BETHEL — The Bethel Village Ski Center will be operated by a team of non-profit groups this winter.

Mahoosuc Pathways and Bethel Outing Club will open the cross-country ski center on Friday, Dec. 23. The center, which is based at the Bethel Inn Resort, will offer skiing, snowshoeing and fat biking on the inn’s scenic trails. 

“The groups saw the ski center as a chance to save a critical recreational amenity for the community, and there is huge excitement among all of the partners,” said Gabe Perkins, executive director of Mahoosuc Pathways, which will orchestrate the collaboration.

Perkins stated that the initiative is part of a broader vision to expand to a network of year-round, multi-use trails encompassing venues such as Sunday River and Mt. Abram.

The Bethel Outing Club will provide programming, including ski lessons, clinics, special events and presentations for locals and visitors. Major events include the New England Nordic Ski Association Women’s Ski Day on Jan. 22, Flying Moose Classic on Feb. 4 and the New England Bill Koch League Ski Festival March 3 through 5.

“The Bethel area has built a reputation in the Northeast for hosting successful Nordic events,” said BOC board member Carlie Casey. Casey, a veteran technical delegate for the International Ski Federation, cited the 2012 USCSA National Collegiate Championships held at the Bethel Inn and organized by former Nordic Center director Mike Cooper.

BOC members recently tested snow guns that BOC and Gould Academy purchased two years ago, which increases reliability of adequate snow cover for events and for recreational skiers.

BOC and dozens of volunteer shovelers came out in force at the eleventh hour when the regionwide U16 championships was moved to Bethel in March 2016, thanks to a heroic volunteer effort during a year with scarce natural snow.

FMI: www.mahoosucpathways.org, 207-200-8240, info@mahoosucpathways.org.

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