BOZEMAN — It has been one year since the tragic death of Eric Love, the founder of Crosscut Mountain Sports Center. Today, Crosscut is keeping his vision alive and thriving.
Sydney Michalak is a coach at Crosscut Mountain Sports. She embodies Love’s passions as she coaches young kids at their biathlon summer camp.
“He was just an amazing role model and the things that he—the vision he had at Crosscut and getting kids and youth and everybody involved. And his passion for that was absolutely amazing,” Michalak said.
Love was the main visionary behind Crosscut; on July 15, 2022, a dust storm near Hardin, Montana caused a massive car pileup, killing six people including Love.
For CEO Jen Beaston, the year following Love’s death has been anything but easy.
“It's just unfathomable to understand that it's been a year since Eric passed and actually today would have been his 62nd birthday,” said Beaston.
Beaston says Love wanted to create an inclusive environment at Crosscut, from locals to professionals.
“He wanted everybody to feel welcome here, from a five-year-old learning how to mountain bike to people that have been Nordic skiing for their entire lives, to somebody that wants to start trying a new sport, like biathlon, or mountain biking, to the best in the world,” she said.
After more than seven years, the organization has grown far beyond the team’s imaginations.
“And what we've realized is while he was the spark for Crosscut and being able to acquire this amazing property seven years ago and build this incredible center, it quickly grew so much bigger than himself,” Beaston said.
With an abundant staff and community utilizing these facilities for biathlons, skiing, hiking, and mountain biking, the values espoused by Love years ago still hold true today.
“We were sitting around for a long time trying to come up with our vision and mission statements a couple of years ago,” Beaston recalled. “And I remember Eric just leaning back in his chair after we had done all this brainstorming for a couple of days, and he just leaned back in his chair and he said, ‘We're about creating healthy community by connecting people with nature.’ And I think that just captures all of it.”
On July 29, Crosscut will host The Hoot, a premiere mountain biking event featuring 20-mile, 10-mile, 5-mile, and kids' race options. You can find out more at the Crosscut Mountain Sports Center website.
