Snow is finally here, and Durango Nordic Center’s opening day has arrived.
Nordic skiing lovers can use the center again starting on Friday. Once open, the center will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for as long as there is enough snow to groom the trails. This is the first time in Durango Nordic Ski Club’s 70+ year history that the cross-country skiing and snowshoeing at the Nordic center was delayed this late into the winter season.
Durango Nordic Ski Club was founded in 1952 and incorporated as a nonprofit, 501(c) 3 organization in 1988. The trails Durango Nordic is famous for began as volunteer-maintained trails and are now groomed by Nordic Center staff using some of the best technology available, including the Husky Prinoth Snowcat grooming machine, making the trail experience high quality and unique to our region.
In a normal year, the Nordic Center hosts over 20,000 visitors and offers youth programming to nearly 300 local and regional kids. The Durango Nordic Youth Race Team has the incredible legacy of producing multiple Olympic athletes and is tracking well to have athletes compete at the Junior Nationals in March.
Durango Nordic’s youth programs had a staggered start this year due to no snow at the Nordic Center. Some programs began as dryland back in January, while others made use of snow at Purgatory and Chapman Hill beginning in February.
“If you just saw the smiles on kids' faces during practices, you would never know they couldn’t wait for snow to fall at the Nordic Center,” said executive director Amy Schwarzbach.
The annual Langlauf race event is scheduled to take place on February 28th. This event is the final race in the SW Race Series where the King and Queen of Nordic Skiing in the Southwest will be crowned. The SW Race Series is a partnership with Nordic Clubs from across the southwest region and normally includes six race events. This year’s record-low snow levels meant the cancellation of races that were supposed to take place in Flagstaff and Telluride.
More details on skiing and snowshoeing at Durango Nordic Center, and on the Langlauf event, can be found at durangonordic.org.
