Crested Butte Nordic (CB Nordic) plays a vital role in helping the community stay active and connected. Every winter, the organization grooms 55 kilometers of trail, roughly 20% of which are free to the public. Year-round, they host keystone community events showcasing this valley’s endurance and eccentricity.  

‘Skiing in a Postcard’

When dirt roads close with snow, the upper valley seems to shrink in size. The trails groomed by CB Nordic provide a stellar way to get from Riverbend all the way to Gunsight Bridge. Trail variety means everyone can find a route to fit their mood.

“Some days you want to go out there and hit it a little harder and look for hills. Other days you just want to go out there with your 80-year-old father and see the enjoyment on their face, too,” said Richard Smith, active with CB Nordic since the ’80s.

Participants rave over the grooming quality as well as the regular updates to the online grooming maps—ensuring skiers know what’s fresh every day.

“You feel like you’re just skiing in a postcard,” said Greg Adams, a CB Nordic skier and volunteer. “All of the trails, they’re beautifully groomed, beautifully set.” 

The Nordic trails provide a crucial alternative to downhill resort skiing. Many residents decompress on the groomed trails, especially during busy times like Winter and Spring Breaks. 

“Nordic skiing is quieter,” Adams said. “There are other people out there, but there are fewer other people.”

Trails along Town Ranch mean even people without a CB Nordic pass can enjoy the professional setting and grooming. Town dogs and their owners undeniably make great use of the “Poop Loop.”

A welcoming space for all

CB Nordic staff work with a range of organizations promoting access to and enjoyment of Nordic skiing.

This will be the organization’s eighth season partnering with Inmigrantes Unidos de Gunnison. The program runs multiple Saturdays throughout the season, offering no-cost transportation, passes, equipment and instruction. 

“It started with trying to bring in communities that wouldn’t normally find themselves Nordic skiing,” Executive Director Hedda Peterson said. About 70 people participated last year.

The model works. It takes never-evers and develops them into self-sufficient skinny skiers.

Equipped with lessons from that program, CB Nordic expanded outreach to English-Language Learner groups, Western Colorado University’s Multicultural Center, CB State of Mind and Gunnison Mentors.

That’s all in addition to the annual welcoming of 300 local students in Ski for PE programs—a significant logistical undertaking.

Plus, the Nordic Center offers free community clinics so people may try the sport before investing in gear or lessons.  

Such efforts create a pipeline of demand and talent, visible in the strong enrollment of the junior program—one of the most affordable in the Mountain West.  

“It’s a successful organization that has used its resources to keep expanding, not in monetary terms, but more in outreach,” Nordic skier Richard Smith said.  “They want to make sure that every kid has the opportunity to go out there and enjoy our trails and be outside and healthy.”

Community Events as Cultural Anchors

CB Nordic’s community ties go well beyond cross-country skiing. The center runs events all year—some of them having nothing at all to do with snow. The events draw hundreds of participants and volunteers spanning all ages—from retired individuals running bib check to youth working backcountry aid stations. The effort takes 1,400 volunteer hours, according to Peterson.

“A lot of folks who retired to the valley or even moved here to work remotely are seeing these events as an opportunity to socialize, meet new people and get involved,” Hedda said.

Every July, the team hosts the aptly named Grin and Bear It races for runners and mountain bikers who enjoy a good thigh burn up to Green Lake.

Come Labor Day weekend, staff and volunteers pull off the Grand Traverse trail run and bike races. The team organizes two massive point-to-point races that start within 24 hours of each other, one starting from Crested Butte and the other from Aspen.

And of course, each winter: town welcomes costumed cross-country skiers of all ages for Alley Loop, backcountry skiers push to make cutoff times in the Gothic Mountain Tour and the Grand Traverse Ski starting gun goes off at midnight.  

“I don’t think there’s still a lot that happens here that brings together so many different sectors of the community for a collective achievement,” Peterson said.