About The Last Chance Nordic Ski Club
The Last Chance Nordic Ski Club is Helena’s hometown cross country ski club. Membership is open to cross-country skiers of all abilities, and we encourage all skiers to enjoy the Club’s grooming on the MacDonald Pass and Bill Roberts trails. Named for Helena’s famous gold-bearing Last Chance Gulch, LCNSC began in the 1980s as an informal group of local Nordic skiers, whose duties included overseeing the MacDonald Pass Nordic ski trails. In 1996 we incorporated under the laws of the State of Montana as a public benefit corporation for the purpose of encouraging and supporting cross country skiing in Helena, MT.
What We Do
We groom about fourteen kilometers of trails on MacDonald Pass; these trails unfold just east of the Continental Divide, about fifteen miles west of Helena. When we’re able to do so, we also groom about four kilometers of track on the in-town Bill Roberts Golf Course. We groom Mac Pass and the Golf Course, when snow-depth permits, for both classic and skate skiing. Skiers of all abilities are welcome on either trail, and skiing is free.
To defray grooming and other expenses the Club welcomes skiers to become a Last Chance Nordic Ski Club member or make donations. There’s a lot of work done year-around, behind the scenes, to make the MacDonald Pass trails and the Golf Course tracks skiable. Besides grooming four to six days a week, there are snow-machines, rollers, and ginzu’s that need to be purchased and maintained; trails to be kept free of trees, branches, stones, and grass; signs to be erected; maps to be updated; this website to be maintained; restrooms to be maintained and cleaned; grants to be sought and procured; parking lots to be plowed out; and many other large and small but vital tasks. About half the grooming is paid, all other work is done by club members volunteering.
To foster and encourage Nordic skiing in the next generation, our Youth Skiers Program offers instructional classes for kids, and we provide affordable season ski rental packages for kids.
Nordic skiing teaches you grit, determination, and the joy of pushing through tough conditions to reach your goals.
– Jesse Diggins (American Olympic gold medalist)
Email List
To help members communicate about regional races, exchange trail condition reports, share rides, sell XC ski gear, and so forth, LCNSC moderates a Groups.io email list. Club members are automatically signed up when they join or renew their membership.
Alternatively, individuals can sign up for the listserv.
Join the listservOrganization and Governance
The Last Chance Nordic Ski Club is a Montana non-profit corporation and a federal 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation. The Club’s Taxpayer Identification Number is 80-0022948.
All the Club’s efforts are funded by membership contributions, grants, and donations. LCNSC has a volunteer board of directors and volunteer program coordinators, and others giving of their time and talents. We’re governed by several documents, including Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. All club meetings are open, subject to Montana law. The Club has no paid officers or year-around employees, but does pay part-time groomers to groom generally four days a week.
Board Officers and Members
Board meetings are open to all. Meeting times, agendas, and minutes are posted on this website.
- President – Laura Cunningham
- Vice President – Pete Behrends
- Secretary – Valerie Kurth
- Treasurer – Cliff Sheets
- Member of the Board – Luke Osborne
- Member of the Board – Tom Flowers
- Member of the Board – Larry Dolan
- Member of the Board – Robert Ray
Coordinators
- Communications – Friedrich Drees & Erna Jensen
- Equipment Maintenance – Don Harris
- Fund Raising – Vacant
- Golf Course – Dave Dalthorp
- Grants – Cliff Sheets & Laura Cunningham
- Grooming – Larry Dolan
- MacDonald Pass Trail Maintenance – Mark Hall
- Special Events – Erna Jensen
- Youth Skiers Program – James Defoe, Cori Erickson and Kelsey Grant-Jenkins
Partners and Supporters
- The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest provides invaluable support and guidance, as well as a conditional use permit for grooming and maintaining the Mac Pass trails.
- We work closely with the City of Helena Parks Department so, when there’s sufficient snow in town, we can groom classic and skate ski tracks on Bill Roberts Golf Course.
- The Club is grateful to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks for their support. For example, the new “sweet-smelling toilet” planted in 2013, was made possible with the support of both the Helena National Forest and Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
- We’re grateful for The Base Camp’s long-time cooperation, providing affordable skis, boots, and poles to kids.
- The Club is appreciative of its many local businesses and private donors for their assistance in purchasing grooming machines and apparatus.
Contact
We welcome your comments and suggestions. We also want to hear from you if you’d like to volunteer or donate to help support cross country skiing near Helena.
