Snow Skills

There’s an old joke that goes “Want to make a small fortune in the ski industry?” “Take a large fortune and buy a ski area”.

Not a very positive spin on a huge winter recreational business, but it’s true that there are half as many ski areas in the USA (502 in 2003; Ski Magazine) as there were in 1975. The financial challenges of a seasonal business would be large enough without energy, transportation, liability insurance, climate change, and other higher costs associated with skiing and riding.

That said, I’d guess every skier and rider has a small, hidden fantasy of wondering what it would be like to own your own ski area? Here’s your chance: Mt. Abram in Locke Mills, Maine is for sale. For $1.8 million, you can own 644 acres including a ski area with 44 trails and the largest tubing park in Maine. Mt. Abram’s has a 1,150 ft. vertical drop and strong weekend and night-time skiing programs for kids. This is your ‘classic’ New England local ski area. The present owner bought it for only $325,000 in 2000 in foreclosure; this sale occurs while the area is operating and apparently succeeding. I’d expect it will be a mark of the strength of the skiing industry if it sells and it will be interesting to see if the buyer is a sole proprietor or a larger corporation.

Snowskills.net has posted a list of websites for Ski Clubs in the USA; check out http://www.snowskills.net/usa-ski-clubs/. There are over 350 clubs on this list and many of them have excellent website, please check them out.

If you would like to add your ski club, please contact us!

The TSA is experimenting with using a ski-industry trail marking system to assist travelers through security. Many skiers/riders are familiar with the green circle-blue square-black diamond progression of easy to intermediate to difficult abilities. The TSA intends to translate that standard system to the selection of various types of security lines; green for families and those who need extra time, blue for travelers with multiple carry-ons who are familiar with traveling, and black diamond for experienced travelers who are familiar with security procedures.

The levels of security are the same; the intention is to reduce stress by grouping like travelers together. The TSA is testing this system at Salt Lake City airport, apparently expecting that a higher percentage of travelers who are skiers/riders will be familiar with the trail markings.

It’s only 2 years and counting to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada!

Check out the latest news at the official website.

Most of the Olympic venues are ready, operating, and available to the public. Compared to other recent games (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, maybe Beijing 2008), our Canadian friends appear to have planned for these facilities well in advance and will avoid a last-minute rush to be ready.

An estimated 5,000 athletes and coaches, 10,000 press and media staff, and millions of spectators are expected to attend the Vancouver Winter Olympics. The alpine skiing events will be at Whistler, the nordic events at Callahan Valley (20 miles from Whistler), and the snowboarding events at Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver. Tickets for the 2010 Olympics go on sale in October, so now would be a great time to check out the snow, before the crowds show up!

The Maine Winter Special Olympics are being held at Sugarloaf this week. Over 600 athletes and coaches have assembled in Carrabassett Valley, ME to participate in skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice skating, and other winter sports over 3 days. Maine was the first state to hold a Winter Olympics event in 1968.

Bode Miller has set the U.S. Record for individual wins with his 28th World Cup victory.

Bode won the combined title at Kitzbuehl, Austria by placing 14th in the Slalom and second in the downhill. With this performance, he solely owns the title previously held by Phil Mahre.

After a World Cup Downhill at Kitzbuhl, Austria this week, skier Bode Miller continues to share the American record for individual victories with Phil Mahre. Bode was one of many skiers who did not finish the course which led to complaints about the course conditions.

With his next victory, Bode will have 28 victories since 2001. Prior to the Kitzbuhl event, Bode was second in the overall World Cup Standings to Benjamin Raich of Austria. The next World Cup event was a Combined Event scheduled for the next day.

The use of foot powder in your winter boots of all kinds will help keep your feet drier and warmer during your adventures.
Use any kind of anti-bacterial foot powder in your sock to help absorb excess sweat and pull moisture away from your feet.

It will help keep your foot warm, by absorbing normal moisture expelled from the foot. It also helps to keep the boot smelling okay; be aware that no foot powder can completely remove foot odor from well-used boots, but at least some will help keep the odor manageable.

Note that foot powder in itself will not overcome poor choices of footwear or socks: there’s no substitute for investing in quality insulated boots to enjoy the outside in the winter. For socks, wool or synthetic materials are best and absolutely, positively never use cotton socks in the winter!

Cotton will not provide any insulation once it gets wet and just your normal perspiration is enough moisture to make you cold and wet.

Bode Miller won a World Cup Downhill Victory in Wengen, Switzerland to tie the American individual record of World Cup Skiing victories. The victory was Bode’s 27th overall and a repeat of his downhill victory on the Lauberhorn course last year. The Lauberhorn course is the longest one on the World Cup circuit at 2.8 miles.

Phil Mahre and Bode now share the American record of 27 individual wins. Bode went independent of the U.S. Team last May and trains and tours without their support. A native of New Hampshire, he’s a graduate of the Carrabassett Valley Academy at the Sugarloaf resort in Maine.

Sir Edmund Hillary has passed away at the age of 88 in his native homeland of New Zealand. Hillary and his Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, were recognized as first recognized men to set foot on the summit of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. Hillary may be the world’s most known adventurer: New Zealand honors him by placing his face on their $5 bill while he was knighted Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire after his summit success.

Here’s Hillary and Norgay, shortly after returning from the summit.

An adventurer in every sense of the word, Hillary gave back to the country where he had his most famous moment by setting up schools and clinics to improve the life of the Sherpas. In a world that seems to shrink as technology advances, his accomplishment on Everest may stand as one of the last great adventures on Earth. His autobiography, View from the Summit, is an excellent read and we recommend it to hikers, climbers, and wanna-be adventurers!