An Open Letter to Pagosa’s Nordic Skiing Community
The Nordic / cross country ski grooming effort in the Pagosa area has seen better times.
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Norm, riding, and Dick Cole on the West Fork. The grooming sled puts up a rooster tail of ice. |
Dick Cole and I have, for a dozen or so years, groomed Nordic ski trails as a purely volunteer effort. Although there has been some support over the years for gas and oil we have paid for most of the effort out-of-pocket. Considering the costs of snow machines and homebuilt grooming sleds it is not an inexpensive endeavor. Snow machines are well above $5,000.00 and I am on my second one. Maintenance can also be expensive; I once cracked a $1200.00 crankshaft while grinding along trying to pull down particularly deep snow. We all feel the higher price of gasoline. When grooming snow, miles per gallon are in the single digits. Add that to the cost of moving vehicles up the pass etc. etc. etc., it does add up! It has become one of those things that seems to have always been done so it is taken for granted.
In recent years Dick and I have moved into, more or less, retirement status with that fateful, more or less, fixed income. We both had cancer a few years ago and that also slowed the grooming work but we are back and ready to go.
This year we are required by the Forest Service to have insurance in order to groom. The Pagosa Springs Area Chamber of Commerce has stepped up and will pay $500.00 toward the cost. The policy cost $541.00. Now it may seem to be a small thing but it gets to the place that it kind of becomes “the point of the thing.” We are looking for a bit of help.
1. Is there anyone out there who might like to donate a few dollars?
2. Is anyone interested in helping form a cross country ski club?
There is every indication the trails are popular with locals and visitors alike. Every time we make a trail skiers flock to it. We pass and sometimes stop and talk to skiers constantly who are all smiley and full of compliments.
Back in the day an unofficial club had some great times on the trails. From simple gatherings of skiers to organized Nordic parties where there was a lot of fun and bonding. There were events like “full moon ski-ins” on the West Fork. We had parties on the West Fork with bonfires, coffee, hot cocoa, finger treats and BIG crowds. A club can be fun and insure groomed trails will continue.
For now we will groom this year but a bit of help would be appreciated.
970-264-4542
For more reading about the highs and lows of grooming see:
http://pagosa.com/adventure/winter/w_mountainwon.htm
http://pagosa.com/adventure/winter/w_nordicskiing.htm
http://pagosa.com/adventure/winter/w_granny.htm
