WHITEFISH — The Glacier Nordic club in Whitefish is feeling the impact of having little snow so far this season, but that's not stopping them from skiing.
The Glacier Nordic Club is a nonprofit that grooms four trail systems in the Flathead. Two of these trail systems are free and the others require a pass. The club also operates a rental shop and trail at the Whitefish Lake Golf Course but this year they haven’t been able to open the trails at lower elevation due to lack of snow.
“Which definitely impacts our bottom line as a nonprofit. So, most of the money that we generate comes from selling memberships and trail passes and having rentals go out of the shop, and all of that allows us to groom the Big Mountain trail system and Round Meadows and keep those fee free areas. So not being able to have that income come in here does impact how we are doing as a nonprofit to keep those public resources open,” said Tara Clune, shop manager and operations coordinator for Glacier Nordic Club.
Cross country skiing is one of the many outdoor winter recreation activities in Montana and is an important activity for many to stay active in the cold winter months.
“Cross country skiing has a much lower cost of entry than some of the other winter recreation options in the area. So, it's really important to us to be able to keep that cost of entry low and have that resource for people in the area,” said Clune.
The Glacier Nordic Club is working hard to keep cross country skiing active in the Flathead with minimal snow and is still offering rentals, waxing and training for the ski team and youth league. The club is maintaining the Big Mountain trail system and Round Meadow while waiting for lower elevation snow.
“There's no snow down here but there is snow at elevation and the Big Mountain trail system is pretty awesome right now, to be honest. So, we are trying to get some awareness going of that and get some rentals out. There's still some great places to be cross country skiing right now,” said Clune.
The Nordic Club uses funds to keep the trails groomed and the cost of classes low. If you wish to donate to the club, you can do so on their website, glaciernordicclub.org.
