Mount Shasta Nordic Ski Organization 2017-2018 Season Report
Nordic Partners U.S. Forest Service, Mt. Shasta Ski Park Business Sponsors MSNSO received a total of $9,350 from the following business sponsors: Timberworks, The Fifth Season, Saturn Construction, Berryvale Grocery, Owens Pharmacy, Shasta Mountain Guides, Native Grounds Nursery, and International Park Advisors. In-Kind Sponsors Mt. Shasta Ski Park, Merlo Family Vineyards, JEDI, Dragon Graphics, Pusher, AGT, Guardian Storage, and dozens of other local businesses that donated to our special events and fundraisers. Membership/Season Passes MSNSO welcomed a total of 64 Memberships for the 2017-2018 Season. These included 28 Adult Season Passes, 23 Senior Season Passes, two Junior Season Passes, and 11 Family Season Passes. New Executive Director In July of 2017, the MSNSO Board of Directors hired Jenna Kane as the new Executive Director. Jenna signed a 9 month contract for September 1, 2017 through May 31, 2018.
Nordic Center Operations The Nordic Center Yurt-Raising Party was held on Saturday, December 2, 2017. The 13 member crew consisted of four staff, two board members, and seven volunteers. Mt. Shasta Ski Park staff had delivered the rental trailer, wood trailer, and storage container the week before. The Nordic Center was open for a total of 26 days for the 2017-2018 Season. We received adequate snowfall to open on January 27th, 2018. Due to lack of consistent snowfall, the Nordic Center was forced to close for most of February. We were able to reopen on Saturday, March 3rd and enjoyed winter conditions throughout the rest of March. The Nordic Center s final day of the season was Sunday, April 1st. Grooming This year s grooming duties were shared between staff members and our Board of Directors President Tim Loughlin. We used our Prinoth BR 180 SnowCat Groomer for a total of 36.6 hours, burning 185 gallons of fuel. Mt. Shasta Ski Park generously donated 150 gallons of fuel to support the Nordic Center, in addition to maintenance and storage of the SnowCat. The remainder of our grooming was done with the Arctic Cat 7000 XT GS BearCat snowmobile, with our Yellowstone groomer attachment. We burned approximately 29 gallons of fuel with the Arctic Cat.
Nordic Center Programs School Program Despite the lack of snowfall this past season, the Nordic Center was able to host 9 different schools from all over Siskiyou County and one group from Shasta County, totaling 250 students participating in the program. Shasta Disabled Sports Shasta Disabled Sports visited the Nordic Center on Sunday, February 4th. SDS receives complementary use of trails, rental gear and access to Nordic Center adaptive gear including sit-skis and walkers. Seniors & Veterans Free Ski & Snowshoe Day Held on Sunday, March 18th, this program allows Seniors and Veterans to utilize complementary rental gear and trail passes to the Nordic Center trail system. Events & Fundraising Giving Tuesday We partnered again with Friends of the Mt. Shasta Avalanche Center to throw a Giving Tuesday party, and for the second year in a row Shasta Mountain Guides donated use of their storefront for the party. Refreshments
were donated by Berryvale Grocery, Merlo Family Vineyards, and Sierra Nevada Brewing. MSNSO surpassed its Giving Tuesday fundraising goal of $5000. There were 73 unique donors to MSNSO, contributing to a total of $7,311.86 raised. Thank you! Sundown Strings & Skis Sundown Strings & Skis was our season kickoff/pray for snow party. We held the event at the Nordic Center on December 29th, 2017. Local band Wind Fields played around a bonfire and beer was donated from Sierra Nevada, Deschutes Brewery, and wine from Merlo Family Vineyards. Approximately 50 people attended the event, including community members, out of town visitors, and children. The first event of its kind held at the Nordic Center, the success of the party demonstrated the possibility of holding similar events in the future. Backcountry Film Festival MSNSO hosted the Winter Wildlands Alliance 13th Annual Backcountry Film Festival on January 13, 2018. We experimented with a new venue this year, the Mt. Shasta Community Building. With the capacity to provide more seating than past years Film Festivals, approximately 180 tickets were sold. Sisson Elementary
donated use of their projector screen, Sam Lanier donated and set up the sound system, and MSHS Alpine Racers helped run the raffle. Mt. Shasta Supermarket and Berryvale Grocery donated food and volunteers brought dishes to share. The Backcountry Film Festival raised $4,487 for MSNSO. Wine & Dine for Valentine s The second year running for this event, Wine & Dine was a great success. Over 70 volunteers, donors, and sponsors contributed to this elegant evening of music, wine and food. The event had three local musical acts: Rick Garrett, Blue Relish, and Wind Fields. The event raised $4,650 for MSNSO. Grants In the Fall of 2017 we made multiple purchases through a generous grant we received from the Marin Community Foundation during the previous season. We were able to purchase top of the line Patagonia jackets and pants to outfit our employees. The uniforms were embroidered by Dragon Graphics, one of our in-kind sponsors. We were also able to purchase much needed repair parts for our Prinoth groomer, totaling $4,031. In addition, we received the Salomon gear replacement order made in Spring 2017, totaling $4,863. The gear replacement was also funded by the Marin Community Foundation grant.
We are still researching the ideal boot drying system for the yurt, which will be paid for through Marin Community Foundation and Mountain Runners grant funding. This year MSNSO was granted $5,000 from the Marin Community Foundation for general operational support. We also received $3,000 in grant funding from Dignity Health, to provide travel reimbursement to the school groups participating in the Nordic Center School Program. Mt. Shasta Nordic is grateful to all of its business sponsors, members, donors, volunteers and the greater Northern California and Mt. Shasta area community for a successful 2017-2018 season. We look forward to another fun season in 2018-2019 and we hope you ll join us in praying for snow!