Ptarmigan Nordic Ski Club

The Ptarmigan Nordic Ski Club (PNSC) is the official cross country ski club in Fort McMurray. We operate out of the Doug Barnes Cabin in Thickwood and ski in the Birchwood Trails, which is a 35 km trail system in the heart of Fort McMurray. Our Vision: To be a world-class cross country ski club creating a culture of excellence in community sport through participation, skill development and fun. Our Mission: To Support healthy outdoor recreation in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo by promoting cross country skiing as a lifelong sport. the club was established in 1977. The history can be found here https://www.ptarmigannordic.org/history

As per the Ptarmigan Nordic Ski Club's (PNSC) mission, the club helps to promote healthy, outdoor recreation in the city of Fort McMurray through cross-country skiing. In order to do this our strategic priorities include: 1) Financial Responsibility and Sustainability to ensure that our club can accomplish its mission in the long term, accountability for our decisions as a board, and accountability to the municipality for it’s grant money. 2) Providing program options such as affordable youth and adult lessons, youth and adult equipment rental, community outreach including several school programs which have been facilitated by the expanded cabin. 3) Skill and knowledge development within the club is critical in allowing the community to host events such as the Arctic Winter Games. We develop proficient board members, community coaches, certified instructors, officials, and youth and adult athletes. We hosted the Arctic Winter Games Cross Country Skiing fielding an average of 60 volunteers per competition day. 4) Good governance has been a priority for us as we grow in order to ensure the club is run well for the long term. 5) Infrastructure stewardship has always been one of our most public strategic priorities as we maintain and improve the birchwood trails, groom 35kms of ski trails during the winter, maintain and operate the equipment needed to ensure trail grooming, maintain and operate the expanded Doug Barnes Cabin to make affordable meeting space available to community groups, businesses and individuals in a beautiful setting