Mountain Air CC cultivates its members’ affinity for outdoor recreation with a full slate of exceptional nature-based programming.
With its unique Slickrock Mountain backdrop, smatterings of water elements and an old-growth forest, Mountain Air Country Club, in Burnsville, N.C., has outdoor recreation built right in.
But beyond the typical outdoor recreation offerings—golf, tennis and swimming—the private club not only embraces its environs, but amplifies them, creating niche locations throughout the property to get members into each corner and crevice.
“I try to do as much as I can outside,” says Remembrance “Memmy” Staber, the club’s Fitness Professional. “Something miraculously happens internally when you’re outside, called the ‘biophilia effect.’ Everything becomes more heightened—the experience, your workout, breathing, mental capabilities—and you become almost addicted to that feeling.
Recreation Profile Mountain Air Country Club Location: Burnsville, N.C.
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“Once I get people to take a class outside, they don’t want to go back into the gym,” Staber adds.
Bringing the Inside Out
While Mountain Air’s property includes a fitness center, it only measures about 2,000 sq. ft. and isn’t big enough for everything Staber and her husband, Fitness Professional Joe Grebenor, want to offer. The club is in the process of presenting an expansion plan, but in the meantime—and even after a larger facility may come to fruition—management will always find plenty of space by making full use of its unique property.
“Walking meditation is one of my favorite things to do—we go for a hike and just stop and do meditation on the trail,” Staber notes. She also offers fitness hikes, on which members take rubber bands and tubing to create their own strength-training stations outdoors, amid views of flora and fauna. “There are lots of cutout sections around the mountain where I have clients stop and do certain exercises,” Stuber says. “I try to take advantage of every corner I’ve got.”
With 90% of the club’s 375 members participating in some type of recreation, the staff is tasked with developing new programs constantly, and even customizes current offerings as requested by members.
“Right now, we have a family here whose kids are into bird watching, so we created custom bird-watching hikes for them,” Staber notes.
In addition to the nooks that Staber seeks out for her programs, the property has six parks, each with unique amenities ranging from stone picnic tables, educational boards, a treehouse, yoga platforms, a stone labyrinth, and peaceful wind chimes.
More Than the Sum of its Parts
Mountain Air works to keep its members’ experience well-rounded by having all departments work together on programming and services—the food and beverage department, for example, not only offers healthy menu choices but maintains a large organic garden that is the source of many of the meals provided in the clubhouse.
The 58-bed community garden is also available to members, who can rent a bed for a season and have their cultivation efforts fully supported by staff, including the club’s gardener, Ryan Wiebe, recently named the 2014 North Carolina Small Farmer of the Year. “Anything you want to grow, [Ryan] can tell you which type will grow best here, and can help every step of the way,” notes Gina Elrod, Director of Recreation.
The fitness staff also brings its knowledge to the golf and tennis programs. “We try to incorporate golf and fitness together, to collaborate on events by offering stretching before a big tournament,” says Staber. “That way, we can also include other people who are not playing golf, but are here while the golfers are on the mountain, bringing everyone together.” The fitness department also offers yogilates (a combination of yoga and pilates), while tennis pro Kristin Munn-Whaley conducts cardio tennis, clinics, lessons, and socials for tennis players.
Mountain Air’s 1,200 acres are owned by a family, and since the inception of the community, a role was envisioned for an ambassador between the club and its surroundings. As the Director of Natural Resources, Kat Dunham works with each department to provide a variety of educational and fun nature-based activities, from bird-watching workshops and wildflower walks to astronomy programs. “My favorite parts of my job are the many spontaneous teaching opportunities,” says Dunham. “People ask me so many questions, and it’s immensely fulfilling to satisfy their curiosity.”
Overall, Dunham is “responsible for how we interact with the ecosystem,” explains Elrod. For example, Dunham’s “salamander safari” (see photo in box), a popular program among kids, teaches participants about the health of the area’s water system. Dunham also coordinates off-site outdoor adventures, such as whitewater rafting and kayaking, by vetting different contractors in the area, and points members in the right direction based on their interests.
Opportunities For All
Over time, Mountain Air’s recreation program has evolved using ideas offered by members and their families. Programming for young members, segmented for ages 5-12 and teenagers, has expanded and become more specialized, says Elrod.
“We follow trends to some degree, but we don’t want to be too trendy,” Elrod says. “Our emphasis is on wellness and the mind-body connection. People come to the mountains to rejuvenate and heal, for the amazing views, and to get a break from the city, so our nature-based programs are big.”
The club’s geocaching trails literally provide a unique avenue for outdoor recreation. Geocaching involves using a GPS to hide and seek containers, referred to as “caches,” often in the woods or any outdoor area. The club allows members to borrow a GPS if they don’t already have one, and also offers photo safari events during which teams take pictures for a contest.
Mountain Air also offers a fall-colors golf-cart tour, led by staff, that shows off the area’s stunning autumn foliage while covering as much of the property’s 1,200 acres as possible.
The club uses its e-newsletter and specialized e-mails to spread the word about its programs and offerings, as well as the printed “Mountain Top Happenings,” which members can stick on their refrigerators. But in keeping with the property’s primary identity as an escape for many members, word of mouth remains the most popular way to market events.
“It’s a small enough community that we just tell people about what’s going on, because we know our members and their families,” Elrod explains. “We find that a lot of our members like to unplug when they’re here and not rely on e-communications. They want to build relationships.”
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