This Issue: April 1, 2022
The season’s beginning to wind down. Area closing dates have been arriving by email, and wherever I look here in Salt Lake City, flowers are springing from the ground and golfers are swinging away on the fairways. For skiers it’s a bittersweet time of year. Patches of brown on the slopes signal it’s coming to an end. But there’re always plans and visions for the coming season. April 15 will be our final full issue for the 2021-22 season.
Short Swings! has some surprises in store. Herb Stevens’ weather report mixes good news and less than good news for the coming weeks.
Jon describes an upcoming guided ebike tour of the Umbria region of Italy. The electric-assisted bikes will carry the small group through gorgeous countryside as they visit wineries, ancient villages, and luxurious small hotels.
Dave Irons draws on his rich experience heading patrol at Sunday Mountain to share thoughts on why some skiers are, literally, out of control, and what can be done to reduce this growing problem.
Tamsin Venn explores Park City’s minimg history and how, in the early days of the resort, subways delivered skier to the slopes.
Mike Roth illustrates a reader’s 1982 experience in Tuckerman Ravine, and Don Burch presents his newest; a video account of his recent visit to several Colorado resorts. His take on the ski video is entertaining and refreshing.
Be sure to check out Test Your Skiing Knowledge and the answer to last issue’s challenge. And visit the growing LUV2SKI vanity license plate gallery.
Enjoy the issue. Enjoy these last weeks of skiing. See you again on April 15.
Short Swings!
A few bizarre developments from ski country:
Source: American Museum of Natural History
Did you see the recent article about the frozen fish blizzard in the Altai Mountain region of China? It’s the same region where for thousands of years, indigenous people have been navigating winter on homemade skis. Apparently, a tornado-like waterspout touched down in Kanas Lake, picked up a large school of 5” – 7” fish and deposited them across several small villages in the region.
A naturally occurring avalanche in a remote section of the Dolomite region of Italy, uncovered the remains of a German bi-plane that crashed there during World War I. Inside was the preserved body of the pilot, as well as a partially eaten loaf of bread and an unopened bottle of beer.
Park City chiropractor, Ben Dover, was repairing a plumbing leak in the basement of his 100+ year old home when he noticed cool air blowing through the wood paneled wall. Curious, he carefully removed a few boards and found the entrance to an old mine. Flashlight in hand, he walked into the space where he saw something hanging on a wall. It was a calendar from 1909 with a date circled in red: April 1!
Happy April Fools Day!!!
It’s part of the human condition that, regardless of our age, every one of us has an unknown expiration date. I believe we should be aware of the news of the day and have empathy for those who suffer. Among the ways we can help is through volunteering and financial and other forms of support. We can also make an extra effort to be kind to ourselves and to each other. Next time you’re being jostled in lift line or cut off before you pull into that ideal parking space, give the other person a smile. When you get to the chair, thank the liftee. On the trail, do what you can to avoid a collision. There’s a lot wrong with the world of skiing: the crowds, reckless people, etc., etc. But there’s a lot right with it, too. Otherwise we wouldn’t go to the effort.
Spring has arrived. Delicious warm days await us on the hill. Soon we’ll be hanging up our boards and thinking about next season.
Enjoy April Fools Day. Enjoy the pond skim. Enjoy the live band and the cold beer. Enoy it all. It’s skiing.
Fashion Statement?
Tommy Hilfinger’s ski-in/ski-out home sold for a $19 million profit after three months of ownership.
Fashion Designer/manufacturer, Tommy Hilfiger, sold his Aspen ski in/ski out home last week for $50 million. He purchased in in December for $31 million. Yes, you read that correctly. He made a $19 million profit in three months…reflecting the current hot mountain town real estate market.
The Future of XC Skiing
If you’re associated with a XC ski club or facility, be sure to set aside time April 5 and 6 to attend (by Zoom) the Cross Country Ski Areas Association 2022 Spring Conference. Topics will cover current trends and events impacting the XC industry and maintaining growth and optimizing the guest experience. Cost:$45; https://ccsaa.org/annual-conference-2021/.
OR Returns to Salt Lake City
Five years ago, the twice-yearly Outdoor Retailer trade show decamped from Salt Lake City to Denver. Among the numerous reasons for the move was the State of Utah’s resistance to protecting its wilderness lands from development by extraction industries and from continued illegal use by ATVs and other motorized vehicles. Given that the outdoor recreational industry is based, in large part, on use of public lands, numerous big brands threatened to withdraw from the trade show if it continued in the state. Now, with support from the mayor of Salt Lake City, the twice-annual show will return to its roots. The past five years has seen unprecedented growth in Salt Lake City and the surrounding area. The new international airport, a $5.5 billion investment, is the first major hub airport replacement built in the 21st century.
Telltale Signs of Stroke
This valuable information arrived in my inbox along with the story of a woman who died after the signs of her stroke went undetected. If treated within three hours of onset, chance of recovery is increased. To determine if someone is experiencing a stroke ask the person to 1) smile; 2) talk and speak a simple sentence; 3) raise both arms. If there is difficulty performing any of these, immediately call 911 and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. An additional sign of stroke: Ask the person to stick out the tongue. If it goes to one side or the other, the person may have had a stroke.
Ski Mo
Lauren (l), Tom, and Liz costumed-up for the last Park City SkiMo event of the season.
If you’re not already familiar with this soon-to-be Olympic event, chances are, you soon will be. SkiMo (short for Ski Mountaineering) is a competitive event in which participants race up the hill on skins and/or carrying their boards, then clicking in and skiing down. It has many variations, including the one I witnessed one evening last week at Olympic Park in Park City. There, participants tried to make as many laps of the 300′ vertical as they could in an hour. One person clocked six or seven laps.
Remembering “Super Skier”
Remember the song, Super Skier, from the Chad Mitchell Trio? Released in 1963, it tells the amusing tale of of a guy whose sense of his skiing self far exceeds his skiing skills. Click on the above image and listen with fresh ears.
Important Notice
The annual fundraiser is over. Again, I want to thank all who provided support for the site. Your gifts help defray the cost of publication. The majority of posters, stickers and thank you notes have been mailed, but I’m a few weeks behind completing the chore. Too many doctors visits and our move to a new (for us) home have complicated matters. Also, several mailings to reader-provided addresses were returned. Thanks for your patience.
The Sking Weatherman April 1, 2022
The Skiing Weatherman 4/1 West favored for snow…East hangs on
In my last installment, I discussed the extreme back and forth nature of the winter in much of the country, as well as the transition of the upper air pattern to a typical springtime short wavelength configuration that helps to sustain a rapid back and forth sequence of weather systems. For the next 10 days or so, we are looking at pretty much a “rinse and repeat” scenario from coast to coast. Cold air is still quite plentiful across Canada, but it is more difficult at this time of year to break off a big chunk that descends into the lower 48 for an extended period of time. We will have to make do with smaller shots of cold air that fuel and sustain transient upper level troughs, but we’ll also have to accept the short wavelength ridges that move from west to east that lead to milder weather and spring surface conditions. By the middle of the month, I do see signs of a colder pattern setting up in the West, with a mild ridge popping up in the East, one that will likely be the knockout punch for the season at most of that region’s resorts. Here is a look at the jet stream next Thursday…
A deep trough will be located over the middle of the country, with ridging dominating the West with a spell of dry, mild weather. It will also be mild in the East…after a chilly start to the week…as a ridge also pops up along the Atlantic seaboard. The trough will send yet another surface low-pressure center along an unfavorable path for eastern resorts through the eastern Great Lakes and into the St. Lawrence Valley. That track will generate rain and some higher elevation snow in New York and New England. While eastern skiers and riders have cursed the numerous “cutter” lows this season, the far northern Great Lakes resorts have been on the snowy side of that storm track and have enjoyed a banner season. Mount Bohemia in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is a natural snow, ungroomed, advanced skier-only powder magnet in the Lake Superior snowbelt. They average about 270 inches of snow a year and have received 280 inches as of 3/24. As this list illustrates, Bohemia has racked up more snowfall than many more famous resorts, east, and west.
With the potential for additional snowfall looking pretty solid across the northern Lakes, Bohemia could very well stretch their lead on the snowfall scoreboard through mid-April.
Out west, snow levels have been on the high side of late, with spring conditions quite common, even into parts of the northern Rockies. The relatively mild pattern will remain in place for the next week, but by about the 10th, a significant trough will move in from the Pacific, and colder air will flow into that trough from western Canada. That will lead to a period of at least several days with enhanced prospects for late snow from the Cascades down through the Sierras and eastward to the Rockies. At the same time a mild ridge will build in the East, and with rather a skimpy base snow in place, the end of the season will arrive at many resorts. Here is a jet stream forecast for 4/13 that displays the pattern change.
Regional details…
Northwest U.S./Western Canada: Some light snow early next week, then mild and dry. Turns snowy from the 10th onward.
Sierra: Spring conditions rule for another 10 days before mid-month pattern change delivers snow.
Rockies: Weak system brings light snows early next week then ridge rules for a while. Pattern favorable for late snow after the 11th or so.
Midwest: Many resorts have closed. Snow still in the cards across the northern Lakes for the next couple of weeks.
Mid Atlantic/Southeast: Boom-boom, out go the lights. The season is over.
Northeast/QB: Chilly weekend sustains snow cover. First ten days of April hold hope for high elevation snow at northern resorts.
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