Nordic Valley Ski Resort is closed until further notice after its beloved Barn caught fire early Monday, January 15. The resort was featured in the new film ‘Apollo’ by Cam McLeod, released in December, which features The Proper Way Band. “I pray that Nordic Valley salvages a rough season for the benefit of everyone who loves the place as much as I do,” writes band member Shane Osguthorpe.

Personal Essay / Opinion

By Shane Osguthorpe, The Proper Way Band

My heart is broken over the devastation at Nordic Valley last night. I sat in The Barn for a meeting with the Nordic Valley team on Thursday. Like any ski hill meeting, you go out and take a few runs afterward.

I rode the new connector from Crockett to Express. I skied three runs with Pascal, the GM. He and his staff had figured out a unique way to solve the demise of the Apollo lift and provide access to an amazing part of the mountain.

On Friday, my inbox blew up when Ski Magazine featured a new film by Cam McLeod that utilized music from The Proper Way … primarily featuring a song called “Burn the Whole Thing Down” played behind athlete, Marcus Caston, shredding an epic night of night skiing.

What none of us expected was that a couple of days later, The Barn at Nordic Valley would burn down.

As I said, my heart aches. I want only the best for the more than 200 employees at the resort to be okay. I pray that Nordic Valley salvages a rough season for the benefit of everyone who loves the place as much as I do.

I leave the words of filmmaker, Cam McLeod and a few of the images that will never leave my brain.

Editor’s Note: The fire at Nordic Valley Resort is still under investigation, according to local news sources. The resort released a statement on Facebook:

During the early hours of the morning, a fire was detected in our barn. Authorities were alerted right away and went to work at putting it out. Unfortunately, the entire barn was damaged including our ticket office, restaurant, and business offices. Due to these unforeseen circumstances, we will be closed until we can get equipment to print & validate tickets. We are working as hard as we can to get back up and running to welcome guests back to the mountain and will update you all as information comes in. For anyone who has purchased lift tickets, we will be issuing a credit to you. Please bear with us as we navigate to get our systems back up and running.

Follow Nordic Valley Resort on their website and social media pages for updates.