December 19 Tail Update

Biathlon trails have been cleared of all the fallen trees and are currently in the midst of being groomed (check out the 2nd pic!). A big thanks to Bob, Peter, Keegan and Brad this morning for all the help cutting and clearing the trees. We cut over 30 trees! We haven’t cleared tall Timbers or extra round yet but will get to those trails in the coming days.

Please be careful out there still as there are some danger trees on the trails. We will need to get a faller in to clear them.

There is some bad news too from the storm. The lower trails got hit really hard. There are so many trees down and the power line for the night loop also got hit. So we are without night skiing til we can fix that. Please be patient. This storm is going to take some time to clean up from. We are going to close the lower trails until we can safely clear all the trees

Kiosk will be back open again as soon as there is power at Black Jack. Come and buy some 5 punch passes for Christmas gifts for people looking to ski at black jack over the holidays

We're Hiring: Kiosk Attendant

Black Jack Ski Club is seeking a PART-TIME kiosk attendant for the 2026 season.

The position is for 2 days a week on weekdays. Pay is $19/HR + you will receive a complimentary Black Jack Season’s Pass

The position is seasonal and runs from the beginning of January – March 31st snow conditions dependent.

Experience with the sport of cross-country skiing is a benefit but not essential. The position involves pass sales, ski rentals, snow shoveling and other trailhead tasks. Experience with customer service, a cheerful disposition, and ability for self- direction will be advantageous.

Please email a short letter of introduction telling me why you would be great for the job to Patrick at generalmanager@skiblackjack.ca before December 24th, 2025

December 6th - Ski for Free and Kiosk is Open!

Tomorrow is a big day At Black Jack!

To celebrate Rekindle and the start of the holiday season we will be offering Free Skiing at Black Jack tomorrow!

All day pass fees are waived for the day for all visitors so there's no better time to come and check out the trails. We are also going to open the Kiosk at the main trailhead tomorrow. Rentals and advice will be available from 8am-4pm as well as the opportunity to pick up your season's pass.

Keep an eye here and on Nordic Pulse about what trails are going to be groomed. The grooming team is out there working hard trying to get as many trails open for the weekend.

Also this weekend we have our Teck Regional On Snow Camp. Starting tonight at biathlon trailhead at 5pm we will have upwards of 80 people who will be here to ski at Black Jack through to Sunday. There will be kids from all over the Kootenays visiting so be sure to say hi to them when you see them!

AGM Remote Access Login Information

AGM Remote Access Login Information 

The AGM can be accessed via the Zoom link below.

Topic: Black Jack's Zoom Meeting
Time: Dec 3, 2025 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83975055532?pwd=XHao9TkWOqV3xFXDlfKJ6D6nqDFTHG.1

Meeting ID: 839 7505 5532
Passcode: 992992

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One tap mobile
+12532158782,,83975055532#,,,,*992992# US (Tacoma)
+13017158592,,83975055532#,,,,*992992# US (Washington DC)

Join instructions
https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/83975055532/invitations?signature=EwARCYQwZusihK3qFFfRWSLaohjhtLHv1px3bfIqENw

Input from all members is welcome and encouraged.

Early Season Skate Ski Clinics

EARLY SEASON SKATE SKIING CLINICS

Click here to Register

These clinics are run by Instructor Lesley Beatson

Beginners:

Get a good start with proper technique instruction

Sunday December 14 and 21, 2025 9:30 - 10:30 am

Experienced skiers

Increase efficiency on all terrain

Saturday December 13 and 20, 2025 9:30 - 11:00 am

Cost

$85 for Black Jack ski club members

$110 for non-Black Jack ski club members

MINIMUM REGISTRATION

Minimum registration is 8 registrants per clinic.

If minimum registration is not met, the clinic may be cancelled.

Kiosk Opening Delayed until Dec 6th

We have made the decision to delay the opening of the Kiosk until Saturday, December 6th at the earliest. Due to the low snowfall and the fact we are only open at Biathlon Trailhead we will wait til next weekend to open the kiosk for rentals and pass sales. Next Saturday Dec 6th is rekindle in rossland and we will have free skiing for all who would like to participate!

If you do need rentals this week please email Pat at generalmanager@skiblackjack.ca to arrange rentals on a special basis.

Thanks!

WE ARE OPEN!

Ok time for the update you are all waiting for -

We Are Open!

but, and I cannot stress this enough, it is VERY early season conditions. The skiing is marginal at best. while we did get a decent amount of snowfall last night once it got packed and rolled it only amounted to a 5 cm base. That means there is some sporty skiing out there. I would not use your brand new skis , it is for sure rock skiing out there. But some skiing is better than no skiing. Your poles will punch through to ground but the rolled trail set up quite nicely and on my tester ski this morning it skied decently well and my skis did not hit ground. 
so, Yes we are open, but please use caution out there. The conditions are marginal at best and you will have to be quite sure on your skis when you are out there. 
Brad and Keegan rolled and packed iron sights , biathlon loop and George's trail. The biathlon loop got track set but iron sights and George's did not. 
a big thank you to both of them for putting in big hours this morning to get something open and groomed. 

I would recommended classic skiing over skating. I didn't skate this morning out there but I would think there's a chance you may touch ground when pushing off with your skis. 

biathlon parking lot is NOT PLOWED, 4x4 recommended 

I will be out there tomorrow morning starting around 830am to hand out memberships and sell day passes. Remember you must be a member or have a day pass to ski at black jack. 

thanks everyone for you patience and hope to see you out on the trails!

2025 Teck Regional Snow Camp (Kootenay) Notice

See Below for the Camp Notice and The schedule for the Teck Regional Snow Camp Happening at Black Jack from December 5-7.

CAMP NOTICE

SCHEDULE

2025 Annual General Meeting

Black Jack SKi club’s 2025 annual general meeting

This year’s Annual General Meeting will take place on:

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

In the Lily May Room at the Miner’s hall

1765 columbia ave in rossland

Start time: 7pm

Can’t make it in person? Join our zoom link by clicking the link below:

AGM ZOOM LINK

Come and hear a summary of the past season and a preview of what’s to come this year. If you wanted your voice to be heard and have ideas about how to to shape the club this is the opportunity to provide your input.

We are looking for 3 new board members. The positions we are looking to fill are:

• Secretary

  We are looking for someone who is organized, concise and can help keep a meeting on track. This person is the official records organizer, scribe, and general administrative housekeeper. Not included in this is anything financial. Those duties fall to the treasurer who then hires a local accountant for support. There is a great list of duties with some approximate time commitment at this link Secretary Description.

• Race Director

  In this role you are the coordinator between Cross Country BC/ Nordic Canada and Black Jack when planning Black Jack's race schedule. Black Jack always hosts the Loppet towards the end of the season and usually one Kootenay Cup and is in a good position to host other larger events such as BC Winter Games qualifiers, Westerns (formally Noram's) or Track Attack championships depending on the year. The race Director communicates the dates and possible races with Black Jack's Race Organizing Committee, to which your involvement  is optional. For example, the former race director was sometimes heavily involved in organizing races and other races she was away and didn't partake at all. Hosting races comes at a financial cost, so in the role you will apply for grants specific to race hosting like  the BC Hosting Grant for larger events, and reporting race budgets, revenues (through fees), and costs to the board.  Finally, the Race Director is also responsible for organizing Officiating courses every couple of years.

• Trails Director

  The trail position is now somewhat less operational since paying for a full time GM, but there are important duties that help the club run smoothly between the seasons. These include coordinating annual trail maintenance (brushing), planning and developing new trails including proposals, grants, contracting, volunteer coordination. All the while you would be maintaining a close working relationship with our GM through the winter and summer to support trail operation/maintenance decision making. Of the three opportunities, this one is a bit more scalable, and you will often find other members pitching/taking on “pet” projects (eg. Trail maintenance, development projects, granting opportunities sign updates etc..), in which case you would be a key contact to help ensure their efforts stay in line with our club plans.

  If you are interested or would like more information on these positions and what the volunteer roles entail please email our GM, Patrick, at generalmanager@skiblackjack.ca for more information

  We will also be voting on the proposed constitution change:

  Proposition: to remove Section 9.1 of the CONSTITUTION OF THE BLACK JACK SKI CLUB SOCIETY (Club) which states "The Association must maintain a minimum balance of $30,000." See Club constitution and proposed amendment in red strikeout at link below. 
  
  Definition: The constitution as currently written, requires the Club to maintain a balance of at least $30,000.00 ($30K) in unrestricted funds under a consideration to protect Club solvency. 
  
  Present Condition: During a grant application process, the group(s) assigning funds will often review Club finances to determine viability, and will evaluate the balance of restricted versus unrestricted funds in Club accounts. If during this period of financial review the Club maintains a robust balance sheet of unrestricted funds it provides an impression (albeit false) that these unrestricted funds could/should be allocated towards the project in question, thus weakening our grant application. While being constitutionally bound to keep a balance sheet of $30K in unrestricted funds was initially designed to protect Club solvency, it negatively impacts the Club in two ways; (1) misleading narrative for third parties reviewing Club finances, and (2) restricting access to those funds when needed by the Club.
  
  Recommendation: Removal of section (9.1) will afford greater financial discretion for the Board of Directors and Treasurer to execute the fiscal management of the Club, without diminishing overall financial governance, while better meeting immediate financial needs.
  
  This proposed amendment will be voted on at the AGM.  
  

• Black Jack’s Constitution and Bylaws are posted on our Archive page.

• Miniutes from the board meetings are also accessible from our Archive page.

• Black Jack Ski Club is a society under the BC Societies Act. The board must have at least 3 and no more than 11 members (Part 5 of the Bylaws). Required positions on the board are President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary, with the remaining board members as Directors at Large.

• All voting members in attendance at the AGM are entitled to vote for the board members.

We Hope to see everyone there!

Full Moon Toonie Skis are Back for 2026!

Full Moon Toonie Skis are Back for this winter! If you don’t have a season’s pass at Black Jack here is your opportunity to come ski for only $2!

The Dates for this season’s Toonie skis are:

• Wednesday December 3rd

• Saturday January 3rd

• Sunday February 1st

• Tuesday March 3rd

Keep an eye on our social media for more information!

BC Winter Games Trials

Trials to determine the athletes who will represent Zone 1 (Kootenays) at the 2026 BC Winter Games.

Only open to athletes born in 2011 and 2012.

BIATHLON - SATURDay January 3, 2026

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CROSS COUNTRY - Sunday January 4, 2026

Classic Technique, Interval Start

Cross country course maps will be posted here.

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Visit tourismrossland.com for local accommodation options.

Volunteer for Winter Games

VOLUNTEER FOR THE 2026 BC Winter Games

Coming to Rossland, Trail & Castlegar!

February 25 – March 1, 2026

The BC Winter Games is an incredible event with over 1700 athletes, coaches, and officials coming to the region! We need 1,600 volunteers to help make it a success.

There are volunteer opportunities in every area of the Games. When you register to volunteer, you choose the area where you’d like to help.

Cross country skiing and biathlon will be at Black Jack.

Please consider volunteering for these events!

Black Jack Ski Swap - November 8th

Mark Your Calendars! Black Jack’s Ski Swap Will Happen on Nov 8th from 11:30-2:30 pm. Looking for some new (to you) gear or looking to sell you old gear? Come to the ski swap and help support our Skier Development Program.

Sales are CASH ONLY

Friday Nov 7th

Gear Drop off: 5-7pm

Saturday Nov 8th

Gear Drop off: 9-11am

Ski swap: 11:30-1:30pm

Unsold Gear and Cash Pickup: 2-3pm

Our Skier Development Group will be hosting Ski Waxing by Donation. Come get your skis waxed and ready for the season!

There will also be a cash BBQ with proceeds going to the Race Team.

We will be offering membership sales in person for the first time ever! Stop by the trailhead cabin if you still need to purchase your membership for the season.

Hope to see Everyone out There

Golden City Grind Results

A big congrats to all who participated in this year’s Golden City Grind!

Results for this years event can be found here:

Results

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Black Jack Clothing now available for purchase!

Click the link below if you would like to Purchase Black Jack Clothing!

Purchase Clothing here

Fundraiser For Black Jack’s Rémi Drolet and his Olympic Dream!

Click Here To Donate!

Rémi Drolet has finished his degree at Harvard and is now training full time to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy!

Rémi has been focusing on this Olympic year ever since he attended the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he was one of the very youngest cross country ski athletes. For example, in the final race he was the 4th overall U23 skier! Now 3 years later and with school out of the way, he is dedicating all his time to qualifying for 2026. He is training full-time in Vermont with a small group of elite athletes, including Olympic champion Jessie Diggins. Let’s help him out so that he can focus on proper training, nutrition, and rest, instead of how to pay for it all.

Unlike most of the other Canadian skiers that have a legitimate chance of qualifying, Rémi receives zero monthly funding from the government. (He was not a Sport Canada carded athlete last year or for this upcoming year.)

Including spring, summer, and fall training, camps, early-season races, and cost of living leading up to the Canadian Olympic Trials in December, he will be at least $25,000 out-of-pocket to pursue his dream.

Rémi continues to be a huge inspiration for our ski community, from young Jackrabbits, to up & coming racers, to volunteer coaches & officials putting in so much time. In turn, let’s show the wider community that we will support an athlete that aspires to the very highest level. Rémi, we have your back!

Thank you for your support.

Job Posting: Fall Trail Crew

Thanks to the Columbia Basin Trust Job Experience Grant, Black Jack is again hiring a Trail Maintenance Crew for this fall. An outhouse needs to be built and there is lots of brushing and mowing to be done.

We are currently hiring for one Trail Crew Member.

Applicants can send their resume and a short Cover Letter to Patrick Monette at generalmanager@skiblackjack.ca

A more thorough job description can be found here: Trail Member Job Posting

April 15 - Lower trails no longer being maintained, Biathlon open til May 15

Trail Update for April 15th.

The ski season is not over yet - We will continue to groom the Biathlon Trails until May 15th!

Yesterday evening was our last snowcat groom of the year and the last day for grooming on the lower trails. Tomorrow we will begin the annual maintenance on the snowcats so that they will be ready to go for next season. While we won't be grooming with the snowcats anymore we are far from being done with grooming. Isaac, with the help of volunteer groomers, will continue to maintain the Biathlon network with snowmobile and ginzu until May 15th (unless summer really kicks into overdrive and we get a fast melt).

Remember, membership and day pass fees still apply while we are grooming. Hope to see you all out there

March 31 - Trail Update

Trail Update!

As the temps get warmer and we get into spring skiing conditions, we will continue to update everyone on what the trails are looking like. The trails are still in incredible shape for this time of year! Some creeks are starting to open up on the lower trails so please ski with caution out there. We are going to close striders and adventure trail starting today, the tree well melt out and debris on the trail is too much to ski safely. Aquaduct is still holding on but the tree debris down on the trail is starting to accumulate as the snow melts and I would hazard to guess that we only have a couple days before the debris makes it too unsafe to ski.

All other trails are in great shape! And a reminder to everyone that we are going to continue to groom until winter is over. We will see how the weather plays out but I would imagine we have a couple good weeks left on the lower trails before we move the grooming up to only at biathlon.

And today (March 31) is the last day the Kiosk is open for the year. Trail fees still apply so please pay by dropping cash in the dropbox or using the QR code or website to pay with card.

Last day the Kiosk is open for the season - March 31

Well its that time of the year. Monday March 31 will be the last day the Kiosk is open for the season. If you are looking for rentals you have a few days left to make it happen. Kiosk will be open from 9-2pm daily until March 31st and will be closed for the season starting April 1.

After March 31st, day pass fees still apply, pay either by cash in the drop box or by card through the QR code at the trailhead. We still have loads of snow and will most likely be skiing all the way through April. Hope to see you out there!

If you are coming to Black Jack and looking for rentals after March 31 please email us at info@skiblackjack.ca a couple days before and we are happy to come and get people rentals on an as needed basis.