Existing biathlon, Nordic facilities upgraded through community effort
By Ashley Lodato
As the Nordic ski and biathlon seasons near a close, Methow Valley Nordic leadership celebrates a successful run on the newly established stadium area at the McCabe Trails.
Developed through a partnership among a private landowner, the Methow Valley School District, Methow Trails, Methow Valley Nordic and a core of dedicated volunteers from 2007 through 2009, the McCabe Trails snake through 5-plus kilometers of pathways in the hilly shrub-steppe landscape behind Liberty Bell Junior-Senior High School.
The trails are open to public school students as well as for the practices, training and racing sponsored by Methow Valley Nordic. And for much of the past decade, the trails have been used several days each week by young runners or skiers, depending on the season.
Access to the trails was, until recently, through Liberty Bell’s football stadium. During ski races, the stadium area was used for race starts and ends and for short sprint courses, as well as for biathlon competitions (Liberty Bell is the only public high school in the contiguous United States to boast an on-site biathlon range). It was also used as a nice flat place to introduce new skiers to Nordic technique; many a youngster learned to kick and glide in this arena. It was in many ways a complementary multi-season use of a single sports arena.
But if you were a Liberty Bell track runner or soccer player in the spring of 2016, you entered the spring athletic season noticing one major problem with your training grounds: they were blanketed with snow.
A snow-covered track is not all that unusual in April at 48 degrees latitude, and some rugged snow-blowing usually takes care of the issue. But after being groomed for Nordic skiing in a winter with record snowfall, the track and stadium area at Liberty Bell were not just snow-covered — they were encased in a nearly impenetrable layer of compact snow and ice. (Some referred to the stadium as “a glacier.”)
Clearing the track for runners was next to impossible. The process damaged the track and still resulted in a late-season start for spring sports at Liberty Bell. It was time to change the game plan.
A new site
Fortunately, the Methow Valley community is nothing if not adaptable to change, and due to widespread support for student athleticism, love of Nordic sports, and an investment in community partnerships, the Methow Valley School District graciously allowed Methow Valley Nordic to relocate the skiing stadium area (the place where racers start and finish their courses, and where spectating, announcing, warm-ups and concessions are held) to the southwest, removing it from the school’s football and track arena.
Relocating the Nordic stadium meant calling in the excavators, as a new biathlon range and several access trails would need to be constructed. Paul Soodak of Wildcat Ridge Excavating and Darold Brandenburg of Brandenburg Construction answered the call, donating dozens of hours of skilled labor and heavy equipment. When the dust settled, Rob Crandall of Methow Natives took charge of re-seeding the area, the fruits of which should be popping up through the soil once the snow melts in the spring of 2017.
Said Methow Valley Nordic board president Ginny Price, “When we realized that the McCabe Trails stadium and biathlon areas had to be moved to avoid grooming over the track, there was fantastic community support. These trails now include an expanded stadium area and new biathlon range that provide a more accessible venue for both for the Ski Cubs and the Ski Team, and great space for races, games, and spectator viewing.”
The first test of the new stadium area came in early February, when more than 150 skiers showed up for the Race of the Methow, a two-day race for Pacific Northwest skiers. Both the race courses and the stadium served their purposes flawlessly. Methow Valley Nordic Team director Leslie Hall said, “There are several trail options for races there, easy access to many short loops and good views of different portions of the trail. It also works great as a stadium for racing. Less walking for the spectators and no trail crossings and good sound and visuals.”
Methow Valley Biathlon director Betsy Devin-Smith echoes these kudos. “Having a biathlon range at Liberty Bell connected to the McCabe Trails system is fantastic. There is easy access to the range for spectating, parents, and volunteers,” she said.
Devin-Smith notes that there are still some projects remaining at the biathlon range, which she hopes to complete in the spring.
It’s not just competitive athletes who use the McCabe Trails and stadium, however. Nearly 100 Methow Valley Nordic Team skiers meet there at least once a week for classic and skate instruction and training. Every Friday during winter, about 50 little skiers from the third-grade ski program make their way up from the elementary school to explore the trails on classic skis, sometimes sticking to the tracks and other times heading off-trail into the snowy hillsides. Volunteer groomers Jim Kelley, Liberty Bell alum Marc LeDuc, Ken Rice, Tracy Ross and Louis Sukovaty keep the trails in good shape for the skiers.
Ski Cubs program
The newest ski program in the valley, Ski Cubs, might not be possible without the use of the McCabe Trails. A collaboration of Methow Valley Nordic, the Methow Valley Ski School and the Methow Valley School District, the Ski Cubs program offers a low-cost introduction to skiing for first- and second-graders. Every Tuesday afternoon for six weeks, 16 young skiers from Methow Valley Elementary School, the Methow Valley Community School, and the REACH home school program met to learn the joy of skiing, complete with après-ski snacks and warm cider.
Led by long-time Nordic instructor Annie Budiselich, the coaching staff for Ski Cubs included Liberty Bell students Kavi Mitchell and Cassidy Butler, who not only taught students the basics of Nordic skiing, but also provided them with s’mores and participation awards on the final day of the session.
The Ski Cubs program reflects the generosity of the Methow Valley community and its members’ investment in promoting Nordic sports. Don Portman donated the use of skis, boots, and poles for the students; the volunteer groomers maintained a special connector trail so the young skiers could ski out the back door of the elementary school and straight up to the high school; and donations of cash and ski clothing made the program accessible to all Methow Valley families.
All told, the stadium/biathlon upgrade and the programs that happen on it have proven to be mutually beneficial to all the parties involved. Methow Valley School District Activities Director Chase Rost recently wrote, “The new setup works great for us. I hope the ski team found it well-suited also. I’m glad we have this mutual support and purpose.”
