Outback Ski Shack changes hands

Glacier Cyclery is ready to trade in their stock of NordicTrack exercise equipment for an actual snow-covered Nordic track.

The Whitefish bike shop’s long-time owners Ron and Jan Brunk announced recently they bought the Outback Ski Shack at the Glacier Nordic Center. The business move is an effort to spice up their typical winter routine of selling stationary exercise equipment. As it turns out, Ron said, selling treadmills is about as thrilling as running on one.

“It was hard to get excited about the different shades of gray when the new treadmill models came in,” he joked. “Stationary equipment is one of the most boring things you can imagine selling. I guess we’re just not fitness people.”

The shop will phase out their stock of stationary equipment and put their energy into the tiny shack at Whitefish Lake Golf Course. The shack’s former owner, Laurel Nugent, closed the deal with the Brunks on Friday and the shop will officially open for business this week. The shack — originally “out back” of Grouse Mountain Lodge — has been in business for more than 20 years.

The Brunks have been thinking about moving away from exercise equipment and into the Nordic scene for a number of years. They say their customer base of cyclists in the spring, summer and fall are the same people who use the Nordic Center in the winter. The shack will be open from November to March, which is the “dead season” for the bike shop. They don’t sell as many bikes around Christmas as many think, Ron explained.

Including the Outback Ski Shack in their business model will also help keep their small staff of full-time employees busy.

“We wanted to keep our good staff employed in the winter,” Jan said. “That’s a big reason for doing this.”

Clay Lundgren will lead the transition into the shack using his previous experience in Nordic sales gained after working at the Skirack in Burlington, Vermont. The shop will carry Atomic, Fischer and Salomon gear, among other brands. They will offer rentals and Nugent will continue to instruct ski lessons out of the shack as an employee.

“We want Laurel to keep teaching lessons,” Ron said. “Our goal is that she stays with us for a long time.”

The shack will be open from 9 – 6 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday, and noon - 6 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday. Call 862-9498 for more information.