There’s so much happening at ski/snowboard/X-C resorts this season.  So, in addition to regular posts, we also offer this monthly calendar of this and that tidbits ICYMI (in case you missed it).

Here’s what’s happening in January.

22^nd X Games at Aspen

Competitors from across the globe – as well as local Olympians Hanna Faulhaber and Alex Ferreira – gear up to take the world’s stage the weekend of January 27-29 at X Games Aspen.  Watch the action in Women’s and Men’s Snowboard and Ski Slopestyle, Big Air, SuperPipe and Knuckle Huck at Buttermilk Mountain – for FREE.

New this year, X Games is offering special packages including athlete meet-and-greets, front-row viewing, hospitality experiences and other events.

For the latest X Games Aspen 2023 event information, visit xgames.com

Fire & Ice Shows at Whistler/Blackcomb

Skier’s Plaza lights up every Sunday night through March 12 with a spectacular display of skills at the legendary Fire & Ice Show, where Whistler’s best skiers and riders jump and flip through a blazing ring of fire accompanied by an electric mix of music and dance.

It is an exciting evening of FREE live entertainment to enjoy with family and friends, starting at 9pm. Dress warmly, grab a hot chocolate and prepare to be amazed.

Uphilling in Jackson Hole 

Snow King, the town’s “other” ski area – a favorite of locals – and the only one which allows uphilling.

Uphill skiing at ski resorts is a special privilege, as millions of dollars are invested into snowmaking, grooming, and keeping trails safe.  In addition, the liability of collisions between uphill and downhill skiers is a major concern (and resort expense).  Please follow uphill travel policies posted online and be sure to purchase an uphill travel season or day pass for your visit.

Expect to be greeted and turned around by a staff member if you do not have your uphill pass displayed as you skin up the hill.  Dogs are not allowed on the mountain at any time lifts are running, and single file uphill travel is required.

New Boutique Hotels in the Catskills

If you are skiing at Belleayre, Hunter, Plattekill or Windham, there are some interesting new so-called “design forward” boutique hotels in the area with upscale amenities.  Check out Eastwind, Hotel Lilien and Bluebird Hunter Lodge.

Also new is AutoCamp Catskills in Saugerties, the first in New York and second on the East Coast, with high-end, boutique-style amenities. There are classic 31-foot Airstream campers, high-end tents, suites, and modern cabins situated among  hiking trails and a Clubhouse gathering space.

Ski Up to Six Utah Resorts in One Day 

The Ski Utah Interconnect Tour is for skiers with strong legs and lungs and an equally strong desire for bragging rights. It’s also for advanced and expert level skiers with equipment capable of going backcountry in between some resorts in the Wasatch Range. Sorry, no snowboarders, because Alta and Deer Valley do not allow snowboarders.

The interconnect operates daily – conditions permitting – with guides trained in backcountry safety and etiquette (top of both lists is never ski ahead of your guide). There are group tours at $475 per person and private customized tours at $1,499.  Bragging rights included. https://www.skiutah.com/explore/the-interconnect-tour

Dine Out Deal

If you are visiting Whistler/Blackcomb January 20^th to February 5^th, you can enjoy the 21st Annual Dine Out Vancouver Festival downtown and taste the world across the city at more than 350 restaurants with multi-course meals and unique culinary experiences. During a normally slow time of the year, the festival has become a popular time for Vancouverites and visitors to Whistler/Blackcomb to support local restaurants.  There are set menus at three price ranges: $20-$34, $35-$50, or $50-$64. Details here.

Background – Such dine-out meal deals started in NYC a couple of decades ago, to boost business in the slow post-holiday weeks.  The NYC Restaurant Week template has been copied by hundreds of cities, from Albuquerque to Vancouver.

Next Season News – Winter Park

Winter Park is replacing its Pioneer lift with a brand-new six-pack for the 2023-24 season.

The new lift will include a mid-load station that will allow guests to avoid arduous catwalks at the bottom of the current Pioneer zone.

This season – and hopefully next season, also – take the train to the chairlift. See our article on the Winter Park Ski Train.

https://seniorsskiing.com/take-the-train-to-the-chairlift/

See you for another ICYMI next month – or on a chairlift, gondola or magic carpet before then.

The pandemic caused ski area management teams to change how they run their resorts. Covid affected every business function from technology to marketing and communications to day-to-day operations.

As a group, ski areas were forced to learn how to react quickly to an ever-changing set of guidelines emanating from the Federal government as well as those from state governments that were often not in sync with Federal rules. Coupled with travel restrictions, the covid pandemic forced management teams to become more agile in ways they never imagined.

The lessons learned emerged from the “covid years” fell into three large buckets – technology, staffing and marketing.

Bucket “one” were the marketing and operating challenges that accelerated implementing automation at almost every level of operations. For skiers, the most visible were RFID (radio frequency identification) tags that reduced the number of lift ticket checkers at lift entry points.

Resorts updated their apps for mobile phones so skiers could buy food at kiosks, order meals at on-mountain restaurants, and pick up their lift tickets and season passes with touchless technology.  Keeping websites current to reflect the changing guidelines and the impact on the area required management teams to drastically shorten their web site updating cycle-times.

Each new set of guidelines affected the marketing and communications messaging which drove new content to be incorporated quickly on the website. Websites became a primary means to ensure that skiers knew the area was open for business and what precautions they needed to take to be allowed to ski or snowboard.   Social media also played a role, so Facebook pages and other applications became increasingly important ways to communicate with skiers.

The technology fell into two groups – the ones an area implemented and will continue to use and improve. The second were applications that were needed or planned to cope with covid and now are in their hip pockets in case of another similar set of challenges.

The second bucket of lessons came were changes in their marketing message and how areas communicated with skiers. Traditional messaging changed from “come to our area, the skiing is great and you’ll have a wonderful time” to “we’re open, conditions are great, and here’s what we’re doing to comply with the guidelines”.

How to operate a ski area with less than the full staff is the third bucket of lessons learned. Management teams made difficult choices as they wrestled with ensuring guests had a great vacation while running at the area with roughly 70% of what would be considered the desired staffing level. Operating hours of some facilities were curtailed; some services were eliminated; how and when trails were groomed was changed while at the same time, the area operated as many lifts as possible to minimize lift lines.

Staffing shortages forced area management teams to increase cross- training so with little notice they could, for example, move a lift operator to a food and beverage site or to a customer service desk. Positive covid tests forced daily changes in staffing plans.

Overall, ski area managers said the changes made during the Covid pandemic will benefit both skiers and ski areas in the long term.

First, covid forced managers to learn how to react to rapid changes in the regulatory environment, the market and the economy knowing that what worked yesterday and today, may not work tomorrow. Second, technologies that before covid would have taken two or three years to implement were created, tested and in use in a year or less.

Senior skiers will benefit from these changes. For example, if you have an IKON or Epic pass, you never need to stand in a line to get your lift ticket. Soon data from your trips up ski lifts will be used to create models that forecast skier movements. In a few years, you may be able to look at an app on your smartphone and see where the lift lines are! How cool will that be!

There’s so much news this new ski season, which is why we are launching this monthly ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) collection of this and that at our favorite resorts.

Reservations Required

Your IKON Pass gives you five free days at a participating resort.  But don’t just show up anywhere, since some IKON resorts now require advance reservations.  Not all, just some.

To prevent being turned away, remember to make a reservation in advance to ski or board at these eight IKON resorts which require reservations this season – especially if you want to get on a chairlift or gondola on a busy weekend.

Reservations are required if you want to get on the mountain before 2pm. In alphabetical order:

• Aspen/Snowmass
• Big Sky
• Brighton
• Jackson Hole
• Loon
• Snoqualimie
• Taos
• Windham

Some resorts, both IKON Pass and not, are now also requiring reservations for parking.  See our recent article on new parking policies and prices for full details.

https://seniorsskiing.com/new-parking-policies-and-prices-at-utah-resorts/

Work out at a gym inspired by Mikeala Shiffrin

The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa Avon, in the Vail Valley, has opened a new TechnoGym strength and cardio center at the recently created Studio M: Mikaela Shiffrin Performance Studio, a workout space inspired by the Olympic Gold Medalist and World Cup winner who trains at the facility when she is in Colorado.

We wish there was a chance to work out with the great Mikaela Shiffrin – as there is to ski with Olympians, such as with Billy Kidd at Steamboat.  Maybe next year.

Powder Mountain Snowmobile Tours

Sign up for new 1-to-2-hour guided snowmobile tours around the White Pine/Gertsen area every Saturday and Sunday, starting in January 2023, conditions permitting. Discover the southernmost aspect of Utah’s largest ski resort via a trail-specific snowmobile.

The vistas, located around 9,000 ft of elevation, offer views of the Wasatch, Ogden Valley, The Great Salt Lake, and more. The tour includes information about the surrounding topography, ecology, and history. Snacks will be provided as you overlook Utah’s gorgeous scenery.

Two tours depart with a max of 6 guests per tour (3 operators and 3 riders). The morning tour is 10am to around Noon. The afternoon tour is 1pm to around 3pm. Snowmobile operators need a valid driver’s license and must be 18 years or older to drive. Children old enough to hold on can ride as a passenger. Helmets are provided and participants should winter outerwear, goggles, beanies, neck gaiters, warm gloves, and insulated boots.

Rates are $160 per Snowmobile (Operator) + $40 for an additional guest (Passenger), and 72-hour advance reservations are required. Conditions permitting. https://www.powdermountain.com/resort/adventures

Get a Free Ride at Lake Tahoe

Going car free is entirely do-able at Lake Tahoe. The new app-based Lake Link www.tahoelakelink.com launched this past summer allows visitors and locals to request free rides in 9-12 passenger vans on the main thoroughfares from the Nevada casinos (and in 2023, to and from the Events Center) to the Al Tahoe neighborhood in South Lake Tahoe, approximately three miles from the state line.

If you are driving yourself, Caltrans has current California road conditions at www.dot.ca.gov or 1-800-427-ROAD (7623) or 916-445-7623. For road conditions in Nevada, contact the Nevada Department of Transportation at http://nvroads.com or 877-687-6237. For a comprehensive guide to getting around Lake Tahoe, visit www.linkingtahoe.com.

The Territory

Okay, it’s not about downhill or XC, but all of us winter sports enthusiasts have a vested interest in sustainability and climate change, and this is an award-winning documentary featured at the Sundance Film Festival, which was started by a famous skier who also founded the ski resort named Sundance. If you can’t figure out who that is, do an online search for the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

The Territory is a riveting documentary about indigenous activists struggling to save the Brazilian Amazon rainforest from illegal loggers and farmers, and their fight for transparency over the government and corporate forces working to hide – and stop – their efforts. It’s both inspiring and heartbreaking.  Read more in this NYTimes review, which includes a video clip.  https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/movies/the-territory-review.html

View The Territory it for free in December on the National Geographic and Sundance channels, or if you are a subscriber to Disney+.

Learn to XC Ski Week for Older Skiers   submitted by www.XCSkiResorts.com

Older skiers can enjoy cross country (XC) skiing at their own pace for getting outdoors in winter nature and the wellness associated with physical, psychological and spiritual fitness.

For those who have never tried XC skiing, or need a refresher course, Cross Country Ski Headquarters in Roscommon, MI has special programs specifically to encourage older XC skiers.

During Silver Streak Week, January 9-13, 2023, XC skiers aged 60 or older can get a complimentary XC SKI HQ Facilities Pass, and try out new skis for free at the demo center. Plus, there’s complimentary coffee and hot cocoa.

The Golden Years Ski School is an introduction (or reintroduction) to the cross country skiing for those aged 55+. This learn-to-ski workshop for both beginners and those who have not skied in many years, tailored to each participant’s goals and ability levels, and aims to teach participants the skills required to truly enjoy cross country skiing.

The all-day workshop is Wednesday, Jan 11, 2023, beginning with indoor instruction, then head outside for an on-snow lesson. After lunch in the center’s Stone Turtle Cafe and Day Lodge,  instructor Jim Bradley takes skiers on a guided ski tour on the XC Ski Headquarters trails. Cost is $55 and includes a full-day ski rental and facilities pass, learn- to-ski workshop, and guided ski tour. This event is limited to 20 people. http://www.crosscountryski.com

See you on the slopes!

Cross-country ski clubs and Nordic non-profits in North America (for simplicity, let’s just call them “clubs”) are crazy-diverse and often unsung, but they play a vital role in creating lifelong skiers – not just elite racers but the equally important recreational participants.

Clubs are the base which spread the word, coach kids, bring their families skiing, buy clothing and equipment, even volunteer to maintain and groom trails. And that inherently means buying and repairing grooming machinery plus cutting firewood for lodges and trailside cabins.

More than 400 clubs, especially in Canada, are effectively cross country ski areas – grooming trails, running programs, holding events, generally concentrating on kids’ learning to ski and often race, with plowed parking, base lodges, even equipment rentals. Many have Masters racing programs and some concentrate on operating XC ski trips, domestically and sometimes internationally.

COVID Winters generated major growth in club membership, which can range from dozens to thousands. An increasing number have dedicated snowshoe and fatbiking trails. Several clubs mix in downhill skiing. You’ll even find a small but growing number with snowmaking, like Alaska’s Nordic Skiing Association of Anchorage and Nakkertok Nordic in Quebec.

The North Star Ski Touring Club (NSSTC) in St. Paul, Minnesota, https://north-stars.org is eclectic. It no longer has its own trail network, but it is big, influential, and impressively active.  Okay, maybe that should be “hyperactive.” Their motto is “Cross Country Skiing is our passion, but we have fun all year!” They’re involved with events like hiking, biking, paddling, fall trail- clearing trips, lectures, regular meetings, a new mentoring program for new skiers.

The North Stars have evolved a lot over their 55-year history, but they keep alive a sense of play. One of the largest Nordic ski clubs in North America, they are devoted to non-motorized outdoor recreation. The club’s sweeping mandate is to “enjoy and promote cross-country skiing in Minnesota and elsewhere.” Originally winter-only, they’ve evolved into a year- round organization that runs all kinds of events – not just in the Midwest but also to Norway as well as Idaho’s Sun Valley and Washington’s Methow Valley.

Founded in 1967, the club’s first project was developing a trail network that formed part of course for the Victoria-Jonathan-Chaska Ski Tour and Race Course, a famous event that pre-dated the American Birkebeiner.

The club has been a major winter sports influence around the Twin Cities. The late Peter Hale, one-time importer of Madshus skis, remembered the North Stars as “advocates for the sport, forging a link between tour racing and today’s skiing. The club was a huge source of knowledge

and energy. They were committed to participant cross-country, not primarily competitive cross-country, and they welcomed families.”

NSSTC has played a significant political role in Minnesota XC. In 1970-‘71, they helped persuade the Hennepin County Park Reserve (now Three Rivers Park District) to support cross-country, including limiting snowmobile trail expansion. They also campaigned against snowmobile access to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and played a pivotal role in development of a statewide ski pass to supplement state funding for ski trails.

There’s a lot of racing history too. In winter 1972-‘73, NSSTC helped haul snow for the U.S. National Championships at Hyland Park Lake Reserve in the Twin Cities. In 1973, three club members completed the first American Birkebeiner at Telemark Lodge in Cable, Wisconsin. In those early days, women weren’t supposed to ski the full distance, but club member Jacque Landeskog completed the event, though officials refused to include her in the finishing list. She’s now recognized as the first woman to finish the Birkebeiner.

Club projects have included work on the Vasaloppet trails in Mora, Minnesota; North End SkiTrail near Telemark, Wisconsin; and the Gunflint area trails in northeastern Minnesota. They’ve also contributed to projects such as lights for night skiing and snowmaking at Wirth Park inMinneapolis. In 2022, they’ve awarded thousands of dollars to clubs and schools for new trail building, upgraded grooming equipment, and ski equipment.

Perhaps unsung, they’re still a force in Minnesota’s Nordic community.