President’s Letter, December, 2010

Our season on the Grand Mesa got off to a great start this year. We began our grooming operations before Halloween and by Thanksgiving we had multiple trails groomed at both Skyway and County Line. On December 11, we hauled up the Pisten Bulley and snowcat grooming began. Once again, we had better and more extensive early season skiing than anywhere else in Colorado, and possibly the lower 48.

We know you’ve been getting out to ski, because our parking lots are filling with vehicles during peak hours. We’re working hard to get the County Line parking lot project funded and moving, but for the time being please help by parking as efficiently as possible to maximize the number of spaces available.

Carpools are Cool
Here’s another good way to help us reduce parking lot crowding (and save gas): carpool to the trailhead. Thanks to board member Christina Stark, we have a carpool board on our website. Check it out: http://www.gmnc.org/member-benefits/carpool-board/

Adult Lessons
Our world-famous ski instructor (and groomer extraordinaire) Al Fournier will be offering ski lessons once again this year. Group lessons dates are Jan 8, 22, and Feb 5. Private lessons available by arrangement. Pre-registration is required. Sign up or get more info by calling Al at 970-872-3868.

GMNC Membership
Even in these tough economic times, our membership rates remain strong. As of early December, we’re slightly ahead of last year in terms of member numbers. Thank you!

Our nominal membership fees do not reflect the true cost of our operations. We have chosen to keep our membership fees low to ensure that skiing remains an activity that’s accessible and affordable to everyone in our community, regardless of their financial resources.

We’re able to make our budget because of the generous contributions of users who have chosen to support us with additional contributions. Here at GMNC, we believe in the carrot, not the stick. If you love our trails and appreciate our grooming and programs, we trust you to give accordingly. Elsewhere in this newsletter, you’ll learn about a few of our members who have stepped up to help us fill the funding gap.

The following members have given $250 or more this year to become Sustaining Members.
Anonymous
Anonymous
Filip Babnic
Steve Bethka
Toni Davison
Keith Dickerson & Teresa Keating
David & Diana Eisner
Kim Haas
Jill & Dave Knutson
Gene & Margo Lorig
Joe Ramey & Ellen Heffernan
Kim Roberts
Winslow Robertson & Anna Lincoln
Art Trevena & Joyce Tanihara

Thanks for your support. Look for me on the trails or contact me at: grandmesanordic@gmail.com to share your ideas and suggestions.

Now go ski!

Christie Aschwanden
GMNC President

President’s Letter, October 2010

As I write this in late October, I have already had one day of fantastic skiing. Thanks to Mother Nature and our grooming crew!

Over the summer, our operations manager, Leslie Brodhead, and her husband left the Grand Valley for the Front Range. We’re grateful for Leslie’s hard work and service to GMNC. Eldora Ski Resort is lucky to have her.

After careful reflection, the personnel committee decided to widen the operations manager job to include working with volunteers and members as well as managing our ops crew. Thanks to a generous $5,000 grant from our local REI store, we were able to offer added compensation for this expanded role.

I’m pleased to introduce Doug Conant as our new operations manager/volunteer coordinator. Doug is a Grand Junction resident and you can read his letter of introduction elsewhere in this newsletter. Send suggestions and feedback on trail conditions to him gmnordic@gmail.com or 970-261-2392. He’s also your point of contact for volunteer opportunities.

The snowshoe trail

We are trying an experiment this year. At the end of last season, we marked and flagged a new trail at Skyway just for snowshoers. The trail leads out to a beautiful overlook and is appropriate for beginners and experts alike. It will not be groomed, just packed down by snowshoers. We encourage snowshoers to give it a try. We hope it will become your trail of choice at Skyway.

Coming soon, new toilets!

Thanks to funding from a GMUG Forest District Title II grant, we’re finally getting new toilets at County Line in 2011. We have applied for additional funds to expand the County Line parking lot and add safety enhancements, and Delta and Mesa Counties as well as Connie Clementson, District Ranger for the Grand Valley Ranger District, have pledged support for these projects. Stay tuned for details.

Our numbers at a glance.

Last season, we received 519 memberships. If we assume that the 238 family memberships represent at least two people, that means that we have at least 757 paid members. Thank you!

Help us stay in operation.

Our membership fees remain a bargain and they do not reflect the true cost of our operations. We depend on additional contributions to make our budget. Our snowcat operations have been funded thus far by a generous grant from the Jean Thomas Lambert Foundation and that money runs out this year, leaving our ops budget with a $11,000 per year deficit. Please consider making an extra contribution to help us make up this gap.

Thanks for your support. I welcome your suggestions for the upcoming season. Contact me at grandmesanordic@gmail.com.

Happy skiing!

Christie Aschwanden

President

2009/2010:

This season marks GMNC’s 20th year. Look for a short history of the GMNC in our next newsletter. We’ll hold a 20 year anniversary event later in the season—stay tuned!

Thanks to you, we posted a significant increase (+$9,228!) in donations last year. Much of the extra money came from generous members joining at the Friend, Glider, Strider or Trail Breaker levels and from kind-hearted donations from users. Assuming the 151 family memberships we received represent at least two people, then the actual number of paying GMNC members last year exceeded 550.  Last year we collected $35,035 in member donations. Can you help us top that? Here’s what we hope to accomplish during this, our 20th year.

GROOMING

In last year’s member survey you told us that grooming is your #1 priority. We’ve responding by hiring a part-time operations manager to oversee grooming ops. We intend to provide guaranteed weekend and holiday grooming in the main season— December through February. If donations rise, we hope to move toward daily grooming in the future. We’ll continue to groom based on snow conditions, but this year we’ll also focus on touch-up grooming on weekends to keep high-use trails in top shape. Stay tuned to the blog for updates.

GRAND MESA NORDIC NEWS BLOG

grandmesanordicnews.blogspot.com

We’ll continue to post real-time grooming reports, trail conditions, race results, news and photos on the blog.

LESSONS

Al Fournier is back by popular demand to offer low-cost group and private lessons to adults.

DONATE ONLINE

Last spring, we established a Google checkout account so you can join GMNC or make a spontaneous (and safe) donation anytime via our google button at gmnc.org or the blog.

SKIS FOR KIDS

Our Skis for Kids program logged nearly 600 skier days last year and we hope to expand on that success with our travel scholarships.

GLIDERS

Our juniors program, the Grand Mesa Gliders expands to three distinct programs this year (see next page).

SOCIAL FUN

Last year we hosted a full moon bonfire party and a spring BBQ at Skyway. Weather permitting, we’ll do it again this year. Save us money on printing and mailing, sign up to receive your newsletter via email by emailing me.

Thanks for your support! Contact me anytime at grandmesanordic@gmail.com

Christie Aschwanden

President, GMNC