
A New Winter Season Takes Shape on the Norpine Trails Our trail base is in reasonable condition, the groomers are waiting for enough snow to begin grooming the trails. Pre-season maintenance was accomplished again this year with the help of the North Star Ski Touring Club and other volunteers, who manually cleared trails of encroaching tree branches and downed trees. A wet fall and soggy trail conditions made mowing the trails difficult but recent freezing cold weather has allowed mowing to be accomplished for this season. Seasonal winds and wet heavy snowfalls always complicate the situation by bringing down additional trees and limbs and brush leaning over the trails that need to be removed. A special effort was made this fall to widen the trails and remove leaners that create problems when heavy wet snow falls. Hopefully, this work will make a difference this winter. New Equipment Storage Building for Norpine If you’ve got big expensive equipment, then you need a place to store it! In 2016, Norpine constructed a new garage in which to store all of our trail equipment in one sturdy and safe place. This was a huge undertaking for our small Norpine Trail Association, both financially and physically! Financially, the project was made possible by a $15,000 8-year loan from Cook County, by a $5,000 grant from the North Star Ski Touring Club (NSSTC), from state funds generated through DNR ski pass sales, contributions by the Lutsen-Tofte Tourist Association (LTTA), Norpine members, and Norpine business sponsors. Site preparation and construction work was done mainly by volunteers. Thanks to everyone that made this building possible, especially Bob Pranis and Pete Harris, who took the lead role for planning and directing this huge project. |
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