Nordic club trails see increased use

With the snow melting to give way to

spring, the North Shore Nordic Club is wrapping up its season in

Bigfork and Lakeside after a year that saw a spike in the use of

its trails.

The Bigfork Community Nordic Center

trails closed for the season last week, but trails in the Blacktail

Mountain area are still open, as long as the snow lasts. The North

Shore Nordic Club, a volunteer-based organization, maintains and

grooms the trails for nordic skiing and snowshoeing in both

areas.

Usage of the club’s trails increased

this year, in part because of the length of the season but also

because the club had faced challenges, particularly in the use of

its Bigfork trails, over the prior two years, according to

President Dave Hadden. An equipment failure ended the Bigfork

season prematurely last season. The year before that a timber sale

in the area limited access.

“We’re quite pleased with the season,”

Hadden said. “It was an early season and a long season.”

The nordic trails season usually begins

around Christmas, but this year’s season began before that due to

early snow.

Several volunteers made the season

possible, Hadden said. In Bigfork, Neil Navratil was integral to

maintaining and grooming the trails. For Blacktail, the club hired

a groomer, Steve Muller, who also had the assistance of volunteers

Don Bauder and Steve Rosso.

The $15,000-worth of new equipment

purchased for the Bigfork trails made maintenance easier this

year.

“It’s a thousand times better than what

we had there in the past,” Hadden said. “Top quality equipment has

been really key to our success.”

The North Shore Nordic Club largely

operates on donations from skiers and community supporters. “It’s

really expensive to maintain and replace equipment,” Hadden said.

“We’re always on the edge of being fiscally sound.”

The club could use a boost from

end-of-season donations to help with equipment that needs repairs

as well as a summer renovation project planned for the Bigfork

trails, he said.

The organization has a goal of raising

another $3,000 before all the trails close.

“We’d really appreciate donations from

people who have used the trails,” Hadden said. “We don’t require

people to pay to use them. We do rely on their generosity to

maintain quality trails.”

The club faced a setback in March when

its trail-grooming snowmobile at Blacktail Mountain was damaged by

gunshot vandalism. Information is still being sought on those

responsible. The repairs will cost more than $1,000.

“We regret that it happened,” Hadden

said. “We’re trying to cope with that, but it means we’re not where

we thought we’d be (financially) at the end of the season.”

The club is also looking to spend

between $5,000 and $6,000 on a renovation project in Bigfork this

summer. In addition to financial support for the project, the club

will also need volunteer assistance for a few days of hands-on

trail work. The club will contract with the Flathead Valley

Community College heavy equipment class for the bulk of the work,

which will focus on grading and leveling as well as opening up

another two or three loops for the trail. That will extend the

total length of trails for Bigfork from 7 kilometers to upwards of

16.

“Next year, with community support,

we’ll have double the trails,” Hadden said. “It will be a huge

improvement for the (Bigfork) trails.”

For more information or to volunteer,

call Hadden at 837-0783. People can make a donation by mailing

checks to the North Shore Nordic Club, 9236 Montana Highway 35,

Bigfork, MT 59911.

Residents can check the club’s website,

http://northshorenordic.org, for current trail conditions and

closures.