Short Swings!
It was pretty cool watching skiers race that tough Olympic course in falling snow. Their power, speed and control were remarkable. I only wish they were being cheered on with shouts and cowbells.
I’ll confess that the head-spinning ski and snowboard gymnastic events fascinate and confuse me. No clue of how they and most other events are scored. I prefer simple metrics like first to finish, most goals, or longest jump.
I also like events that are easy on the eyes. Figure skating and ice dancing fit that bill. Biathalon? That’s a whole other story.
It would be nice if the ancient sport of ski ballet were to return to the Olympic hill, or any hill. The terrific article on Ski Ballet by Margaret Fuhrer that appeared February 11 in The New York Times contains videos of Susie Chaffee and others doing things on skis that are slower and more graceful than any ski event I’ve seen in the current games.
Susie Chaffee, grande dame of Ski Ballet. Photo: Hank de Vre
Ski Ballet was the only of the three original freestyle events that didn’t survive. The others, aerials and moguls, are entertaining millions tuned into the Games. Indeed, there may be some viewers who think that’s all there is to skiing.
Watching good Ski Ballet is watching a thing of beauty. Music accompaniment could be classical, jazz or rock. Watching aerials or moguls, my mind tunes into a soundtrack of hip hop and rap. Those downhill and Super G racers? The sound of fast skis on hard, icy snow is the best music of all.
Alyeska: 500”
Source: Alyeska Ski Resort
Alaska’s Alyeska ski resort recently surpassed 500″ of snowfall.
Visa Olympic Commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlz65YT8MBM
If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you’ve probably seen “Everyone Wins,” the Visa Olympics commercial that bends over backward to include a universe of diversity. The producers may have meant to satirize the crowded slopes problem. Instead, for active, older skiers, they produced a nightmarish scenario.
Aspen Bumps Minimum to $20
Old Aspen logo. Source: Aspen
Since November, Aspen has upped its minimum wage $5. The increase came in two installments, the most recent — $3 – bringing the minimum to $20 per hour. It’s significant on several fronts: It’s costly to live in or near most mountain towns, and Aspen is no exception. The increase may give Aspen a competitive hiring advantage over other nearby ski areas.
Skier’s Side Trip Saved Many Lives
I just read Nicky & Vera, the exceptional children’s picture book written and illustrated by Peter Cis. It tells the true story of Nicholas Winton, the Englishman whose delayed ski vacation resulting in saving the lives of 699 Czechoslovakian Jewish children during the Nazi occupation of Prague. I mention the book here, because many of its wonderfully simple illustrations picture “Nicky” Winton with skis and poles. Winton arranged for the children to travel to England and be placed with families there. He kept his accomplishment a secret until later in life, when his wife, rummaging through their attic, discovered numerous scrapbooks filled with the children’s records. Eventually, he was featured on a British TV program where dozens of the people he had saved were present. The “Vera” of the title was one of the children. Nicholas Winton died in 2015 at the age of 106. Nicky & Vera was published in 2021 by Norton Young Readers.
3.7% of Boomers Participate in Winter Sports
That, accoring to a new report by The Sports & Fitness Industry Association, the trade association of leading industry sports and fitness brands, suppliers and retailers. In 2021, 3.7% Boomers (1945-1964) and 8.2% Gen-Xers (1965-1979) participated in winter sports. According to the report, in 2021, a total of more than 13.6 million people participated in Alpine skiing, and more than 4.4 million in cross country skiing. The report also shows that 35.5% of people 65+ are classified “inactive” in 2021. In 2018, the percentage of “inactive” was 40.7%. The study was compiled from 18,000 online interviews.
Alta Interlodge
Interlodge is Alta terminology for being confined to where you’re staying due to avalanche danger. My first was in the early 70s, long before cell phones, video games and other, more modern forms of entertainment. This short video explains Interlodge and includes Junior Bounois discussing a famous Interlodge event of the past. It’s a good one.
The Skiing Weatherman February 18, 2022
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The Skiing Weatherman 2/18 Pattern in flux means some snow for much of the U.S.
Since my last posting, I have only managed a couple of days on snow. One at Sugarloaf after an 8 inch overnight and then a brisk day at Killington earlier this week on some of that cold, styrofoam that the NBC announcers have been referring to in the Olympic alpine events. After a superb tuning at the outstanding shop at West Mountain in Glens Falls, New York the day before, that stiff snow at Killington was very playable.
As I look down the road at the evolving weather pattern to close out February and start March, I see a changeable landscape. After a dominant western ridge/eastern trough couplet from mid-January until just recently, the pattern will be more changeable for the next week to ten days, but signs point to a return to the trough favoring the eastern half of the country early next month. The changeable nature of things will allow a meaningful snowfall to impact much of the west later this weekend into early next week, as suggested by this jet stream map for President’s Day…
With a ridge poking up into Alaska, very cold air will flow into the western trough and while this doesn’t look like a blockbuster due to the lack of a direct influx of deep Pacific moisture, it should generate moderate to heavy amounts from the Cascades all the way down to the southern Rockies as it slowly pivots southeast and then east Sunday through Wednesday. With the core of the trough heading down the spine of the central and southern Rockies, the Sierra will pick up light to moderate amounts south to around Tahoe from this system.
In the eastern half of the country, milder air will spread north in advance of the western trough, but not until after a seasonably cold holiday weekend. By late next week, the trough will start to favor the Midwest and East, a development tipped off by the trend of both the WPO (Western Pacific Oscillation) and EPO (Eastern Pacific Oscillation). These two indices are based on the relative positions of upper air troughs and ridges over the waters of the north Pacific. Here is an illustration of a negative WPO…
The orange indicates an upper air ridge, and the blue areas an upper trough. The clockwise circulation around the ridge helps to access cold air from the northwestern corner of the continent. It works in tandem with a downstream trough, as suggested by the pale blue over the center of the country. A negative EPO is similar. Here is a forecast for the WPO for the next couple of weeks…
The green line is the one to follow and after running in positive territory, which infers a trough over the northern Pacific waters, it switches to negative around the 1st of March, at which time I think we will see a trough start to strengthen over the eastern half of the country while a ridge returns to the West. Colder air will populate that trough, and the first part of next month should turn stormy over the Midwest and East. With the WPO remaining in negative territory well into March, the prospects are solid for late-season snow. In my next installment, I will explain why March could bring snowy weather to the East AND the West.
Regional details…
Northwest U.S./Western Canada: Nice shot of snow late this weekend/early next week. Next event about a week later.
Sierra: Late weekend light to moderate snow…another round next weekend.
Rockies: Moderate snowfall early next week into midweek. Next potential snowfall about 5 days later.
Midwest: Fresh snowfall early next week. Pattern remains loaded with potential snowfalls for the foreseeable future.
Mid Atlantic/Southeast: Mid Atlantic snow on the table for late next week. Southeast chances enhanced in early March.
Northeast/QB: Clipper snow this weekend in the Northeast. Late next week looks quite promising for more substantial snowfall. March shaping up nicely.
History Awaits Your Next Ski Trip (Part 1)
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As serious skiers gain years and experience, many become interested in the history of their sport. And a lot of us are also better positioned economically to savor that heritage by checking into some of the country’s more historic ski settings. A budget bunker motel beside the access road might be OK, but it’s surprisingly easy and affordable to set your sights higher.
No article can list all the options, but the choices are many and range from historically significant ski lodging at specific resorts (think the 1936 Sun Valley Lodge) to atmospheric hotels and lodges that represent the enduring appeal of many ski country locations.
Since 1989, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has rounded up a classic lodging collection called the Historic Hotels of America (HHA), many of which are located in ski country. Ski destinations in New England and the South make perfect examples of places where these distinguished accommodations raise the bar on a ski vacation, especially with available senior discounts.
New England
The Presidentials are awesome from Bretton Woods Ski Area. Photo courtesy Omni Hotels and Resorts
A one-time Appalachian Mountain Club backcountry researcher, I enjoy New Hampshire’s Presidential Range. Last time, I overdosed on Nordic and downhill on both sides of the range, with stays in Jackson, south of Pinkham Notch, and Bretton Woods, north of Crawford Notch.
I remember the area’s rambling grande dame Crawford House Hotel before it burned in 1977, so I’ve occasionally chosen the Omni Mount Washington Resort as a substitute. The original 1902 hotel is massive and immaculately restored, with spectacular views of the Presidential Range. There are even better views from Bretton Woods ski area, New Hampshire’s largest. I took my first Nordic ski instructor’s training here in the ‘80s so I lean Nordic. Bretton Woods has 100 km of great valley touring that also includes a lift-served cross country trail network near the slopes.
The historic Mount Washington Hotel makes a riveting backdrop from the resort’s cross country ski trails. Photo courtesy Omni Hotels and Resorts
If the big historic hotel experience is a no go, nearby Bretton Arms Inn is part of the same HHA Omni resort as the Mount Washington Resort, but it’s an 1896 former private residence on a more intimate scale.
While in Bretton Woods, don’t miss the New England Ski Museum, a short drive away in nearby Franconia.
The Historic Hotel of America option in Jackson is the Eagle Mountain House, literally on the village’s intensively groomed, 150 km Jackson Ski Touring Foundation trail system. The 1879 hotel’s Eagle Landing Tavern is a cozy setting, but skiers also have Highfields at the hotel, literally steps off the track.
Randy Johnson (right) and friends pose in the early 1980s at Hall’s Ledge on the way to Jackson after skiing down from the summit of Wildcat Mountain. Mount Washington towers above. Photo: Randy Johnson
Many nearby options are available, and I never seem to miss a stay or meal or two at the trailside Wildcat Inn and Tavern, not far from the foundation’s center. What a relaxed, quirky, full-of-character place. No wonder my best ski buds and I still talk about the times we’d base at Wildcat Inn and telemark the Wildcat Valley Trail down to town from the summit of Wildcat Mountain. Speaking of higher up, Pinkham Notch’s Joe Dodge Lodge accommodations still appeal to me long after I used to weigh my alpine hut-bound pack on the porch. This is old-school ski lodging but I’m not too special to call this rarefied throwback experience something I still savor.
Next Week, Part 2 / The Rest of the Country
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