initiatives

 

China Ridge Trails located near beautiful princeton, BC

2010/2011 Upgrades

Other 2008/2009 jobs completed



  1. 1.Members attended level 1 NCCP coaching course

  2. •In preparation for the grade 4/5 ski program members attended the NCCP classroom training in Penticton and the on snow training at Nichol Plate Nordic Centre.


  4. 2.Ski Playground Built

  5. •Ed Ford did a beautiful job contouring and Ted Coyne came through with delivery of top soil on short notice

  6. •Thanks to a Heritage Canada grant to host a China Ridge Torch Relay and Games Day funds were available to help construct a ski playground for the Feb 7th celebrations, youth ski activities and for use during the Vermilion Forks grade 4/5 ski program


  8. 3.china ridge torch relay and games day grant successful

  9. •$9000 awarded by Heritage Canada to host event on Feb 7, 2010 to help celebrate the passing of the Olympic Torch through Princeton

  10. •Events planned to expand on prior years Spirit of BC Days


  12. 4.constitution revised to encompass all self propelled recreation activities

  13. •Reflecting China Ridge’s recent expansion into mountain bike trail building the club amended its constitution


  15. 5.Grooming equipment wired and tuned up

  16. •Thanks to Bob the equipment is ready to go.

  17. •Grooming to begin when the snow flies


  1. 6. Dog Run completed


  1. 7. China Ridge Trails Highway Signs

  2. •Tour with Ministry of Transport to review all highway signs to China RIdge

  3. •Recommendations received and implemented


  1. 8. Parker Trail

  2. •On Oct 27- a rainy work party was held. Brave members attended and worked in the inclement weather to construct a portion of the trail


  1. 9. Oct 7 - TRU Tour


  1. 10. Oct 6 - Meetings with ATV/Snowmobile groups & Corvid


  1. 11. Rail trail Work parties

  2. •Thanks to members and a great showing large work parties accomplished a lot of trail building in a few days


  1. 12. Post harvest inspections

  2. •Completed Sept 17


  1. 13. Tour of Trail System and recent improvements

  2. •Thompson Rivers University, School of Tourism

  3. •Town of Princeton

  4. •RDOS Representative

  5. •Media


  1. 14. Hiring consultants for motorized trail

  2. • Corvid


  1. 15. trail builder arrives

  2. •  Duncan MacKenzie

  3. •  Chris & Trenna billet


  1. 16. NTC Grant awarded $53,000.00


  1. 17. Referrals for bike trails

  2. •  Ed Abels

  3. •  Other users


  1. 18. New groomer arrives


  1. 19. NTC Grant Application & executive meetings


  1. 20.  Improvements Begin

  2. •  Cabin Upgrades completed

  3. •  New Rueben Jones shelter constructed

  4. •  New trail head parking lot built


  1. 21.  Award of Capital Improvements grant

  2. •   Awarded $53,000.00


  1. 22. Capitol Improvement grant Application with Ed Abels


  1. 23. trails meeting

  2. •  May 26 - John Hawkins & Ed Abels @ Longhouse


  1. 24. RDOS $3700 Grant Received

  2. •  Purchased second groomer


  1. 25. March 25 - VFCF meeting with Mark Marton


  1. 26. Bus Load of Vancouver Skiers Arrive

  2. •Kelley and Rod host Vancouver skiers at China Ridge showing them our trail system. Mapping needs were identified.


  1. 27. Jan 17-  Trinity Western at China Ridge trails

  2. •12 snowshoers had a great visit thanks to Kevin

  3. •Kevin Thompson acted as host & tour guide


  1. 28. Emergency kits purchased for shelters

  2. •Purchased, compiled and distributed by Bosomworth’s

  3. •Funded by RDOS


  1. 29. USIB crews working on trail, bucking, piling & burning


  1. 30. Longhouse Report Completed

  2. •Grant reporting requirements were fulfilled by issuing the longhouse report: a summary of the longhouse construction process and costs.


  1. 31. Spirit of BC Day Hosted

  2. •Over 200 local residents attended the Spirit of BC day at China Ridge and enjoyed skiing, snowshoeing, tobogganing, luging, and refreshments.


  1. 32. New snow machine purchased

  2. •CRCCSA’s Direct Access grant reconsideration for $6,000 was thankfully approved and the club was able to purchase a second snow machine for trail maintenance.


  4. 33. Youth Recreation Program Established thanks to a 2010 Legacies Grant for $2500.00

  5. •After years without youth lessons at China Ridge, Princeton Recreation and CRCCSA joined forces to offer a youth program to 20 eager youngsters. Efforts are underway to bring a school based program to Princeton.


  1. 34. Slovenian’s visit

  2. •January saw China Ridge host to the Slovenian Nordic Olympic Ski team. Despite lost equipment and luggage the team had a great visit. Dec 28th was a work party on the trails in preparation for their arrival.


  1. 35. Donor Appreciation event held

  2. •In January donors were invited to a donor appreciation event at the Longhouse. Despite frigid temperatures many of CRCCSA’s generous donors braved the elements to view the new facility. Donors were greeted by warm smiles and a hot bowl of chili.


  4. 36.  Search & Rescue gifted toboggan: Dec 20


  1. 37. Longhouse Open to Public December 2008:

  2. •The Longhouse is complete with the exception of the stove installation on the shed side. Great Job Rod & Eric.

  3. •November 17th was our first AGM in the Longhouse. Meeting by headlamp/candles was a hoot. Thanks to everyone who attended.

  4. •November 1st was a work party to paint and chop/stack wood in the new woodshed. Thanks to all the volunteers.

  5. •Pat Parsons & Tip Anderson, under the supervision of Bob Coyne, ripped the lumber.

  6. •Pat Hayes dug the building site with the Town’s backhoe and it turned out to be wet topsoil. We required gravel to be hauled in.

  7. •Bob has spent hours tracking down gravel and dump trucks. Argo Road Maintenance has come to our rescue again.

  8. •Kevin Kunderman hauled gravel on his own time and Argo has generously donated gravel and all equipment costs.


  10. 38.Kiosk Construction

  11. •Pat Hayes has built a sturdy kiosk for our signs beside the Longhouse. We won’t have to worry about snow load.


  13. 39. WOODSHED COMPLETE

  14. •Carter has finished the construction of the woodshed and the work party on November 2nd filled it with wood for our new stove.


  16. 40.Chili Bake off at the Fest of Ale

  17. •Four dedicated members participated in the Princeton Fest of Ales September 13th. The group received an honourable mention (the spirit award) and did a fabulous job of getting the word out about China Ridge’s involvement in hosting the Slovenian Cross-Country Ski team in 2009 & 2010.


  19. 41. trail work completed in the spring


  21. 42.Pat Hayes took the Town Backhoe up to the Ridge and dug new holes for the outhouses and did some other machine work. 


  23. 43. Ed Abels (MOTSA) has been very generous to the club and has had a contractor complete the following work:

  24. •New outhouses installed at the cabin and Rueben Jones.

  25. •Outhouses are now lifted and the door will open freely during snow season.

  26. •Outhouses have been painted and properly vented.

  27. •Two kiosks have been installed along the trails where they were needed.

  28. 44. Webpage — New webpage uploaded


  1. 45. CRCCSA Colour Brochures

  2. •Brochures are at the printers. They are incredible; many thanks to the Town of Princeton for sponsorship!


  1. 46. Project 2010 and Longhouse press releases

China Ridge Cross-Country Ski Association (CRCCSA) located in Princeton BC is pleased to announce that it is beginning construction of its new Longhouse. This facility will consist of a two-bay storage shed and a warming room. The facility will be 30-feet by 44-feet with a separate wood storage shed. The CRCCSA Longhouse will be located near the China Ridge trailhead on crown land adjacent to the existing ski parking lot.


This project has been made possible because of the phenomenal community support the association has received. Because of the overwhelming support from Princeton and community we were able to apply for and subsequently be awarded matching funds from the BC Government under the Major Capital Projects Grants.


We have named our new facility China Ridge Longhouse. The name refers to a large shared village house named after the many longhouses that have existed in societies all around the world dating back to Neolithic times in Europe around 5,000 - 7,000 years ago. We liked the fact that Longhouse refers to a community village house, often a dual-purpose structure. This seemed to capture the essence of what China Ridge hoped this facility would become for Princeton.      

   

Construction of the China Ridge Longhouse is the first step in CRCCSA’s plans to increase accessibility and usage of the China Ridge recreation area. It is our goal to attract more users of all ages to the China Ridge trails.


China Ridge hopes to attract more families for tobogganing and skiing; have local user groups such as girl guides and boy scouts utilize the facility and trails; host public events on the trails; and host cross-country ski events.


The next step of CRCCSA’s plan to increase usage of the trails includes applying for Grant in Aid funds in an attempt to have a community recreation program up and running by the winter of 2008. 

The Association would like to extend a special thanks to The Town of Princeton, Town Council, Town administrator Patrick Robins; The Recreation Department; The Upper Similkameen Indian Band; and The RDOS for their past and continued support of CRCCSA’s initiatives.


Thank you to our generous sponsors — without you this project would not have been possible.


BC Government

Princeton District Community Forest Corporation

Regional District Okanagan Similkameen (For their support and for obtaining the Union of British Columbia Municipalities Community Tourism Grant “UBCM”)

Weyerhaeuser Corporation

The Town of Princeton

The Upper Similkameen Indian Band

Princeton Rotary Club

Ka-Bar Resources Ltd

Princeton Glass Company

Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts (MOTSA)

All-Purpose Roofing

Ty French Heating

Argo Road Maintenance

Don Darel

Princeton Builders Mart - Irly Building Centre

Lori Thomas & the Princeton Chamber of Commerce

CRCCSA Volunteers

China Ridge, Princeton bc Longhouse Project Press Release

Rod & Bob stake out the building site

Town of Princeton employee, Pat Hayes, excavates the Longhouse building site

Photos courtesy Dierra Maynard

A proud group of China Ridge Cross-Country Ski Association volunteers met at the trailhead to their ski trails to see the culmination of a lot of hard work move from a dream to reality. Kelley Cook, Sharon Anderson, Bob Coyne, and Rod Dixon assembled on the site where the new and long-awaited Longhouse will soon be built. “We went from a group of proposal writers last week to the Longhouse Committee,” said Kelley jokingly. “Things have moved very quickly all of a sudden.” Kelley approached Sharon Anderson to write a proposal the beginning of November 2007 and by the deadline at month’s end, “Sharon pulled it off under pressure. She did a fantastic job on the proposal. It was very impressive and, obviously, did its job.”


The name China Ridge Longhouse comes from its historical meaning as a large shared village house. It seemed to embrace the intentions by the China Ridge Club for the Longhouse as a warming shed, emergency shelter, storage facility, and meeting place. Long-term, the association hopes the Longhouse will bring more people to their trails. “We want the area more multi-use,” said Coyne. “We are an old club with a new face. The club is looking to get some young people involved and we are looking for initiatives to try and get more people in general involved. We want to keep the momentum going.”


“The CRCCSA wants the area known for more than cross-country skiing,” added Sharon. The association hopes to attract more families and more local clubs to their trails for tobogganing and skiing, as well as other events including cross-country skiing competitions.


“It is very exciting,” stated Cook, “and the local support has been phenomenal.” The Town of Princeton and the surrounding community have donated money, time, and materials to aid in the project. “It is because of the local support that we were able to apply for and were awarded the government funding,” said Anderson. Shirley Campbell, Rod Dixon, the Town of Princeton, Town Council, Town Administrator Patrick Robins, the Recreation Department, the Upper Similkameen Indian Band, and the RDOS, along with Lori Thomas at the Chamber of Commerce, Weyerhauser, the Princeton Rotary Club, Ka-Bar Resources Ltd, Princeton Glass, All-Purpose Roofing, Ryan O’Neil Contracting, Ty French Heating, John Bosomworth, and a slew of other businesses and club volunteers have all worked together to make this project more than a dream.


The icing on the cake for the CRCCSA has been the recent announcement of the Slovenian Ski team using Princeton as a training center.


Ernie Lawrence from Irly Bird was instrumental in bringing [the visiting ski team] to fruition with the help of his wife Marilyn and Nat Brown, a well-respected cross-country ski coach who has an impressive résumé including work as a Olympic and World Championship training instructor. Said Ernie of the exciting news, “Nat is a terrific person. Besides being a great coach and trainer he was considered one of the top waxers in the world. Nat has made a name for himself as someone who helps those who are struggling. It is part of his character. He has helped a lot of people over the years. This is just one more way he is showing his generosity.”


After hearing that Mt. Washington was hosting the Swedish Ski Team for pre-Olympic training, Lawrence said he “thought of Nat and his Olympic quality cross-country ski trails” designed and built by Brown on his local ranch and said jokingly to his wife, “Marilyn, why can’t Princeton have the Slovenians?”


Apparently, Marilyn considered her husband’s comment to be a possibility and encouraged him to pose the question to Nat.


The Slovenia Ski Team is coming in 2009 and using Princeton as their pre-training location for the World Cup championships and, if all goes well, they will be back in 2010 to train prior to their Whistler-bound Olympic trip.


The China Ridge Cross-Country Ski Association has pushed a huge snowball down toward town with all their hard work and dedication and it is getting bigger and bigger.


If everybody all just adds a little more snow to it, Princeton will keep the momentum going [that] the club wishes for and bring more good things our way.

China Ridge longhouse underway: A Similkameen Spotlight Article

By Dierra Maynard, Spotlight Reporter

Building site prior to pouring concrete

Longhouse framing and roof trusses

Slovenian nordic team

Longhouse after tin roof

Longhouse tin siding installation

Longhouse windows installed

Longhouse garage doors, woodshed and kiosk

China Ridge longhouse construction Progress



  1. 1.Gates installed to control motorized access during ski season.

  2. 2.Trails rehabilitated (re-contoured) for safety of grooming equipment and skiers on previously steep side sloped trails.



  1. 3.Old outhouse replaced and installed in a better location on Ridge Trail



  1. 4.China Ridge Hut built by the club in 1991 was in need of exterior maintenance which included sanding, permachinking, staining and skirting.



  1. 5.Original stove in China Ridge Hut replaced with a greener technology CSA approved model through the Regional District Clean Air Initiative. Stove cemented in place to prevent theft.



  1. 6.Replaced the unsafe chimney in the China Ridge Hut with a zero clearance model.



  1. 7.New metal roof and separate woodshed installed to help reduce the chances of a wildfire destroying the China Ridge Hut.



  1. 8.Installed of six culverts (donated by Weyerhaeuser) to manage water courses and environmental concerns along the existing trail system.



  1. 9.Replaced old warming hut structure with new low maintenance metal clad shelter with plenty of room for larger groups such as the school classes that are starting in the winter of 2010.



  1. 10.Installed new kiosk and custom designed warming stove in the new Rueben Jones Family Shelter.



  1. 11.Old sign board was replaced at the junction of the Coalmont  & West China Creek Roads.

  2. 12.Constructed Longhouse parking lot to accommodate visitors arriving at the main trailhead.



  1. 13.Two new snowshoe trails have been created amongst the ski trails so people can now access shelters along the trail system.

  2. 14.Improved highway signage designed and ordered (for key directional points noted above) to assist visitors in locating the China Ridge Area.





Highlights of the Project


  1. •All contractors were local

  2. •Six culverts and all lumber was donated by Weyerhaeuser

  3. •$300.00 rebate from The Great Okanagan and Similkameen Wood Stove Change Out Program

  4. •Volunteers contributed over 200 hours to assist with many of the improvements

  5. •China Ridge applied for and received Federal funds through the National Trails Coalition Program. 100 percent matched funding will see more improvements at China Ridge. This funding will assist China Ridge in offering  all-season recreating opportunities. This will include construction of mountain biking single track trails, increased dog friendly ski runs, improved maps, marketing & website upgrades and many more exciting improvements.




 

BC Recreation Sites & Trails Capital Infrastructure Project 2009

Improvements at China Ridge Trails

Youth ski program

Spirit of BC Day

Trails Meeting

New Machine & Groomer

TRU & TOP Tour CR Trails

Duncan trail building

Parker Trail built

ski playground

donor appreciation

Longhouse Opens

chili bake off

bob’s shelter

  1. 1.Addition of the Dawg House along the dog friendly trails. (Top Left photo). This shelter was designed and constructed by Bob Coyne for all the dog lovers in the club. Finishing touches: signs, maps and a memorial sign inside the shelter for members who have lost beloved pets were completed by Pat Hayes who is dearly missed since his relocation to eastern Canada.


  1. 2.Addition of a glass sun room to Bob’s shelter at the far end of the trail network. The original shelter site was selected to take advantage of the amazing views of Coquihalla mountain and surrounding peaks. The shelter (above left) was constructed by Bob Coyne in 2005. Bob, and his wife Sue, demonstrated their dedication to the club when they completed the roofing for the shelter on the day of their 25th wedding anniversary.  In 2011 Rod Dixon and John Henry added a glass sun room (above right) to the front of the original shelter to protect visitors from the cold winter winds while retaining the beautiful view. (photos: top right and above right)


  1. 3.In 2011 three culverts were brought up to environmental standards. Unusually high spring runoff blew out the culverts. Weyerhaeuser donated the culverts and China Ridge Trails paid for the machine time required for installation.


  1. 4.Safety improvements were made to the hair pin corners on the dog run. Recreation Sites and Trails paid for the day of machine time required to complete the widening and re-sloping. The results are a much more user friendly ski trail.

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