Morning Mountain could change hands
By Nelson Daily Editor
By Timothy Schafer, The Nelson Daily
The future of Morning Mountain may lie in the hands of the Nelson Cycling Club.
The Regional District of Central Kootenay holds tenure on the controlled recreation area on the Crown land that used to be the Morning Mountain (Blewett) Ski Hill — and still owns property at the base of the former ski hill — but may be looking to hand that tenure over to the city’s cycling club.
Community Services general manager for the RDCK, Joe Chirico, said the land used for the hill hasn’t been utilized for skiing for many years.
As a result, they have been having “issues” with people trespassing on the property and they have been looking to find someone who would actively manage it.
That someone could be the Nelson Cycling Club, Chirico said.
“The cycling club has expressed an interest in being on the property for recreational purposes,” he said. “Lots of the trails in the Giveout Creek area would finish on the Morning Mountain property.”
Over the last few years, the cycling club has held their annual fall mountain bike event — the Fat Tire Festival — on Morning Mountain, as well as extensively used the mountain biking trails above the hill in the Giveout Creek area.
“They have shown interest as an active group to mange the property, … so we are looking to formalize an agreement with them,” he said. “It’s in the works but not near completion.”
A meeting amongst Area E director Ramona Faust, Area F director Ron Mickel, Chirico and the RDCK’s regional park planner to discuss the options for dispensing and allocating the ski hill funds and signage is the next step in the process.
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