Hello Skiers, I hope that you enjoyed “the other seasons” and, like me, are looking forward to the return of Winter, Snow, and the Ski Season! We’ve been working on trail maintenance and improvement all summer, hosted quite a few campers, and performed maintenance & repairs to our grooming equipment. ‘Gotta be ready for that Halloween snowstorm!
Looking Back On Last Season
- The first groomable snowfall came on 4-5 December and we groomed all trails for Skating on 5 December. We opened on the 6th, set a Classic track on the 6K on the 7th, and set track on the 8K on the 9th.
- After a mid-December warm-up, we re-opened on Dec 21st for Christmas skiing, weathered a New Year’s Day warm-up, then enjoyed good snow and cold temps until mid-March, when we had to go to Spring Hours as conditions indicated.
- While Classic track-setting ended in late March,we were able to groom all trails for Skating until April 5th, and did our last grooming of the 6K on April 19th. Not a bad season.
- We had a very successful (and well-received) Snowflake KidSki program in January-February. Over 100 participants! Thank you Emily & Team.
- Phase-1 of our new LED lighting was installed on a section of the 6K trail last November, and provided a 1.6 Km lighted loop.
- Our membership grew to more than 1,000 skiers for the first time.
Looking Ahead To The Coming Season
- Once we get groomable snow, the chalet will be open everyday, from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Trails open at 7:00 a.m. Early skiers may sign in when they finish skiing. The trail lights will be on until 9 p.m.
- We have contracted for Phase-2 of our Trail Lighting project! Installation will begin later in October. The new 1.4 Km segment will begin where Phase 1 turned at the 2nd KidSki Cut-thru, go further down the trail to the Biathlon Cut-thru, then follow the trail through the Biathlon Bypass and all the way back to join the completed Lighted trail, at the 2nd KidSki Cut-thru. This will give us 3 Km of lighted trail.
- Building on the success and lessons learned from KidSki 2022, we will be offering KidSki 2023, beginning Sunday January 8, 2023. Information and applications will be posted separate from this update.
2021/22 SEASON MEMBERSHIPS AND PASSES
DNSC Memberships/Snowflake Season Passes for the 2022/23 season will be available for download at skiduluth.com, and also available at the Chalet beginning October 17th.
Inflation and gas prices have pushed our operating costs up quite a bit, but we are keeping our membership prices the same. We’ll see how that works.
“Early Bird” pricing (a substantial discount) will be available through November. Early Bird priced applications must be received by December 3rd!
Download, read, and fill out the form, mail it with your payment, or drop it in the payment box at the chalet, and you are a 2022/23 member/season pass holder!
Your membership is effective as soon as you mail your payment. Members are required to sign-in at the chalet before skiing, and that’s all. Memberships will be entered into our database for communications and to verify eligibility for other Member benefits. We don’t share info outside of Snowflake/DNSC.
Remember that your membership is good until 31 October 2023, and includes 2 nights of camping during the off-season, a “Member KidSki price”, and a discount for renting the chalet for private events (Grad Parties?) during the Summer.
SNOWFLAKE SKI SWAP
The Snowflake Ski Swap is Back!
The Ski Swap will take place on Saturday, November 12th. Doors will open at 9 a.m. and the sale ends at Noon.
Sellers may drop-off equipment on Friday, November 11th between 4-8 p.m.
Sellers may pick-up unsold gear after the event, between Noon – 1 p.m.
SNOWFLAKE KIDSKI* 2023
Snowflake KidSki*2023 will begin on Sunday, January 8th and continue for six Sundays, until February 12th, with a make-up date of February 19th. Registration forms will be available for download on November 1st, and also available at the chalet. More information will be available when the registration forms are posted on November 1st. The deadline for registration will be December 15th.
Trail Lighting and Equipment Fund
Maintaining and improving our trails costs money. Phase-1 of the Trail Lighting Project cost $21,000. Phase-2 will cost $26,000, thanks to the current economy.
Our newest Ginzu Trail Groomer was $8,000, and keeping our 2 old Skidoos running gets costlier each season. We’ll need to replace at least one of them soon, and utility sleds are pricey ( our 2019 Arctic Cat was $15,000). Our grooming frequency and quality depends upon the sleds.
Snowflake is the operating entity of Duluth Nordic Ski Club, Inc, and we are a 501-c-3 organization. Gifts to DNSC-Snowflake are tax deductible ! I have opened a Trail Lighting and Equipment account at the bank, so that we may reserve funds for capital expenses. I want to thank Relf Eyecare Specialists, (Doctors Lisa Graham and Todd Brittain), for making a contribution of $4,000 to kick-off this fund. That’s a very generous gift but every dollar, large or small, will help. I invite anyone wishing to make a contribution to this fund to contact me, anytime.
WE’RE LOOKING FOR GROOMERS
Jim, John, and I love to groom, but we want to add a few more folks to the line-up.
Must be willing to groom at night. No experience necessary, you’ll be wingman with one of us. It’s very fun and satisfying, and you get paid. I promise that this season I will actually train and use those who volunteer…Last season, the snow and grooming conditions early-on did not encourage sending “newbies” out.
I must THANK the folks who, again, worked so hard during the off-season:
The Trail Crew: Ben Fena and Owen Fischer
The Chief of Trails: Jim Wood
Our ATV and Sled Maintainer: Mark Maciewski
Our Snowplow Guy: Randy Baumgardner
Our Webmaster/Digital Communicator: Emma Watson
Our KidSki Coordinators: Emily Ranta, Dan, Rachel, and Cailyn
Rick’s Tree Service, who turn our woodpile into chips and won’t take any money!
And, Thank You! Your membership and support keep Snowflake going!
Think Snow*!
John Graham, Snowflake Manager