It’s about time for some good news…the future is BRIGHT
We are happy to report that the lighted loop at Bolton is completed! The 1.4km Picnic loop includes some fun downhills, curved flat sections of “hero skiing”, a challenging climb, and a rolling series of gentle hills.
Oh, and it is fully lit by efficient LEDs pumping out 5,500 lumens powerful enough to give you low-grade blindness if you accidentally gaze directly at them.
Certain sections already have new names, such as the A-Climb, which may or may not actually meet FIS standards for climbing height and distance. Or Little Amsterdam, the section approaching the end of the loop that features an intricate canal and culvert maze for drainage, which necessitated about 1 ton of dirt moved by Mike Millar’s lone shovel.
MNC Juniors ascending the “A-Climb” a few weeks ago during some early snow
The entire operation is currently powered by a large generator, which has now been safely encased in some soundproofing material. In subsequent years, the plan is to wire the lights directly in to Bolton’s power grid at the Nordic Center. We could not have done any of this without the help of Nate Laber, Lionel Welch, and the folks at Green Mountain Electrical Supply. When we had first learned of the costs of installing lights, we almost wrote this project off…then Nate realized what we had been thinking of and jumped into action. I think it’s the fastest anything in MNC has ever gone from idea to reality! We also could not have done any of this without the collaboration of Bolton Valley allowing us to modify and bring these trails up to speed.
I went back through emails and it was about September 24th when Nate first reached out with the proposals that suggested GMES would be able to help with the lights and that it could all be possible. And here we are before Thanksgiving with a fully-operational light system…WHOA.
The final steps? Lights turned on, adjusted to perfect angles, errant branches and shrubs removed for maximum light coverage
Early-season, low-snow grooming will be handled by MNC as we work with our new (to us) sled and Tidd Tech groomer and tracksetter to lay out the best trails we can. The work done on Picnic loop, where the lights are, was over 250 volunteer hours of bridge building, brush-cutting, rock removal, delimbing, raking, and grading.
Getting rid of any and all branches
If you want a good idea of just how goes into making a loop “low-snow viable” take a stroll over to the Maple or Spruce trails on the other side of the network and compare the ground cover, overhead cover, general trail width, and flatness of the surfaces. As proven with the special treat of an early-November storm, these trails were in great shape with only about 4-6 inches!
The goal is to take this even further next year, as we explore connections in the excavation world to remove a few key rocks that are too big for human hands/prybars, level out serious grade changes, and plant grass and clover that can be mowed and maintained to create a low and even more snow-friendly ground surface.
We have also done some preliminary walks on Valley Loop, which potentially extends the potential for the loop by a
little under a kilometer. A washout from Hurricane Irene currently makes that trail and out-and-back, but we have identified a route that could loop it back up to Picnic as a nice expansion. We will save that for summer 2021…
For now, we look forward to enjoying solid skiing and grooming at Bolton in a year when we could all use some great outdoor time. We plan to groom with regularity during the week regardless of whether or not organized MNC sessions/gatherings are happening. When the snow is deep enough, the Pisten Bully can make the snow even better, but until then the bridges we installed will mean a snowmobile and groomer can take care of the trails when in previous year they would have laid dormant until midwinter snowpack.
While the future remains uncertain in terms of MNC programming, outdoor activities done solo or with members of your household are not forbidden. As of now (11/16) high school sports sanctioned by the VPA are also still fair game. We hope that even if the loop cannot be enjoyed by our club in a traditional group setting, other users can still get enjoyment and benefit from the work and the progress. Whether this means a single skier training under the lights after work, high school racers able to get on snow with a lit training loop, or our own club able to once again hold practices and sessions in our new home, it all adds up to a great community resource that continues to build the awesome sport in our area!
You can find an updated album of trail work and infrastructure upgrades HERE
You can find photos from our first real ski days on the loop HERE
Bolton…the future is BRIGHT
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