Finally a great snow to start the Nordic season! From bare ground to a beautiful blanket of snow in just days! So start the season right with honing your Nordic skiing technique… The next two weekends are your chance for FREE NORDIC LESSONS Saturday at the Devils Thumb Tommelfest and Sunday Dec 21 at Grand Nordic’s Free Community Lessons at Snow Mountain Ranch.
To start the winter season right, raise your glogg (old-fashioned Swedish spiced wine) Saturday Dec13 at the Devil’s Thumb Ranch Nordic Ski Tradition called Tommelfest, a day of complimentary Nordic ski clinics and Viking-themed, Nordic events! Register online at https://www.devilsthumbranch.com/event/tommelfest-2025/ for Complimentary classic/skate lessons with the CU ski team coaches and Devil’s Thumb ski instructors, open to all. Nordic trail pass and ski equipment rental come with a fee. The packed schedule for the day starts at 8:30 -10 am with Registration, rentals, and trail passes available at Zach’s Mercantile for the 10-1130am Skate or Classic Ski Clinic. Find special Tommelfest Winter Retail Savings on Skis, boots, clothing, and so much more — up to 50% off! Check out the Heck’s Tommelfest Buffet on Heck’s Patio and watch or join in on the afternoon Norwegian Keg Toss or the Stein Holding Contest! From 12 – 3 PM, Fischer offers Skis/Boots Demo. Don’t forget to register at Zach’s for the afternoon Complimentary Skate or Classic Ski Clinic from 2–3:30 pm. Call the Activity Center 970-726-8231 with questions.
On Sunday Dec 21 at Snow Mountain Ranch Nordic Center, Grand Nordic is offering the first of two free lessons to their members and the public. Registration for morning classes is 830-930am upstairs at the Nordic Center with afternoon registration starting at 12noon. Morning lessons start at 10am with Classic Beginner, 1015am Classic Intermediate and Advanced classes, 1030am Skate beginner and 1045am Skate Intermediate and Advanced classes with maximum class size approximately 10 people. The afternoon lessons start at 1p with the same Classic offerings and 130p with the same Skate options. Kids ages 5-10 never-ever, classic and skate are also available both morning and afternoon. If the morning classes are full, there is often availability in the afternoon or waitlist yourself. Don’t miss your class – get a discount code for a 20% discount on lodge stays at Snow Mountain Ranch. These lessons are free to the public but Grand Nordic members also receive free trail pass and/or equipment rental if needed.
For more details and/or to sign up for Grand Nordic, go to www.grandnordic.org or call/text 970-887-0547. The second set of Grand Nordic free lessons is scheduled for Sunday Jan 25 also at Snow Mountain Ranch with the same offerings available. These lessons have become so popular that the signups often fill up – reserve your spot early.
The Grand Nordic free lessons are offered 2-3 times a year and have been a tradition for over 30 years. Instructors come from a pool of the best skiers in the area from Grand Nordic instructors, Winter Park Comp Center instructors, Colorado Nordic Masters, and coaches from the various school teams as well as local Nordic centers. Lessons are a fabulous way to get on track with your Nordic skiing or just learn a new sport. Grand Nordic is the county-wide information center for All Things Nordic in Grand County with two websites available – club www.grandnordic.org and nation-wide More K’s More Days information site at www.skigrandnordic.org.
