The first marked nordic ski trail in the Bighorn Mountains was in 1978. It started from Sibley Lake and went up the Dead Horse trail, where it joined a logging road and ended at Black Mountain Road. It was groomed by one of our board members, Curt Schwamb. The original trail was packed intermittently with a Skidoo Alpine pulling a homemade track setter that packed a trail 3’ wide.
In the mid-1980s the Dead Horse Loop, Prune Creek Loop, and Blue Creek Loops were marked and cleared for logging access roads. These turned into great nordic ski trails and grew the trail system significantly. In the mid to late 1980’s the Bighorn National Forest Service constructed the Sibley warming hut, replacing a canvas wall tent that had been used for several seasons. A few years later the outhouse, near the warming hut, was constructed.
Up until 1990, grooming was done by volunteers using their own personal equipment. Not only were the volunteers using their own equipment, but they were also paying for their transportation to and from the mountain and for the machine fuel. The early volunteers truly went above and beyond! In 1991, some of the grooming machines encountered major issues and needed substantial repair. This left the volunteers in a pickle because they wanted to groom the trails, but did not have the equipment. The forest service understood the importance of the trails and took over grooming for two years. During this time the grooming was very intermittent, as several weeks would go by between trail maintenance.
In 1993, private volunteers resumed grooming and trail maintenance of Sibley Lake nordic trails. In November of 2001, Black Mountain Nordic Club, a 501(c)4, was created. The creation of Black Mountain Nordic Club started solely to advocate for a law stating dogs are not allowed at Sibley Lake Nordic Trails from mid-November to the end of March. Black Mountain Nordic Club was able to pass that law in collaboration with the Bighorn National Forest Service and they were able to lobby for an additional trail system called Cutler Hill, which is dog friendly. The club started to get some momentum in the early 2000s and started acquiring its own grooming equipment (i.e. snowmachines, rollers, trailers, etc.).
Things have continued to evolve over time with the organization. On October 27th, 2022 Black Mountain Nordic obtained 501(c)3 status and our name changed to Black Mountain Nordic (omit club). Black Mountain Nordic (BMN) has also started grooming areas around Sheridan to help the Sheridan High School and Sheridan Junior High School nordic ski team practices throughout the week. This is all done on volunteer time with no compensation.
Black Mountain Nordic operates similarly to Black Mountain Nordic Club, but it now has access to more grant and donation opportunities. Black Mountain Nordic has been a very successful organization and has grown tremendously over the last few years. New leadership has allowed BMN to grow as an organization by pursuing new fundraising ideas, obtaining 501(c)3 status, and securing new donors and equipment.
Black Mountain Nordic provides an incredible community service of grooming and maintaining nordic trails at Sibley Lake, Cutler Hill, South Park, and more. All of this is done 100% on volunteer time from BMN’s amazing group of volunteers.