Programs:

News: October 2007

The 2007-2008 ski season is just about to start and we would like to thank you for last year’s success and recap the highlights. First, the organization attracted 409 members for the 2006-2007 season including several new life members, this number was down slightly from past years but is still solid. We would like to extend another hardy Thank You to everyone who renewed their membership, became a new member of MBNA, or donated in any way to the organization this year.

Grooming Report

As many of you noticed due to the constantly full parking lot, the Tie City Trail System received an astounding number of visitors last year. Despite not receiving any ski able snow until December 18, 2006, the trail numbers counter still recorded 300 people a day through the holidays, 100-200 most days after that, and substantially more on weekends. All told, we figure we had about 18,000 skier-days over the course of the season.

Many skiers undoubtedly enjoyed the quality of the trails last year due to the excellent quality of the grooming which can be attributed to the new Piston Bully MBNA bought last summer. This $47,600 machine was purchased with a generous $35,400 grant from the State Trails Program and $12,200 from MBNA. MBNA’s share of the purchase was made possible in large part due to two generous $5,000 donations; one from the Snowman (anonymous donor) and the other from Gem City Bone and Joint. The other $2,200 came from MBNA membership dues and donations. The Piston Bully has many benefits over the old snowmobile and attachment system including a warmer grooming experience thanks to a heated cab, a wider grooming base, the ability to move large amounts of snow around and plow through drifts. These last two benefits were very visible last year in flatter trails, despite, several windy days resulting in huge drifts and an extended ski season, because the machine was able to drag snow from places on the trail where it was abundant to areas where snow was scarce. The machine also, thankfully, was used in keeping the parking lot clear of snow.
The noise and air quality of the trails also improved due to the purchase of a new 2007 Ski Doo 4 cycle snowmobile. The $9,350 machine was purchased with a $7,500 grant from the State Recreational Trails Program and $1,850 from MBNA membership dues and donations. The new snowmobile runs much cleaner and quieter, which significantly improves working conditions for the ski trail groomers primarily due to eliminating that cloud of 2 cycle smoke. Ironically the new machine is more powerful, but still gets better gas mileage than the 2 cycle machines. The MBNA board hopes to raise enough funds to replace our two older 2 cycle snowmobiles with new 4 cycle snowmobiles in the coming year.

MBNA Programs/Races

One group who benefited from the trail system this year was the Wee Ski Program. Wee Ski recorded another successful year attracting as large number of skiers and dedicated volunteers. The kids enjoyed ski lesson for four Sundays in January and February cumulating in The Winter Carnival.
The slightly older kids of the Junior’s Program also experienced a successful season despite a few weeks of less than desirable dry land training due to lack of snow. The program last year was coached by three UW skiers, Erin Jacobson, Katie Turner and Gwynn Barrows. Head coach Erin Jacobson stated “I wished for more snow but overall the season was successful. It was fun watching the kids ski and progress in their skills.”
The Racing Team grew in numbers this year as well. The team was coached by Nat Dyke and held team practices twice a week and raced on Saturdays when possible. The team represented MBNA and Laramie well in races in Wyoming and throughout Colorado.
MBNA’s home race, the Pole Mountain Shuffle, attracted a crowd of forty adults and eight children. It was great fun and everyone had a wonderful time.

Laramie High School

The Laramie High School team experienced their most successful season in years this past season. Thirteen girls and ten boys, including nine freshmen, joined the team this year coached by Becca Watson and Ava Bell. The skiers competed in seven meets including the Laramie home race, a Junior Nationals Super Qualifier on the Soldier Hollow Olympic Course in Utah and State in Lander. Four skiers, Senior Stacy Whitman, Sophomores Rebecca Thorsness and Sam Rubino and Freshman Levin Zars, all placed in the top 20 with Whitman, Thorsness and Zars placing high enough to earn coveted spots on the All-State Team. Coach Becca Watson explained “It was exciting not only to see our skiers achieve successful results but also to see the growth and the depth of the team at it highest point in five years.”

UW Nordic Ski Team

The incredibly successful University of Wyoming Team did not fail to live up to its reputation this year. Coach Rachel Watson explains, “I think it would be safe to say that it was one of the most successful years we’ve had for both the men and the women. We are extremely proud of our athletes.” The UW skiers, organized into three actual teams, elite, competitive and recreational, competed in a 13 races this year including four NCAA races. The season cumulated in USCSA Nationals held close to home in Winter Park, Colorado. Thirteen athletes competed from Wyoming and dominated the field with the women sweeping an overall first place with not much of a challenge, and the men finishing an exceptional and unexpected second place overall. The victories can be attributed in part to Junior Kari Boroff’s win of the 8.5km classic race and the men’s first ever victory of the team relay.

News for this year

The snow has started to fall and it looks like it will be a great winter! We already have a couple of announcements for the season. Be sure to join us for the MBNA Annual meeting to be held on The fall trail work day will be held on Sunday October 27th and there is a lot of work that needs to be done on the trails. We’ll meet in the Tie City Trailhead Parking lot at 9:00am.

The local race schedule for the season is:
December 9 - Fun sprint race
December 14-15 - Laramie High School race
January 13 – Pole Mt. Shuffle
February 16-17 – Cowboy Chase

Be sure to look for other impromptu races online, like the 5@5 as snow conditions permit.

Also be sure to check the website for information on Kids Ski, Juniors, Masters and the Racing team.

Membership Dues Increase

Due to the increasing demands for insurance, grooming, programs etc. the MBNA Board of Directors has decided to increase the membership dues. Effective this year:
• $15 Individual Membership
• $30 Family Membership
• $350 Lifetime Membership

Thanks!

Once again, thank you for your continued support of MBNA. We appreciate you membership and encourage you to remember MBNA is an organization dedicated to serving the local skiing population and it is run almost entirely by volunteers so if you would like to help speak up. Also, even though there is no snow on the ground at Happy Jack, our email still works so if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us year round at medbownordic@gmail.com. We hope to see you up on the trails!