By James Dickhoff
Special to The SUN
With fresh snow on the mountain peaks recently, the Pagosa Nordic Club is busy preparing for another great cross country ski season.
For the second season in a row, the Pagosa Nordic Club is conducting an early season membership drive, which includes a chance to win a free season ski pass to Wolf Creek Ski area — a $786 value — for all paid memberships received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 1.
Individual club memberships are $25 and family memberships are $40.
Memberships are being accepted now at PagosaNordic.Com until 5 p.m. Nov. 1. Prospective members can also show up at Pagosa Brewing Company after 5 p.m. on Nov. 1 and sign up prior to 5:55 p.m. At 6 p.m. the drawing for the free season pass will take place.
If you win, the Wolf Creek Ski Area will reimburse you if you have already purchased your season pass. The winner will be notified immediately following the drawing and will be posted on the club’s website, PagosaNordic.Com. This is a great opportunity to support the Pagosa Nordic Club with the bonus of a chance to win a free season ski pass. Don’t wait, sign up now.
The Pagosa Nordic Club is a nonprofit, 100-percent volunteer organization with a mission, “To enhance winter recreational opportunities in Pagosa Springs by maintaining accessible groomed winter trails for skate skiing, classic cross country skiing and snowshoeing for all ability levels and to encourage and promote the use of these winter trails through education, marketing and events.”
The club grooms up to six different trails and invests approximately 650-1,300 hours per season of volunteer time for grooming and trail preparation, depending on the frequency and amount of snow received. The operating expenses associated with trail grooming, equipment maintenance and trail supplies can exceed $5,000 per season. The club relies on membership donations, sponsorships and trail use donations to cover these operational expenses and capital equipment investments.
