Crosscut’s History
A rich skiing legacy
Our story begins in the 1800s, when a logging camp was established here in the Bridger Range. Loggers used long, two-person “crosscut” saws to harvest lumber for the growing town of Bozeman. Then, over half a century ago, skiers using long, wooden skis started exploring the forested trails and open slopes of the national forest land and historic Bohart, Pryor, and Forsythe family ranches, around the base of what is now the Bridger Bowl Ski Area.
In 1968, the Bridger Ski Club hosted the Junior Nationals on the land adjacent to Bridger Bowl. That land then became the “Flaming Arrow Ski Touring Center,” which operated 25km of ski trails in the late ’70s and early ‘80s. In the 1980s, Bohart Ranch officially established cross-country skiing in Bridger Canyon. Just south of Bohart, the trails were used for the 1981 AIAW’s and US Biathlon Championships. Bohart Ranch hosted the 1983 and 1985 NCAAs, the 1985 USA Master’s Championships, the 1996 and 1998 NCAA Championships, and in 2002, the U.S. Senior National Championships and Olympic Tryout Finals. Bohart Ranch hosted NCAA Championships again in 2008 and 2012 and Crosscut hosted the events in 2020.
In 2016, the philanthropic support of the Bozeman community facilitated the purchase of Bohart in an effort to preserve and expand it, along with adjoining land slated for second-home condo development. Crosscut Mountain Sports Center — our beloved 500-acre outdoor recreation hub — was born.
What’s in a name?
The “Whiskey Gulch” trail is the former site of 100s of bottle of Seth Bohart’s favorite beverage.
“Bloody Gulch” was the site of a near-miss chainsaw accident, during a ski club work day building the trails.
And the intersection called “Jane’s Gate” is named for Jane, a Belgian draft horse who considered this to be the favorite part of her pasture.
2017-2024
Early years of Crosscut Mountain Sports Center
Crosscut’s founding board members — Eric Love, Stuart Jennings, Cliff Montagne, and Hal Stanley — alongside a dedicated crew of community volunteers opened Crosscut Mountain Sports Center for its first winter season in 2017-2018. The success of our first years can be credited to our collective grit, hard work, and deep passion for cross-country skiing, biathlon, mountain biking, and outdoor education. Notably, Eric Love’s infectious optimism, persuasive enthusiasm, and tenacity took this Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) from dream to reality.
Crosscut has quickly evolved into a professional, well-run mountain center as we welcomed our first Executive Director, Lowell Bailey in 2017. Lowell, a four-time Olympian and World Cup gold medalist in biathlon, now works for the U.S. Biathlon Association.
Notably, Crosscut has been the U.S. Paralympics Nordic Team’s training hub since 2017.
Jen Beaston took over Crosscut’s leadership role in 2019. Through her five-year tenure, Jen guided Crosscut through remarkable growth and achievement, as well as navigating loss and challenges. Under Jen’s stewardship, Crosscut’s team more than doubled user days from 21,000 to over 50,000, expanded facilities to 28 miles of winter trails and 15 miles of summer trails, adding a world-class biathlon stadium, an outdoor education building, and more. Jen led our team in building operations to support 12x growth in earned revenue and expanded programs for our community, our partners, and the groups we serve. Her vision, dedication, and passion have left a lasting impact on our organization and our community.
Crosscut has been thoughtfully stewarded by a dedicated Board of Directors. Past board members include Eric Love, Stuart Jennings, Cliff Montagne, Hal Stanley, Kari Swenson, and Randy Elliott, as well as Lowell Bailey who served after his tenure as Executive Director.
July 20, 1961 – July 15, 2022
Remembering Eric Love
On, July 15, 2022, our Crosscut community lost our beloved founder and Board Chair, Eric Love, to a car accident.
Eric’s vision and passion as a founder brought today’s Crosscut Mountain Sports Center to life. As our first board chair, he drove our vision, and those who knew him well know that he was guiding us toward an even brighter future where Crosscut thoughtfully serves our growing community. Eric saw Crosscut as his legacy project — while he never sought or wanted recognition, he told those closest to him that seeing this vision through to completion would be his proudest achievement.
Eric was a maverick — confident, decisive, intense, with a strong sense of urgency. He believed in the ‘Art of the Possible’ and was venturesome, animated, optimistic, and was always open to the next audacious adventure. When Eric dreamed it was always big and for the greater good. He lived with passion, an easy smile and a genuine interest to connect deeply with those he met. One of his favorite quotes was:
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming ‘Wow! What a Ride!’” (credit: Hunter S. Thompson)
Eric got a new lease on life when he married the love of his life, Jacquie, in 2019. It was a fairytale romance for all to behold. While always finding time to support causes near to their hearts, they spent five years traveling, long-distance hiking, skiing, biking and exploring Montana and abroad. They had a shared passion for Eric’s beloved Crosscut Mountain Sports Center. We are incredibly grateful for Jacquie, who since Eric’s passing, joined our Board of Directors to carry on his vision.
Crosscut continues to grow in all the ways that were deeply important to Eric: fostering community by creating special places where people can gather, enhancing opportunity through outdoor education and athlete development programs, and embracing our shared responsibility as stewards of the land and the organization we hold in trust.
