will be packed and groomed as conditions allow,” said Holbrook. “In the meantime we want to help people have fun and be safe out on the trails.”
According to Nordic staff, all skiers must have a pass while using the Nordic trails, and with the official opening of the trails, skiers are invited into the Nordic Center at the Big Mine Ice Arena to pick up their passes, get their skis tuned, check on trail openings and grooming reports and check out the new gear from Swix and Craft.
An adult season pass costs $215, student passes and senior passes (ages 16-20 and 60-70) are $180 and seniors older than 70 and kids younger than 16 ski free, but are still required to pick up a pass from the Nordic Center.
Special pricing exists for couples sharing a residence and dogs.
An adult day pass for the Nordic trails is $18.
“We are a community-owned and -operated ski area, and the cost of a pass goes directly to supporting our operations,” said Beth “Hurricane” Carter, head of CB Nordic’s ski patrol. “We ask everyone using the trails to carry a valid pass in a visible location whenever skiing. Patrollers will be stopping those skiers without a visible pass.”
Besides readying the trails and selling passes, the Nordic Center is currently offering a “Hot Box” special that will run through December 14. The hot box is a special ski waxing system conducted by trained staff that uses two eight-hour sessions to slowly heat your skis and allow for the slow penetration of wax into your bases. The system is then finished with a topcoat of high-end wax specific to current conditions.
“It’s like getting 10 coats of wax in one,” said Holbrook.
Youth clinics and programs are also under way, and registration for the Thanksgiving Camp continues to fill. The camp will run November 28-30, and will feature several clinics for intermediate to advanced skiers.
“Running concurrently with Thanksgiving Camp, we will be running two Winter Kick-Off events that will be open to the general public as well as camp participants,” said Holbrook. “On Friday, November 29 we will have a film night at the Center for the Arts, and Saturday will bring our Winter Kick-Off Party and Silent Auction at the Secret Stash.”
The film night will feature a line-up of award-winning outdoor adventure documentaries that showcase surfing and surviving in the Arctic Circle, wingsuit flying, skiing in the Andes, para-skiing and stunt biking. Films will start at 7 p.m. and doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the door. Saturday’s party will include food, drinks and dancing, with a silent auction featuring more than $10,000 in goods and services. Attendees will have the chance to bid on a range of items including a guided bike vacation in Italy, guided skiing, a fishing/raft trip on the Arkansas River, signed sports memorabilia and ski lockers. Tickets are $25 online and $30 at the door.
All proceeds from both the film and the party will benefit CB Nordic.
For more information about Crested Butte Nordic and what’s happening this season, visit www.cbnordic.org.