Showing posts with label SnoBowl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SnoBowl. Show all posts

Friday, January 12, 2018

SnoBowl Bike Trails RFP

It's finally happening!  After what seems like FOREVER, we have final approval from the folks at the Recreation Trails Program to fund our mountain bike trails project up at the SnoBowl!

Here is the RFP for the project.  Contact me if you'd like me to e-mail you a .kmz.


ELKO SNOBOWL FOUNDATION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS ON TRAILBUILDER WORK
FOR THE SNOBOWL CROSS-COUNTRY MOUNTAIN BIKE TRAIL SYSTEM

The Elko SnoBowl Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization, (the “SnoBowl”) invites all interested and qualified persons or firms capable of providing the listed Scope of Work to submit bids for the completion of an approximately 9.15 mile singletrack mountain bike loop trail system. Completed bids must be received by the SnoBowl prior to bid opening.  Mail or deliver bids to Elko SnoBowl Foundation, PO Box 281267, Lamoille, NV  89828.  The bid-opening will occur at 2:00, Friday, February 23rd, 2018, at the Elko BLM office.

ABOUT THE SNOBOWL BIKE TRAIL PROJECT
The Elko SnoBowl Foundation has acquired grant funding from the Federal Recreational Trails Program (“RTP”)  to build a new natural surface, purpose-built, singletrack mountain bike trail loop system at the SnoBowl Ski & Bike Park in Elko, Nevada  (hereinafter referred to as the “Project”). The Trail will commence at the ski base area of the Elko SnoBowl, and will feature a stacked loop system on the west and southeast aspects of the SnoBowl property.  While this is to be a cross-country mountain bike trail, the SnoBowl will also in future provide weekly lift-served trail access to riders. This will be the only constructed mountain-bike specific singletrack trail in the region and it should be designed in anticipation that it will eventually (with future undetermined funding) serve as the heart of a trail system connecting the SnoBowl with the Elko city limits. The SnoBowl desires to purchase the services of a professional trail building contractor (the “Contractor”) to build the Project, the build to commence in spring, 2018, with a completion date of no later than November 1, 2019.  Contractors able to complete the project before December 31, 2018 will receive special consideration in the bid process. 

It cannot be more strongly emphasized that this project is for purpose-built natural surface singletrack mountain bike trail. Desired characteristics include: cambered trail surfaces, insloped turns, rolling terrain, incorporation of native rock features, novice-friendly switchbacks and seamless transitions between trail types.

The following preliminary work has been completed: a flag line has been established which generally marks the Trail corridor; archaeological clearance of a 100’ corridor centered on the flag line has been completed, and a grant agreement has been signed by the SnoBowl and RTP administrators.  Approximately one mile of frontside trail has been completed by community volunteers, and a second mile of frontside trail has been started. Cooperation has been committed by local businesses and community groups to provide material support for the project. 

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS
Contractors are asked to outline strategies for and professional experience in meeting the following general specifications:

1. Federal Grant Requirements.
Because funding for the Project relies upon federal grants, Contractor must demonstrate a thorough understanding of the requirements of Federal grant agreements related to Project Work and agree to make every reasonable effort to abide by said requirements.

2. Suggested Site Visit (“Walk Through”).
The Project will be built on terrain with slopes averaging 15-30 degrees with specific soil and drainage characteristics.  While it is not a requirement to bid, it is suggested that any Contractor who wishes to submit a bid for the construction of the Project should complete a Walk Through of the Trail location sufficient to gain a general understanding of the area’s terrain, general topography, rock and soil types.  Ignorance of building conditions related to the natural conditions in the trail location will not be considered in any requests for waivers or changes to Scope of Work.

3.  Coordination with Community Groups
A significant portion of grant match for the Project consists of a series of at least eight scheduled community build days.  Community volunteers will consist of a mixture of experienced volunteer trail builders and new trail volunteers.  The SnoBowl will coordinate these build days with the Contractor, and the Contractor will provide appropriate supervision and, if needed, training to volunteer crews.  A SnoBowl representative will be onsite for all build days to serve as volunteer coordinator/crew lead.  Please note that, while community groups can and do provide significant manpower for the build, Contractor should not anticipate that volunteer crews provide all or a majority of needed hand work for the Project.

4. General guidelines for trail design.
A. Desired characteristics include: cambered trail surfaces, insloped turns, rolling terrain, incorporation of native rock features, and seamless transitions between trail types.  All trail tread, rock-armoring, switchbacks, and all other features should be built to best industry standards.

B.  Treadway shall be a minimum of 24” and wider where necessary.  Because of the ongoing trespass by ATV users in the Elko area, use of trail building machines with a tread wider than 30” is discouraged.  Please include the tread width of any machines anticipated to be used for the Project.

C.  Because of the lack of available mountain biking trail in the region, and because of the topographical features of the land it is being built upon, the trail will largely be designed for riders at a beginner skill level with some short intermediate sections as needed. There may be opportunities to build advanced “opt-in features” if funding is available.

D. A flag line has been established and GPS of the route completed. There is a 50’ buffer to each side of the flag line for Contractor’s preference in building the trail.

E.  Specific trail design features to discourage trespass by ATV/OHV users will be critical to the long-term success of the Project.

5. Qualifications and Selection Criteria.
The SnoBowl will consider the status and capability of the bidder along with responsiveness to the bid requirements in its analysis of which is the lowest responsible bidder. The SnoBowl will use a points system to aid in its selection of the winning bid, the parameters of which is outlined below:

A. Company Profile. The bidder may receive up to 150 points for demonstrating its capability to complete the work and its status as a reliable contractor. The bidder should be a member of the Professional Trail Builders Association (PTBA) or equivalent and should demonstrate stability of its business. Civil or criminal judgments against the bidder or financial weakness which would affect the bidder’s performance or ability to complete projects will negatively affect this rating.

B. Relevant Experience with Similar Projects. The bidder may receive up to 250 points for demonstrating experience in building natural surface mountain bike trail in similar conditions as those existing in the Project location. The contractor should submit a portfolio of at least three, and up to six, projects of a similar nature to this project, completed within the last five years and preferably completed in similar terrain.  Please include contact information for project clients.

C. Project Details and Work Plan. The bidder may receive up to 300 points for the demonstrated ability to comply with the specifications in this RFP and how well the work plan suits the needs of the SnoBowl. Contractors able to complete the project by December 31, 2018 will receive an additional 100 points.

D. Cost. The bidder with the lowest total cost shall receive 300 points. All other bidders shall receive cost-based points based on the following formula:

Lowest proposed cost total
X300
=
Cost-based
points awarded
Bidder’s proposed cost total

MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
1. Business Registration. Any Contractor which is a Nevada business must be currently registered with the Nevada Secretary of State.

2. Performance and Payment Bonds. Formal, notarized performance and payment bonds issued by an insurance or surety company are required for the Project and must be provided upon execution of the contract.

3. Worker’s Compensation. The Contractor must certify that it is in compliance with Nevada statutes regarding Worker’s Compensation insurance.

 4. Commercial General Liability Coverage. The contractor shall carry Commercial General Liability  Insurance of $1 million/occurrence, $2 million/aggregate, and shall furnish a certificate listing the SnoBowl, the City of Elko and its partners as additional insureds upon execution of the contract. The certificate shall show the type, amount, class of operations covered, effective dates, and dates of expirations of policies.

5.  Contractor must have a valid and current Nevada Contractor’s License at the time of contract execution.

6. Invasive Species Prevention. Active steps to prevent or limit the introduction, establishment, and spread of invasive species are required during contracted work. The contractor shall prevent invasive species from entering into or spreading within project site by cleaning equipment prior to arrival. If the equipment, vehicles, gear, or clothing arrives at the project site with soil, aggregate material, mulch, vegetation (including seeds) or animals, it shall be cleaned by contractor furnished tool or equipment (brush/broom, compressed air or pressure washer) at the staging area. The contractor shall dispose of material cleaned from equipment and clothing at a location determined by the SnoBowl. If the material cannot be disposed of onsite, secure material prior to transport (sealed container, covered truck, or wrap with tarp) and legally dispose of offsite.

7. SnoBowl reserves the right to reject any or all bids. Low bid will not be the only consideration for award.

8. The warranty period is one year from the date of acceptance by the SnoBowl.

GEOLOGICAL, BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA.
The following is general information to assist contractors in their understanding of the geological and biological conditions of the trail building location.

The SnoBowl Trail Project shall be constructed on a 640-ac section of land owned by the City of Elko that serves as a community ski hill in the winter.  The section is bisected by a 7500’ ridge, and the trailhead is at the SnoBowl ski base at approximately 6500’ on the east side of the ridge.  Two trails climb from the base area over the ridge to a series of stacked loops on the western side of the ridge.  A connector trail links the top of the SnoBowl ski lift to the trail system. 

The trail traverses soil in the Sumine-Cleavage-Cleavage, very cobbly association group.  Slopes range from 15-30 degrees, with mean annual precipitation approximately 7-15”.  The soil surface is a very gravelly loam, well drained, with a gravelly clay loam layer from 6” – 29”.  There is limiting bedrock averaging 20” – 39”in depth.  Rock outcroppings are scattered throughout and are composed of a gravelly composite.   Depositions of faceted loose rocks 6” – 18” in size dot the hillsides.

There are numerous small springs in the area, and the trail crosses several very ephemeral small streams. 

The typical plant community is a mix of grasses and forbs, with intermittent small sagebrush.  Short, tundra-type plants populate the ridgetops.  A portion of the subject parcel burned a decade ago, and there has been a significant cheatgrass incursion in the burn area.

The Elko SnoBowl is approximately five miles north of the city of Elko, NV, on North 5th Street.
Please see attached map for trail layout and topography.

PROJECT CONTACT:        Sue Kennedy, Elko SnoBowl Foundation (775) 934-4466

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Oh, what fun it is to build!


There is just something completely awesome about getting new trail on the ground.

The IMBA/Subaru Trail Care Crew blew through town this week. Their goal was to host a couple of days of classroom learning and a few hours of on-the-hill training, getting a great group of volunteers up to speed on how to get new trail on the ground. It's a pretty big deal, as IMBA has only one (count 'em) trail care crew in the country. As it turns out, the local BLM office has a new rec guy who's a bit of a fireball, and one of the first things he did when he clocked in for work was start lobbying to get these guys here. It was a real coup.

Fortunately for all concerned, there was (and is) a shovel-ready project available to use as a trail building classroom - the new bike trail system being built at SnoBowl! So, lucky us, some real trail experts used our local hill as a classroom to teach the nuts and bolts of getting new trail on the ground.

Pinch me, is this for real??  :D


About twenty folks joined Jordan Carr and Lani Bruntz from IMBA after the classroom sessions, and built several hundred feet of very fun new trail over the course of a few hours. Best of all, after the build, the IMBA team walked up the route of the under-construction beginner MTB trail to give us ideas on what we can do to make it a better riding experience for newer riders. Most of the volunteers expressed interest in weekly build days to get a top-to-bottom trail completed before summer, so that we can run the lift for lift-served riding once school's out. 

To call this a banner day for SnoBowl would be a profound understatement.

Here are a few pics of the build:
The pre-talk.  Several of the folks on the crew had not used trail tools before, and the IMBA folks gave an overview of safe tool handling.

A determined bunch

Lani and Jordan demonstrating the work sequence that ends with finished trail.

Putting that instruction to good use

Some very cool progress happening here!

The finished product - a phenomenal upgrade from the previous route

Here's a big, healthy THANK YOU to Mike Setlock from the BLM for bringing the IMBA team in, to Subaru for footing the bill for such a great program, to the City of Elko for the volunteer lunch, Great Basin College for the classroom space, to Jordan and Lani from IMBA for being such enthusiastic and skilled trail evangelists, and most of all to the volunteers who showed up to learn how this all works. It's so incredibly cool to see what we can all accomplish working together!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

National Trails Day!

Can you believe it? My favorite day of the year is here! NATIONAL TRAILS DAY is coming up on Saturday! We're back up at the SnoBowl again this year, and if we get enough help will have a NEW bottom-to-top hiking and mountain biking trail complete and ready to use. The trail was roughed in last summer by volunteers and NDF crews, and if the stars align we should have it DONE by the end of work on Saturday.


Here's a write-up that appeared on the front page of today's Elko Daily Free Press. Thanks, guys, for helping us get the word out!

Anyway - This SATURDAY, June 8th. 8AM at the Elko SnoBowl. Wear work clothes and gloves. We'll provide tools and lunch. Let's get this baby done! Thanks to Raleys, the BLM and Event Source for helping us make this happen!


Saturday, May 19, 2012

National Trails Day June 2nd

My favorite holiday is on its way!  No, not Christmas, although I'll admit that's how I often feel at the end of the day.

It's National Trails Day, June 2nd at a trail near you!

This year I'll be celebrating National Trails Day at the Elko SnoBowl Ski & Bike Park, five miles north of Elko on North 5th Street.  We'll be working on two projects - one, finishing some benching work on the beginner MTB trail up there, and two (really exciting to me) beginning work on a NEW cross-country trail system.  We'll be building a trail that leaves the SnoBowl parking lot and heads up to the saddle looker's right of the top of the lift.  It'll be designed for two-way bike traffic and will be perfect for hikers and trail runners, too!

If you live in or near Elko, come on out and join us.  We had almost 60 people out there last year... we got a lot of work done, enjoyed a great lunch, and played on the new trails in the afternoon.  If you DON'T live near Elko, then find a Trails Day project near you.  If you love trails, volunteer!




Sunday, June 26, 2011

Whoop whoop! SnoBowl's officially OPEN for the summer!

It's official - opening day at the (new) SnoBowl Ski & Bike Park was this Saturday, and it'll be open for lift-served mountain biking all summer! Operating hours this first year will be Saturdays, 12N - 4PM.

We tried to keep the opening small so that we could shake things out before things got too busy, and it worked out really well. We had everything from kids with their dad all the way up to some very experienced downhillers out there, and everybody found some good challenges for their skill levels. The feedback from the riders was great - fun trails, and they're ready to spread the word about what we have going up there. It was all VERY good to hear!

The riding this weekend was a lot of fun. It was a major flower show... at one point I felt like I was riding through a flower shop... the lupines smelled that good.



Lots of arrowleaf balsamroot up there, too. I love the juxtaposition of their bright yellows with the lupines.



Here's one of the places that needs some work. This switchback is on the beginner trail, and is one of two switchbacks on that route that need better than beginner bike handling skills to manage. We've got it signed to warn people to slow down - giving beginners a chance to get off and walk - but we need to rebuild this to make it safer for new riders. This won't be a small project as it's in steep terrain. We're working out how to get it done, though, and hope to have it completed before the end of summer.



Dave Todero, our trail designer, is using the Kennedy Ranch backhoe to build terrain park features at the bottom. Folks riding the intermediate trail can finish their run through the park, or can opt to ride straight back down to the lift. One of the really nice parts of this is that the park features are positioned to transition nicely into ski season - won't our snowboarders be happy to see all of these new features come winter time!



Here's the map. SnoBowl sits on a section of land (640 acres) which gives us plenty of room to work with as we develop riding. The downhill trails, obviously, will by and large be routed down the east side, where the skiing happens. Most of the cross-country trails will be built on the back side, although we'll obviously put a trailhead at the base area. The trail grade on the beginner trail averages 9%, so when the lift isn't running it's rideable as an uphill. It's a grunt, but it's rideable. Once we get the XC trails done, that trail will be full time one-way downhill. The intermediate trail averages 16% and is a lot steeper than that in places.



There's plenty more work to be done, of course. Those who are interested in helping get stuff built are invited to show up Saturdays at 9AM for trail work. Those who help build trail on Saturday morning will ride the lift for free that afternoon! Otherwise, lift tickets are a very affordable $15. A bargain at any price!

In case you missed it, the Elko Daily Free Press did a front-page story on the SnoBowl this weekend. Thanks again to them and to the rest of our local media for helping us get the word out. What a great community!

SnoBowl Opens Lift-Served Mountain Biking

Last, and certainly not least - a very, very big shout-out goes to Elko Blacksmith Shop. We'd asked for help all over town getting the bike hooks built that allow us to attach mountain bikes to the chair lift. Folks made some commitments... and then fell through. Somebody suggested at the last minute that we talk to Elko Blacksmith Shop and, even though they were completely booked up, they found a way to get us ten hooks in time for opening day. Seriously - we COULD NOT have opened without their help. We have another 23 hooks coming so that we can have one every three chairs, which is where we need to be with uphill capacity. If you have ANY opportunity to throw some business their way, please do. They will certainly be the first people we call from here on out!

Sunday, June 5, 2011

We interrupt our regularly scheduled program...

... to share some AWESOME new developments at the Elko SnoBowl... now the SnoBowl Ski & Bike Park.



The SnoBowl hosted its first National Trails Day event June 4th, with a goal of constructing brand new lift-served mountain bike trails at the resort. For the first 20 years of its existence, SnoBowl depended on natural snowfall to generate skiing fun, and largely sat unused for the rest of the year.

Not any more.

SnoBowl mountain manager Roche Bush invited several long-time SnoBowlers to join the somewhat moribund committee that had operated the SnoBowl for the last couple of decades, and this new shot of energy is changing everything up there.

The first change, and it's a big one - SnoBowl will now open on weekends in the summer so that people with mountain bikes can enjoy lift-served riding just outside of town. This will be one of the first - if not THE first - lift-served trail systems in the state of Nevada.

It's exciting, and that excitement is contagious. More than 50 people showed up for National Trails Day, and worked hard all day to get the beginner trail on the ground.



There's still plenty of work to be done. The beginner trail is going to need more work to be sustainable... the intermediate trail still needs some benching... the advanced trails haven't been started yet. But, oh how fun it is to see what's going on up there! Best of all, while SnoBowl's biggest attraction as a ski area is its funkiness and proximity to town, the terrain is apparently extremely suitable for both downhill and cross-country mountain biking. David Todaro, a former professional downhill mountain bike racer, has been working with the SnoBowl Foundation board to develop this project, and he's beyond enthused about the potential here. He's put in trails all over the country and says we have the means of developing something really special in the hills north of town.

Cool to hear.

Because SnoBowl will be one of very few places in the state where mountain bikers can enjoy lift-accessed terrain, Todaro envisions Elko becoming a stop on the mountain biking race circuit once the trail system is established. Pretty cool plan if you ask me. Elko continues to be blessed by the contributions the mines make to the community, and especially by the incredible talent pool of people like David who move here for good mining jobs.

It's funny,.. people who don't use the SnoBowl often dis it because it isn't one of the towering Western resorts that populate this part of the country. I'm thinking those folks don't spend much time at SnoBowl. I've enjoyed powder days there that would surprise you... good people, good skiing, an excellent vibe. And now SnoBowl is getting even better, with year-round fun and even the potential for snowmaking in the works.

Don't look now, but our little town is starting to get awfully fun for non-motorized recreationists of all stripes.

++++++++++++++++

A few folks deserve a big hearty THANK YOU for making the 2011 National Trails Day event possible:

- First and foremost, the SnoBowl volunteers for putting in so much time and effort
- Greg & Gina Kronenberg, Albertsons, Maggie Morgan and Kennedy Ranch Custom-Fed Beef for sponsoring lunch
- Event Source for providing the tents, tables and chairs
- The Elko Fire Department, Nevada Division of Forestry and Bureau of Land Management for providing trail-building tools
- Elko's media for helping us get the word out about the project