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Grand County Nordic areas set to open trails

Will Bublitz
wbublitz@grandcountynews.com
Grand County, Colorado
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With several inches of new snow this week, Grand County’s Nordic ski areas are beginning to open their trails.

On Thursday, the Nordic Center of Snow Mountain Ranch-YMCA of the Rockies reported that overnight it had gotten about eight inches of fresh snow.

“We’re rolling and packing our trails right now,” said Jeff Schmidt, the Nordic Center Director. “We’ll now be able to offer an abundance of great skiing.”



For the past couple of weeks, Snow Mountain had between 5 and 15 kilometers of its Blue Ridge Trail open. However, it was limited skiing and only for experienced skiers.

“But with all of this great new snow, we expect to have about 50 percent of our 100 kilometers of trails open and groomed by this weekend,” Schmidt said. “Our packed and tracked trails will be able to accommodate all levels and abilities of skiers, so bring the family.”



Snow Mountain Nordic Center is announcing free skiing for local residents on Wednesdays this season. Free children’s skiing programs on Fridays and Sundays will begin in January. An expanded trail for skiers with their dogs is also offered.

For more information, call the Nordic Center at 887-2152, ext. 4173.

Also opening its trails is the Grand Lake Touring Center. By Saturday, it plans to open about 10 kilometers of its 35K trail system. A snowshoe trail will also be open.

“We’re getting a lot of great snow,” said Touring Center Director Janice Hobbs. “To celebrate our opening day, we are discounting our trail passes on Saturday. Adults are $5 and children ages 16 and under are free. Come on out and enjoy the skiing.”

The Grand Lake Touring Center will be hosting a Full Moon Ski on Friday, Dec. 12, and a free “Locals Day” on Sunday, Dec. 14.

“Come out and ski for free that Sunday,” Hobbs said. “We’ll also be providing free chili while it lasts.”

For more information about the Grand Lake Touring Center, call 627-8008.

Devil’s Thumb Cross Country Center near Tabernash is also planning to open part of its trail system this weekend.

“We are rolling and packing trails today,” said Director Igor Guziur. “It’s hard to predict how many kilometers we’ll have open by Saturday, but I expect between 10 and 20Ks.”

Devil’s Thumb has a trail system of more than 100 kilometers. This season, the ranch will be offering Snowcat rides, a sledding hill and stone-grinding ski preparations.

For more information, call Devil’s Thumb at 726-8231.


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