With the support of more than 300 donors, including local businesses, an anonymous benefactor, and significant grants, Nelson Nordic Ski Club has purchased a new snowcat to groom its cross-country ski trail systems at Apex, Busk, and Clearwater, just south of Nelson.

“We’ve been overwhelmed by the tremendous community support for our campaign which we ran from late January to mid-February, we stopped on Valentine’s day,” said Frederick. ‘We raised over $30,000 from more than 300 donors and helping us manage what we see to be a community resource for years to come.”

The PistenBully 100 snowcat purchased by the Club boasts better grooming performance, improved reliability, operator ease of use, and is more environmentally friendly than the Club’s older machines, offering both better fuel economy and lower emissions with its 250 horsepower Tier IV engine.

“We use the machine to groom our 30-km trail network for both classic skiing and skate skiing,” said General Manager Jaime Frederick. “Skate skiers are loving it, the classic skiers are loving the trapezoidal, deep, luscious tracks that it’s laying down. It’s the cat of our dreams.”

According to Frederick, the Club owes a debt of gratitude to past-president Louise Poole and current board director Katie Weir, both of whom were instrumental in securing grants from various organizations, including regional and municipal governments.