Crosscut’s Strategic Plan 2025-2030
Executive Summary
Since our founding in 2016, Crosscut Mountain Sports Center has become a valued place for outdoor recreation, sports training, and outdoor education in our community. Our organization’s first strategic plan, “Rooted in Community,” sets a path for growth through the year 2030 by prioritizing community-centered programs and long-term sustainability. With an expanded vision to be a stabilizing force in growth and change in the Greater Gallatin Valley, preparing to welcome over 100,000 user days annually, Crosscut is committed to ofering access to nature, opportunities for personal growth, and inclusive recreational and educational opportunities.
Our focus over the next five years includes expanding our facilities, managing our trails, terrain, and resources responsibly, and fostering a welcoming culture of inclusivity for all ages and abilities. Crosscut aims to build a sustainable future that supports broad community access to our resources and reinforces our role as a premier regional hub for year-round outdoor recreation, sports, and education for decades to come.
Crosscut’s Vision
To empower healthy community by connecting people and nature.
Crosscut’s Mission
Crosscut Mountain Sports Center provides year-round recreation, sports training, and outdoor education opportunities for everyone through our simple yet exceptional facilities and trails.
Crosscut’s Values
Community: Crosscut ofers community connection — from familiar faces to new friends, we foster a welcoming atmosphere for all. We teach and practice respect for self, others, and the natural world, recognizing the inherent worth of each.
Responsibility: We carry out our work with care and responsibility for current and future generations, as well as our landscapes. We recognize the deep interconnectedness of people and places across space and time. We strive to balance access to our programs with our long-term financial sustainability.
Inclusivity: We provide welcoming and accessible opportunities in the outdoors for people of all ages, abilities, identities, and backgrounds. We support relevant and diverse programs – both our own and those of our partner organizations.
Personal Growth: We support a wide range of visitors, nurturing both body and mind, so our community members may wholeheartedly and joyfully pursue that which fulfills them. We recognize the thrill of active pursuits, the wonder of learning new things, the freedom of spontaneous play, and solitude in the outdoors, as important avenues for personal growth.
Land Acknowledgment
Crosscut Mountain Sports Center is on the ancestral homeland of several Indigenous Peoples including the Niitsítpiis-stahkoii (Blackfeet), Apsaalooké (Crow), Salish Kootenai, Cheyenne, and Očhéthi Šakówiŋ (Sioux). Despite being forcefully removed from this land, Indigenous Peoples continue to honor their ancestors and these sacred lands today. As current caretakers of this place, we strive to honor the enduring vitality of the land. Crosscut is grateful to learn with Indigenous partners, including the Piikani Lodge Health Institute on the Blackfoot Nation. These partnerships honor and share the roots of wellness based in our natural world held by Indigenous People, nurturing healthy community by connecting people and the outdoors. We appreciate those that have taken care of this land for many generations before us and aspire to do the same.
Before Crosscut Mountain Sports Center
Nordic skiing and biathlon have deep roots in what we know call the Bridger Mountains. In the 1970s and 80s, the “Flaming Arrow Ski Touring Center” ofered 25 kilometers of cross-country ski trails in our area. In the early 1980s, “Crosscut Ranch” opened and operated a Nordic center, overnight lodging, and restaurant on what is now the southern edge of Crosscut Mountain Sports Center’s property. After the dissolution of Crosscut Ranch, Nordic skiing continued, stewarded by Jean MacInnes and her son Chris Myers. Together, they operated the family-owned Bohart Ranch from 1988 to 2017, which became a destination cross-country ski location and hosted NCAA events, Olympic tryouts, and national biathlon races. In 2017, Crosscut was fortunate to become the next stewards of the Bohart property, as well as the old Crosscut Ranch property for a combined 500 acres, expanding trails and access for our booming Bozeman community.
BOHART
Crosscut Founded
Acquired 500 Acres in the Bridger Mountains
Initial Investment in Capital Improvements
• Doubled usable indoor space in Nordic & Trail Center and added an indoor bathroom
• Purchased snowmobiles, plow truck, and snowcats
Mountain Bike Trail Improvements Initiated
Investment in Infrastructure and Outdoor Education
• Expanded parking (increasing capacity by 40%)
• Added new ski arena for Outdoor Education programs
• Launched online ticketing system and added RFID passes
• Opened for free skiing during COVID-19 shutdown
Stadium Addition for Biathlon and Events
• Added a new biathlon stadium and range, parking lot (200+ capacity), 700-meter rollerski trail, and skier bridge
• Added a yurt for Outdoor Education programs
• Built a new building to store snow and trail machines
Critical investments for Program Growth
• Added a small building for Outdoor Education programs
• Expanded mountain biking trails and skills park
Forest Health Project Initiated
Expanded collaboration with Montana Outdoor Science School
Bridger Bowl
Bozeman, MT
56% population increase 2010-2024
Fastest
growing city of its size in the U.S.
2.46 million passengers through the Bozeman airport in 2023
Crosscut Mountain Sports Center
Crosscut Mountain Sports Center
500 acres in the Bridger Mountains — 276 acres under conservation easement
>52,000 user days annually — 32,000 winter and 23,000 summer
10,000 sqft of indoor space
17 miles north of Bozeman
28 miles of groomed winter trails
15 miles of singletrack summer trails
12x growth in earned revenue 2017-2024
Future Community Impact
By 2030, we will expand our community impact by growing and nurturing partnerships, expanding our facilities, and continuing to innovate. Long-term financial sustainability will be assured through a careful blend of entrepreneurship and philanthropy.
In 2030, Crosscut will:
• Support 100,000 total user days* across all areas
• Feature 25,000 square feet of indoor space in expanded facilities
• Welcome community support with 5,000+ volunteer hours contributed annually
*What is a User Day?
It is challenging to compare winter season pass holder use to a youth mountain biking team member training session to a race day. Our community utilizes our resources and facilities in many diferent ways and across all seasons. Some visits last an hour, while others extend over an entire winter season. Enter Crosscut’s “user day” metric. We aim to count each person we see or train with, each day, all year long. For each kid in a full week-long camp, we count five user days. Each day you ski using your season pass, that’s one day too. One person + one day = one user day. We hope you join us for dozens of “user days” every year!
Crosscut Strategic Planning Process
November 2023 – December 2024
This strategic plan, “Rooted in Community,” stems from over a year’s worth of listening, visioning, and collaboration with our Board of Directors, staf, volunteers, program partners, and community. The process began in October 2023 with the identification of consultant K.Lum, followed by a senior staf retreat in November 2023 to reflect on the organization’s progress in our first seven years and begin envisioning the future for 2030. In early 2024, survey tools were created, and in April, a staf retreat with K.Lum facilitated deeper discussions among year-round staf. From May to August 2024, Crosscut collected broad community input through surveys and other channels. In September, meetings with staf, volunteers, and the Advisory Board provided further input, alongside feedback from key partners. This phase also included drafting the initial framework for the plan. The Board of Directors reviewed the framework and provided guidance, with final approval in November after additional stakeholder review. This process has resulted in a strategic plan that reflects the collective vision and input of all stakeholders involved.
We’re grateful for the leadership, facilitation, and ongoing compassionate support K.Lum Consulting has brought to this strategic planning process and the Crosscut team overall.
Strategic Plan Structure
Crosscut Mountain Sports Center provides year-round recreation, sports training, and outdoor education opportunities through diverse programs and manages our home of 500 acres with winter and summer trails, facilities, and infrastructure.
To bring all our programs into alignment under one strategic plan, our team is focused on two strategic drivers that inform strategic goals for our three major program areas.
Strategic Drivers
Program Areas with Strategic Goals
Crosscut’s Strategic Drivers
Crosscut’s two strategic drivers serve as guiding priorities that focus our organization across all program areas, ensuring that all initiatives align with Crosscut’s commitment to community engagement, long-term resilience, and responsible growth.
Driver #1
Driver #2
Community at the Core Ensure Long-term Sustainability
We strive to position Crosscut Mountain Sports Center as a premier community hub for outdoor recreation, sports, and education in our region, providing our community and visitors with year-round opportunities.
Objective 1:
Be a premier regional outdoor recreation, sports, and education facility with a suite of dynamic programs and a national event venue
Objective 2:
Nurture and expand program and event oferings through partnerships, balancing the needs of our facilities, while ensuring positive social, economic, and environmental outcomes for our community
Objective 3:
Be a stabilizing force in growth and change in our community by embracing our role in the Bridger Recreation Emphasis Area*
*As designated by the US Forest Service in the 2020 Land Management Plan for the Custer Gallatin National Forest
We are dedicated to maximizing our organization’s long-term benefit for our community by ensuring Crosscut Mountain Sports Center remains a valued and accessible community resource for decades to come.
Objective 1:
Ensure the organization is financially durable by focusing on creating broad layers of support and earned revenue through diverse program and event streams
Objective 2:
Responsibly manage our land, facilities, and infrastructure through sound environmental practices and improvements using sustainable methods while recognizing and leveraging our unique position as a mountain recreation and education center
Objective 3:
Nurture our Crosscut Culture by cultivating relationships founded in trust, collaboration, and support
Objective 4:
Make decisions that are forward thinking by anticipating community growth, climate change, and future challenges and opportunities
Crosscut’s Program Structure
Three program areas, unified by one organization, one home base, and one strong team
Shared Services: Land and facilities management, financial management, fundraising, HR, communications and marketing, leadership and governance, and operations
Mountain Services Today
Nordic & Trail Center, Trails & Grooming, Events, and Ski & Mountain Bike Instruction
We dream of short spring and fall shoulder seasons leading to 125+ days of winter grooming and long summers with dry trails. As we adapt to new climate patterns, our infrastructure and facility improvements will include a focus on snowmaking or snow storage, as well as increased recreation opportunities for the rest of the year.
Our Nordic & Trail Center is Crosscut’s hub for our outdoor recreation oferings.
• We welcome an average of 2,000 dedicated winter season pass holders annually, a 250% increase from the winter of 2017-18. We ofer multiple kinds of winter recreation on our 28 miles of winter trails, including cross-country skiing, fatbiking, and snowshoeing.
• Crosscut has 15 miles of single-track trails for use in summer. The community supports these trails through a voluntary pass program. Summer trail use continues to grow with an estimated 2,000 user days in 2024, a 100% increase since 2021.
Crosscut Mountain Sports Center averages 110 days of winter grooming annually, and grooms over 4,200 miles of trails each winter.
Our Ski & Mountain Bike Instruction oferings foster personal growth for all levels of ability.
• Our Ski Instruction program provides group and private lessons for ages 15 and up and has over 400 user days each winter
• Crosscut’s Mountain Bike Instruction program serves adults and kids ages 9 and up and sees an average of 700 user days per summer
Crosscut ofers both hosted and venue events that serve the community in the winter and summer.
• Our three signature hosted events include the Crosscut Classic cross-country ski race, the Bangtail Biathlon race, and The Hoot mountain bike race.
• Crosscut also serves as the venue for various community and competitive events through partnerships.
Mountain Services in 2030
A premier regional hub for year-round outdoor recreation, sports, and education in our region
1. Crosscut’s expansion of its indoor facilities is prioritized, and new space enhances the user experience, supports program growth, and meets the needs of our community and partners.
2. Crosscut is known for its exceptional winter trails and grooming, adapting to our changing climate.
3. Our summer trail system draws regional visitors for mountain biking.
4. Crosscut is a key event venue in the region for cross-country skiing, mountain biking, and outdoor sports.
5. We welcome 85,000 user days annually through our Nordic & Trail Center, Ski & Mountain Bike Instruction, and Events.
6. Through these combined programs, our earned revenue covers operating expenses.
Strength in Partnerships
Crosscut Mountain Sports Center is proud to serve as a venue and partner for our community, including Bridger Ski Foundation, Bozeman Youth Cycling and Montana Interscholastic Cycling League, Eagle Mount, Montana State University Nordic Ski Team, and many others. By working together we can focus on our strengths and support each other to achieve our goals.
Outdoor Education Program Today
The first school program, a half-day cross-country skiing program, was held at Bohart Ranch Cross Country Ski Center in 1989. Now, more than 35 years later, Crosscut welcomed 5,500 program participants in 2024 through year-round programs, including oferings with Montana Outdoor Science School.
• Building on the rich school program history from Bohart Ranch, Crosscut expanded its winter programs to reach double the number of schools. In 2020, we added a Global Snowsports program that welcomes families new to skiing free of charge weekly. Our winter programs also include oferings for homeschool students, adults, and community groups.
• Crosscut’s first summer of Nature Camps were held in 2020, responding to community growth and a need for increased access to quality outdoor education camps. In 2024, Crosscut was proud to welcome Montana Outdoor Science School, supporting its 30-year-old summer camps and expanding outdoor education at Crosscut.
Outdoor Education in 2030
Establish our Outdoor Education program as a leader in place-based education in the Mountain West
1. With expanded facilities at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center, Montana Outdoor Science School has a permanent place-based home base.
2. Our year-round, outdoor education programs include 10,000 user days annually
3. Through community support, our outdoor education program has a strong financial reserve to ensure its long-term success.
Welcome home, MOSS!
Montana Outdoor Science School Finds a Permanent Home at Crosscut Mountain Sports Center in 2025
For 30 years, Montana Outdoor Science School (MOSS) has fostered a love for nature and science in generations of curious minds. Through high-quality educational experiences, including a vibrant summer camp program, MOSS provides critical educational opportunities for our community.
In 2025, MOSS will join Crosscut Mountain Sports Center, uniting our missions to provide place-based outdoor education. Crosscut is honored to welcome MOSS to a home they’ve envisioned for over 20 years, since their first collaboration with Bohart Ranch in 2003.
Biathlon Program Today
Crosscut’s biathlon journey began with the founding of the Bridger Biathlon Club in 2014, which later merged with Crosscut Mountain Sports Center in 2017. Today, Crosscut hosts Youth, Elite, and Masters teams, providing biathlon training, coaching, and competition opportunities for athletes of all ages and skill levels year-round.
Our Youth and Masters Programs are among the largest in the nation, while athletes on our Elite Team compete at the highest levels of the sport. We are also proud to partner with the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Ski Team, serving as the home training facility for this multi-Paralympic-medal-winning program. Through community clinics and events, we make biathlon accessible and approachable, inviting everyone to experience this exciting sport.
Biathlon in 2030
Crosscut’s biathlon program is known nationally for growing the sport in our community and across the nation
1. Crosscut provides the highest quality of support for all levels of biathletes by leaning into partnerships and focusing on what we do best.
2. Our community knows and loves the sport of biathlon, shown by participation in the program at all levels, a strong volunteer corps, and a robust fan base for events.
3. Crosscut supports 5,000 user days across all biathlon programs.
Paralympic Partnership
As the homebase of the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Ski Team, Crosscut facilitates unique access and opportunity for world-class adaptive athletes pushing the boundaries of their sport, and adaptive skiers of all abilities following in their footsteps.
Capital Improvements
Trails Priorities for 2030
To ensure Crosscut remains a vibrant, accessible hub for outdoor recreation, sports, and education, our capital improvement priorities focus on enhancing trails and facilities. These projects are vital to meeting the growing demands of our community and programs.
Crosscut’s year-round trail system is central to our mission, and its continued development and adaptation are key to our success.
Master
summer
and winter
trail plans: Comprehensive planning will ensure exceptional year-round access for outdoor recreation including Nordic skiing, mountain biking, hiking, and trail running.
Adapting to Climate Change: Analyzing and considering investments in snowmaking and/ or snow storage will allow us to maintain reliable, high-quality trail conditions as winter weather patterns shift.
Expanded Rollerskiing
Infrastructure: By extending rollerskiing opportunities, we aim to create a premier training venue for biathletes, Nordic skiers, and summer recreation enthusiasts, attracting both local participants and national events.
Capital Improvements
Facilities Priorities for 2030
To ensure Crosscut remains a vibrant, accessible hub for outdoor recreation, sports, and education, our capital improvement priorities focus on enhancing trails and facilities. These projects are vital to meeting the growing demands of our community and programs.
Updated and expanded facilities are essential for Crosscut to meet immediate needs and support long-term growth while enhancing user experiences for all visitors.
These capital improvements are critical to ensuring Crosscut’s ability to serve as a premier outdoor destination, providing exceptional experiences for all.
Master Facilities Plan with a Phased Approach: A detailed, multi-phase strategy will prioritize investments to expand and improve our facilities incrementally.
Outdoor Education Infrastructure: Expanded and dedicated spaces for outdoor education programs will provide critical support for year-round learning opportunities, including collaborations with Montana Outdoor Science School.
Increased Indoor Space and Restrooms for Public Use: Enhancing indoor spaces, including restrooms, will improve comfort and accessibility for our diverse users, supporting both recreation and event programming.
Immediate Facility Investments: Temporary or interim structures will address urgent needs, bridging the gap until long-term plans are realized.
Crosscut’s Community Center: A centerpiece of our vision, the Community Center will serve as a welcoming space for gatherings, education, and refreshments, creating a dynamic hub for connection and community engagement.
Funding Priorities for 2030
As Crosscut looks toward 2030, we are committed to building a sustainable future that enhances access, preserves our natural spaces, and provides resources for all. With the support of our community and generosity of donors, we aim to create an inclusive, welcoming mountain sports center for generations to come.
Programs and People Expanding Access for the Community
With community support, we’ll continue grow our programs designed for all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, ensuring everyone has access to our resources. Philanthropic support is needed to expand and support programs and partnerships ensuring Crosscut’s financial durability for decades to come. With a focus on our dedicated team of staf and volunteers, we remain committed to supporting a professional and well-balanced team.
Trails and Land
Responsible Land and Trail Management
To sustain outdoor recreation, sports, and education programs for our community, Crosscut is focused on responsible land management and environmental practices. Philanthropic support is needed to execute thoughtful master planning, sustainable trail maintenance and development, facilities upkeep and expansion, and necessary land management, adapting to the impacts of climate change and anticipated community growth.
Facilities
Expanded Facilities and Resources
Expanded indoor facilities will support Crosscut’s role as a community hub, meeting the needs of increased user days, and support the programs of our partners. Expanded indoor restrooms, a community gathering space, and food and beverage options will accommodate our community and program needs as we look towards 2030.
• Master plans for summer and winter trails completed
• Crosscut’s plan for the sustainable management of our land is developed and implemented
• Facilities plan is revised with phased approach, using temporary structures for immediate needs
• Sustainable program strategies and budgets developed for 2030
• Financial reserves strengthened
• Master winter and summer trail plans implemented
• First projects of phased facilities plan completed
• Partnerships expanded to meet organizational goals
• Program growth and long-term sustainability across our core program areas is prioritized
• Focused communication and philanthropy eforts for facilities, trails, and programs
• Master winter and summer trail plans completed
• Construction underway on the second phase of facilities and infrastructure plan — our Community Center with expanded restrooms and an indoor gathering space with food and beverage
Crosscut ‘s 2025-2030 Strategic Plan outlines our vision for the future, rooted in our mission to provide year-round recreation, sports training, and outdoor education opportunities for everyone.
By investing in trails, facilities, and programs that prioritize accessibility, environmental stewardship, and community connection, we aim to strengthen our role as a regional hub for outdoor adventure and learning. This plan reflects our commitment to meeting the evolving needs of our users, fostering partnerships, and addressing the challenges of community growth and change, all while building a sustainable foundation for decades to come.
Together, with the support of our community, we will continue to inspire and connect people to nature, leaving a legacy of outdoor enjoyment and resilience.