Strategic Roadmap
Initiatives
Promoting Environmental Awareness
We continue to provide a strong message of stewardship and policy advocacy by partnering with the Winter Wildlands Alliance to deliver an annual BC Film Festival. This community event has been sold out since its inception and is a strong community building event firing up the wintertime stoke while instilling thoughtful messaging.
Promoting Safety
We continue to provide a certified Wilderness First Aid class. This is also in great demand and establishes the MRVBC as a local advocate for safety when engaging in BC activities. This event also provides a means to continually engage with our resort partners.
Providing Educational Opportunities
The board has worked hard to offer a BC Primer. Partnering with a local guide, we have been able to extend our reach beyond the experienced BC population. By dismantling barriers to entry through education we are able to engage with and widen our audience to those interested in being part of the community but in need of a helping hand to do so safely.
Assisting and Public Service
MRVBC has created a Trail Chief role within the board and adopted Section 19S through Phen Basin as our commitment to service and the CTA. We offer trail work days to ensure a quality, safe BC experience in this unique and beautiful area.
Community Engagement
We continue to engage in local community events to promote self-propelled, winter recreation such as backcountry skiing, snowboarding, and snowshoeing. We are present at the Sugarbush Community Day, the Big Kicker, and other local events often co-tabling with the CTA. We also deliver scheduled tours providing skilled and knowledgeable guides to foster the BC experience.
Outreach
We continue to provide news and event notices both within and outside the Mad River Valley on BC topics. Assembly and delivery of this information is no small feat and requires a cooperative team effort.
Opportunities
Diversity and inclusivity
We are pursuing partnerships to address diversity in the backcountry. We believe this aligns with our objectives to advocate for access and collaborate with partners.
Community Building
We see value in continuing to build the BC community so we can better understand its challenges and advocate for its future. This includes event planning both indoors and out such as meet-ups at local establishments to share stories and news and an emergent dawn patrol initiative.
Collaboration
We continue to collaborate with our resort partners, land owners, and managers to foster access. Recognizing the significant opportunities provided by our report partners to the BC culture we continue to build our community bonds. In addition, we actively strive to partner with land owners such as with the Moretown Family Forest (Uncle Jim’s Forest) on opportunities to preserve and protect wintertime recreational opportunities. Learn more about that specific collaboration and Go Live party here. These efforts directly align with our mission and acknowledges feedback received in our last AC retreat.
Engagement
We are an active member of the Conservation Recreation Visioning (CRV) initiative in the Valley. Establishing the gold standard for trail development that balances ecological integrity with trail building and maintenance is critical to fostering environmental stewardship. MRVBC has lent its perspective to the discussions and advocated for its unique demands related to trails (durable, wintertime surfaces).
Listening
We actively gauge the pulse of the MRVBC community and will pursue the theme of “Low Angle Fruit” moving forward. This being an attempt to meet our constituency where they are at and increase our reach.
Challenges
Zones
We will not lose site of the core mission of providing trails and zones. Ultimately we still need to find that “anchor” in the Valley.
Board Membership
We have implemented updated bylaws to safeguard a refresh of talent and energy. We also continually recruit from the community to ensure the necessary skills are available to move the needle forward on our goals and mission.
Climate Resiliency
Trail organizations everywhere are acknowledging the impact and need to plan. Specifically, MRVBC, as part of CTA looks to identify and plan for resiliency while fostering ever stronger relationships with our resort partners.
Growth
Backcountry recreation is growing. As demand increases, friction points become more tangible. MRVBC will continue to work hard to ensure such friction points are well managed on behalf of our community. Items include maintaining access, respectful use of the land, awareness of rules and regulations, and more.