By Deb Essex
Special to the Turnagain Times
Photo courtesy of Deb Essex
Groomed cross-country trails in Moose Meadows are the result of a newly purchased grooming attachment that was fitted to the Parks and Recreation's snowmachine. This groomer has extremely sharp cutters to help with our icy conditions, a six-foot wide pan, and hydraulics that apply pressure on the snow while grooming.
The cross-country ski trails in Girdwood are outstanding this year! This is an amazing feat considering the low snow levels, and the fact that Alyeska Resort had to reduce their donated grooming efforts.
Not only has the Resort continued to groom when the conditions desperately needed a tiller to break up ice, but the volunteer groomers in this valley have been out there practically everyday.
The newly formed nonprofit, Girdwood Nordic Ski Club (GNSC), has recently purchased a new grooming attachment that was fitted to the Parks and Recreation's snowmachine. This groomer has extremely sharp cutters to help with our icy conditions, a six-foot wide pan, and hydraulics that apply pressure on the snow while grooming.
The GNSC has also created a grooming and trails report online. You can check out the latest grooming log, look at trail reports, and post your own report. Just check out the Web site www.skigirdwood.org.
Trail forums are used all around the world, and with the gaining popularity of Girdwood's trails, an online forum will help incoming visitors and locals check out conditions.
The GNSC isn't the only organization that supports cross country skiing in Girdwood. The Girdwood Trails Committee, Anchorage Parks and Recreation, Four Valleys Community School Nordic Club (FVCSNC), the Anchorage School District and Alyeska Resort all contribute.
Anchorage Park and Recreation supplies the snow machine, and helps obtain funds for fuel within the Girdwood Board of Supervisors (GBOS) budget.
The Girdwood Trails Committee is an advisory committee to the GBOS. They have created an inventory of winter ski and multi-use trails in Girdwood over the past 18 years. The volunteer groomers check-in at Trails Committee meetings and keep the Parks and Recreation committee member informed about snow machine concerns.
Alyeska Resort has groomed with the Pisten Bully about once a month to chew up the icy conditions and smooth out the lumps. Alyeska groomers, Karl and Sadie, maintain Moose Meadows and the upper meadows when needed. Thank you!
The FVCS Nordic Club was created about eight years ago, and teaches cross-country skiing to the elementary-aged children of the Girdwood area. The club, created by Heather Durtschi, has a fantastic group of dedicated, qualified volunteer coaches. Carl Skustad, who is now a certified Nordic coach of the Professional Ski Instructors Association (PSIA), teaches the junior high skiers. We have an and remarkable group of coaches here in Girdwood!
So what does the GNSC offer if there is already a Nordic club? In Brian Burnett's words, “They provide the skiers, we provide the trails.”
The GNSC was established in October 2008 to be the developer and operator of the, originally proposed 20-kilometer trail system in the Girdwood Valley. As cross-country trails have been discussed in Girdwood over the past 30 years, a dedicated operator is necessary for a trail system to become reality. After all other organizations declined interest operating of a Nordic/Multi-use trail system; the GNSC was formed.
The mission statement of our club is: “A nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and maintaining a sustainable Nordic/multi-use trail system in the Girdwood Valley, and encouraging responsible use through advocacy, education, and stewardship.”
This winter, we began our first membership drive. At this time, we have over 150 members—and growing!
The donations from these memberships make up our operating budget. That's right, we are user-based. As budget cuts spread around the Municipality of Anchorage and the state of Alaska, it is not only promising, but sustainable to create a user-based, not a tax-based, program. The funds will mainly be used for grooming costs and trail maintenance.
In 2010, along with basic operational costs, we have reimbursed FVCSNC coaches for their training, paid for snow machine maintenance, purchased new grooming equipment and fuel, and new trail signage. These purchases match both our purpose, and our mission. You can check out our membership forms on our website.
This spring, we will continue our capital campaign to fund building the Nordic/multi-use trail system. The construction of the new 5-kilometer trail is Phase I of our four-year project. We have been awarded several grants, and have matching funds locally and within the Municipality of Anchorage to get the ball rolling. This trail system will join into the existing winter trails, and eventually be used year-round. The more we become involved in winter grooming and operations, the more we can forecast the operating costs of an additional 5-kilometer and then 10-kilometer trail system.
I've been asked, “Why does Girdwood Valley need winter ski only trails?”
Jim Braham has the best answer when he said, “We must think of cross-country skiing as not only one of the most fun and healthy recreational past times available, but also as sport. Our young people are being coached here in Girdwood so that they may successfully participate and compete in high school and collegiate ski programs. We find other developed sports venues in Girdwood for baseball, softball, tennis and soccer and think that a high quality and well maintained ski venue is appropriate. Many visitors to Girdwood, including guests at the Alyeska Resort like having nearby ski trails to skate and classic ski on, and the close proximity of groomed, ski only trails to ski resorts throughout North America is very common.”
I think this point is especially relevant as five of the seven Alaskan Olympians of the 2010 team are Nordic skiers.
For more information about the GNSC and our ongoing projects, or to check out the latest grooming report, please visit www.skigirdwood.org. You can also join our fan club on Facebook.
Thank you, again, to all of the current members. It's because of you and the volunteer groomers that Girdwood trails have never been better!
Deb Essex is the President of the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club.
