New T-bar at Bottineau Winter Park ready for use this season
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BOTTINEAU -- In January 2023, the Bottineau Winter Park in North Dakota announced its campaign to replace the old T-bar with a new one had been successful, as the park raised $650,000. The new T-bar has been installed on Fox-Trail and is ready for use this upcoming 2023-2024 season.
The Bottineau Winter Park is a nonprofit organization that offers winter outdoor activities, including snowboarding and skiing, at affordable prices. It is governed by a board of nine volunteer community members focusing on providing safe and family friendly outdoor recreation.
The park is located in the Turtle Mountains and has been serving the North Dakota and southern Manitoba area for more than 50 years.
Dan Fett, president of the Board of Bottineau Winter Park, explained a T-bar as a service lift that pulls two skiers at a time to the top of the hill.
"You stay on the surface in your skis or snowboard and it pulls you by hooking on and dragging you up the hill," said Fett.
The fundraiser began back in 2020. Fett said revenue is able to cover regular operating expenses such as labor and utilities. However, investing in capital expenditures such as a new T-bar is challenging. To raise the funds for the project, the board relied on donations and grants from other private organizations, individuals and businesses.
"We sent out letters, made phone calls and made visits to people we know are supporters of the park," Fett said.
The original T-bar was put in place in 1961. Fett is hoping this new one will last another 50 years.
The new T- bar is faster than the old one and will be able to run during high-wind and low-temperature days.
"We did this to improve our guest experience. We want to give them access to more terrain and a shorter lift line," Fett said. "A lot of people grew up here skiing at the Winter Park and remember riding on the old T-bar and now their kids or their grandkids might be interested in skiing, so they want it there for the next generation. It's about giving back from one generation to the next."
Additionally, the park's Adaptive Program gives anyone with physical or cognitive disabilities the opportunity to experience outdoor activities at no cost to the participant or family. In recent years the program has grown to more than 500 annual participants.
Other events at the Bottineau Winter Park include a veterans with disabilities program, military appreciation days, a family friendly New Year party and a learn to ski program for beginning skiers.