Bolton Venue Update

There’s a series of albums by Australian artist Tkay Maidza titled Last Year Was Weird Vol. 1 and Last Year Was Weird Vol. 2. I thought it was funny and unfortunate that the titles referred to last year being weird, when clearly it’s 2020 that is the strange one. That is, until I learned that the albums are planned as a trilogy, with Last Year Was Weird Vol 3 still to come. How could this one NOT come out in 2021?

Who knows what else 2020 will give us to reflect on when the calendar changes. But in the present, we have to focus on factors we can control and opportunities we can provide. If you haven’t already checked out our Winter Update 1.0 it might be worth giving that a look for some context. This update will try to clarify aspects of that release, as well as bringing everyone up to speed on where/how certain things have progressed.

When the Range was accessible, planning and sharing program details was easy: BKL, Juniors, and Masters all trained there on Tuesday and Thursdays. On other days of the week, our various training pages (BKL Blog, Junior Training Doc, Masters Training Doc) let people know when and where to be.

The Range is off the table indefinitely, and although this is not the first time we’ve all heard this, it’s the first time we have really delved into other opportunities to take more control of our own fate. We had such a great turnout for our first official Bolton Trail Work day and members have been putting in time there ever since, whether solo or in small groups. Before delving into programming, it’s pertinent to give an update on Bolton first:

Bolton Venue Update

If you are just catching up, we are making big changes at Bolton. The trail known as “Picnic” is undergoing renovations to  become a lighted 1.4km loop with low-snow grooming capability and access.

• We have a large generator, 50 LED lights, special wiring/cables, and hardware either in shipment or stored in a warehouse awaiting setup. Thank you so much to Green Mountain Electrical Supply and MNC Masters skier Nate Laber! The 1.4km loop will be brightly lit by 5500 lumen floodlights strung along the route.
• Tons of MNC folks came out to trim back branches, do some heavy logging, and begin drainage and rock upgrades. Thanks! There will be more details on how to keep helping out below.
• 3 of 4 bridges have been built so far over key river/drainage areas. These bridges are critical because they allow a snowmobile and groomer to access the trail even in low-snow conditions. Previously, the trails had only been groomed when enough snow fell to FILL IN these ditches and streams! You can check out a bridge-build recap here.
• We are finalizing the purchase of a snowmobile and Tidd Tech groomer and tracksetter. This will allow US to choose when and how to groom. That’s right, we have the ability to set our own classic tracks 🙂

How you can help out

We had a few inquiries about general work at Bolton. That’s super cool, and we are excited to make this loop the most perfect 1.4km you could ever ski on. If you’re just in the area looking to contribute, or if you’re looking for an after-work or after-school project, there will always be job to do on this loop. A few key ones:

• Pulling out any rocks you see on the trail…big, small, buried or loose. The fewer rocks, the fewer scratches in our ski bases come winter.
• Digging out drainage ditches. Most all of the trail has drainage dug in alongside the trail, and most of it is filled with leaves, branches, and rocks in weird places. Anything we can do to make a path for water helps.
• Raking, leaf-blowing, and mowing. When all the leaves have fallen, we will do a “final rake” to clear everything off. But every bit helps, even some leaf removal in advance.