For everyone who loves to ski & snowshoe (is there anyone who doesn’t?), it is no secret that the snowfall around Kelowna has been unusually low this season. In fact, this season marks the lowest snowfall on record in Telemark’s 48 year history.
Despite this unprecedented challenge, our skilled grooming team has been able to work with what little snow we have to provide our members and guests with good quality tracks on our trails as long as we possibly could.
After the last week of warm weather and lack of snow the trails have deteriorated to the point where we are no longer able to provide a safe and enjoyable xc skiing & snowshoeing experience for our members and guests.
We have therefore made the difficult decision to close the Telemark Nordic Centre at the end of the day on Sunday Feb 8. If winter returns and we receive some cooler weather and snow we will be ready to reopen as we are able. After Sunday we will be closed until further notice and skiing & snowshoeing are no longer recommended.
With day pass revenues at historical lows due to the lack of snow, our Club is also facing a significant operating deficit. As a not-for-profit society operating on Crown Land, there are limitations to the fees we can charge and surplus revenues we can carry forward to offset low revenue years. To this end, the Board is exploring alternative revenue-generating and fundraising opportunities to sustain our high-quality facilities and programming.
Telemark Nordic is a strong community. It will take all of us working together to strengthen our resilience as a Club for current and future generations of Nordic skiers and snowshoers. Over the next few weeks, the Board will provide our members with updates re: operational contingencies and risk mitigation plans to address these unprecedented challenges.”