New Perk -- discounted trail passes!

Dec 26, 2012

Please check out the new perk, 2 trail passes for $35, good anytime after Feb 1, 2013 and through the next 2 winters.  Buy as many as you like.  They are transferable (you can pass them on to someone else) and good for one daily trail pass, for a skier of any age.

Light at the end of the tunnel.  We need to raise just $30,000 in the next 3 weeks to stay open!

Dec 21, 2012

We believe that we've found bank funding however it does not sound like the bank can close in time to satisfy the note holder.  And the noteholder has shown that he is willing to go to auction within days of a missed payment.  

We can close 3-4 weeks quicker if our loan is less than $250,000 (we owe $312,000).  If we can put together $62,000 we can close in time and stay open.  We think we have other sources for about $30,000 of the $62,000.  

Please help.  We do not need to raise the $196,000 we orginally thought we needed.  But we will need between $20,000 and $40,000 to close the gap between what we can pull together and the $62,000.

Please pick a perk and contribute -- thanks so much.

Please help!  We do not want to close!

Dec 12, 2012

Last weekend someone who knew of Viking was talking about this campaign and trying to convince me to that is might not be a good thing to pursue.  He said, "but people will think that Viking might close". 

The reality is that Viking could close.  

Viking would not close for any other reason than we can not make a balloon payment on our mortgage. 

The noteholder has shown that he is very willing to foreclose on the property and conduct an auction within days of a missed payment.  By law he has every right to do that.  The payment is due January 31st.

Obviously the campaign is not bringing in funds the way we would like.  We are getting a good number of views but contributions are slow to come in.

Please help by picking a perk to the right and then comment, like us on Facebook, and forward the link all from the box above.

Thank you so much!

 PS if we do close we will do it thoughtfully and honestly, refunding money from non-tangible non-issued perks, repaying prepaid trail passes and house deposits.  

PPS      I am focusing on the campaign and seeking funding right now but will up date the synthetic snow information as soon as I can -- it is very exciting!

12/9/12 --  Very exciting news today!

After 5 years in development,  testing of the artificial ski surface we'd like to add at Viking went extraordinarily well today.  We had fresh snow overnight (in Denver where Peter lives) to compare the artificial snow to and it compares very well.  So well that I feel confident that, pending all necessary approvals, we'll install it this spring at Viking and have it ready for summer use.

I've added more info on the artificial ski surface and our plans for it below -- and perks about skiing it.  Please scroll down to find more info and please plan to ski next summer and fall at Viking by contributing.  Even if (shutter the thought) Viking is not successful in continuing I'm installing this surface on my personal trail on a nearby plot of land and you'll redeem the perk there.  Please ask any questions in the comment section here so all can see the answers.

thanks for your support -- Peter

Viking Nordic Center

The Center:

Viking Nordic Center in Londonderry, Vermont is one of North America’s great cross country ski centers.  We have amazing trails, a mix of easy, moderate and some screamers/killers hills.  We have beautiful countryside, from meadows to dense woods, mountain tops to beaver ponds.  We serve all types of xc skiers: we host racers who skate, we make sure first timers go home smiling, we provide solitude and peace for those skiers and snowshoers who want nothing more than to get away from it all for a few hours.  And we’ve been doing all that since 1970.  Our founders pioneered the concept of a commercial cross country ski area.  Hundreds of thousands of people have skied and smiled at Viking since it was established, from Olympians to Texans.  We are in southern Vermont half way between Stratton and Okemo downhill ski areas and closer to Bromley and Magic Mountains.  More than anything else, even skiing, Viking is about having fun.  We smile and we try to give our visitors as many reasons to smile too, from great groomed trails to cookies as a reward for kids skiing to helpful pointers gently passed along.

An Exciting Future Planned; Return to First Class Status:

But we need your help to make Viking Nordic Center thrive, to grow it.  We have great plans: offering summer & fall skiing on skis using a new summer snow we've invented, more kms of trails, a new base lodge, and converting more of the house to lodging units of different size so it can host visitors from couples to family reunions.   And we plan to host a big event that will draw all kinds of XC skiers to the area each year. And more fun stuff for kids, and more night skiing, and more…..you get the idea. But first....

Step One - Ensure We Have Our Base Property:

Before we put the exciting new offerings in place we must retire some debt.  With some very careful management and smart decision making Viking has been holding its own the last 3 years - which is about all most xc ski centers hope for -- but we have a balloon payment coming up on the note on the property.  We owe $312,000 on January 31.  We can pay a healthy portion of the payment but need help to make the full payment.  

Cool Perks and Get Your Holiday Shopping Done:

We’ve got a great bunch of interesting perks available from $5 to $1000, perks that celebrate Viking and cross country skiing.  Buy your trail pass now for our summer and fall skiing.  Or plan to bring your whole team/club for an off season on ski workout.  Name your favorite landmark on the trails.  Maybe that turn where your whole family saw you take that header or where you applied the bum brake a little too suddenly should be named after you.  Or has it been a while since you’ve been to Viking?   Maybe our calendar will help remind you of the good times you had at Viking.  Tell the world how good a skier you are by joining the Norse Gods Ski Club with either a t-shirt or bumper sticker.   Don’t forget our perks make great Christmas presents!  Especially our coveted shortbread; you’ll be a hero if you give the shortbread perk to those on your Christmas list.  Ask Dana about the shortbread!

The $15 Perk -- The Norse Gods Ski Club bumper sticker

The $30 Perk -- The Norse Gods Ski Club t-shirt in antique blue

please email your size to peter@vikingnordic.com if you want something other than a large.

Funding Details:

Your contributions will be used to pay down our debt.   We believe we can pay the first $116,000 of the $312,000 balance the note demands by Jan 31^st.  If we raise less than the $196,000 balance in this campaign we will use the funds to negotiate with the current note holder or to purchase other land and build a ‘new Viking Nordic Center’.   If we’re lucky enough to oversubscribe we’ll take a poll on which improvement projects (which we’ll detail in coming updates) to pursue with the funds.

Why CrowdFunding?

Why are we asking for your help with our funding?  The short answer is because we have exhausted our other options and we some great perks that we think you'll like and find worth the money.  Viking is a tiny business that heavily relies on the quirks of Mother Nature.  In a good year the business breaks even on operations.  In a really great year we net enough to pay our property taxes without going further into debt.  This is a business run for the love of it, not for profit.  This is another way to say that banks don't like lending to businesses like ours.  The longer answer is, that in addition to the short answer we are part of a community, the local Vermont community, the xc ski community, and if you've skied with us, your community.  Since 1970 we've been helping making memories for you, your children, your family and friends.  And we've been influcencing xc skiing through our founders' development of the first commercial xc area and through programs like our cookie card rewards for kids.  In addition to being a necessity, crowdfunding feels right.

Thanks for your help

If you’ve skied at Viking, if you like cross country skiing, or if you want to see people who love to make other people have fun succeed please pick a perk and participate.  And then pass our link on to your friends and tell them how much you like Viking and how much they will too.

We’ll promise to keep updating the campaign and in the process give you more insights and peeks into the world of operating a cross country ski center.  You’ll see the highs, the lows, the challenges and the fun of running a Nordic center.  We promise we’ll share candidly.  So bookmark this page and follow us along on this adventure.