Since the 1970s, thousands of cross-country skiers and snowshoers have enjoyed the trails at the Kelowna Nordic Ski and Snowshoe Club.
The Kelowna Nordic Ski and Snowshoe Club website says it boasts 75 km of cross-country ski trails, 80 km of snowshoe trails, as well as that dogs are allowed on all snowshoe trails and 23 km of ski trails.
“It’s rustic. Lots of families come out here. It’s awesome and people really enjoy skiing on the trails,” said Kelowna Nordic Ski and Snowshoe Club president John Davina.
It takes a lot of hard work to maintain the trails at the club. The grooming crew fire up the engines of their PistenBully snow groomer around midnight and travel through the cross-country ski trails until 9 a.m., when the first skiers hit the track.
“Our rule is that we have the groomers off the trail for 9 in the morning. It’s a safety issue that skiers and groomers don’t collide,” said Kelowna Nordic Ski and Snowshoe Club grooming coordinator Phil Klotz.
Caring for the trails has only made it even more laborious as the two machines that the club relies on are showing their age — one was purchased in 1999 and the other in 2007. The machine purchased in 1999 is currently broken down.
The last PistenBully standing at the Kelowna Nordic Ski and Snowshoe Club now has to groom more than 340 km of cross-country ski trails every week.
The cost of a new PistenBully snow groomer is hundreds of thousands of dollars, so the club is asking the public for support by launching a fundraiser so that the club can continue maintaining the trails — trails that have been enjoyed by Nordic skiers since the 1970s.
For more information about how to donate visit www.kelownanordic.ca