Mystery Glimpse: Flashy Coat
What The Heck Is He Wearing?
Who is this person? There must be a story behind that coat. Something to do with the Olympics? This might be a tough one. Please reply in Leave A Comment below.
Thanks to the Colorado SnowSports Museum for contributing this picture. Did you realize there snow sports museums all across North America? Many are small, locally-funded non-profits. Consider visiting and supporting them as each serves a vital role in preserving the history of all snow sports.
Last Week.
Yes, that’s Doug Pfieffer, long-time ski celebrity, innovative ski instructor, and journalist. Ty Rice, one of our observant readers, noticed this comma position is actually the same picture, flopped over.
This photo was taken from my personal, autographed copy of the 1958 Skiing With Pfeiffer. Doug inscribed, “A collector’s item for Mike Maginn.” Well, it is now.
Doug is one of the founders of the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA), long-time editor of SKIING magazine, promoter of skiing in film and television, and, along the way, invented freestyle skiing. He was inducted into the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame in 1987. You can read more about his career by clicking here.
Doug was my boss at SKIING back in the early 70s. It was terrific to work with him in so many ways, especially since we shared the same birthday. Happy Birthday, Doug! Here’s both of us at the 2017 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
And here’s the cover of Skiing With Pfeiffer, a book which helped start the careers of many a ski instructor.
Snow In Literature: Dust of Snow
By Robert Frost
Credit:Creasy Mahan Nature Preserve
SeniorsSkiing Guide: Holiday Valley
Are there powder days in Western New York? Can Pete Widger yodel?
Yes, to both. In fact, septuagenarian Widger, the voice of Holiday Valley’s Snow Phone, will lace his conditions report with his trademark vocals every powder day of the season.
Holiday Valley’s powder comes compliments of Lake Erie’s snow machine, the same lake-effect system that gives Buffalo its arctic reputation.
Holiday Valley, in Ellicottville, Cattaraugus County, averages about 180 inches of snow per season. In addition, the resort’s snowmaking staff is able to cover 95 percent of the resort’s terrain with its 611 snow guns.
Holiday Valley’s peak elevation is 2,250 feet, a rise of 750 feet from its 1,500-foot base elevation.
It boasts 60 trails, served by 13 lifts (including three high-speed quads) over 290 acres. Green trails make up 37 percent of those runs, blue, 25 percent, black, 37 percent and double-black, 2 percent.
For a good warmup, take the Mardi Gras lift for a slide down Candy Cane, a green trail, with options for a blue Crystal Bottom. Or start blue with Independence or even black with Yodeler or Champagne. North Wind upper and lower trails are also accessible from this lift as are a variety of other lift-and-trail combos.
On the facing hillside, Cindy’s Run, accessible by Cindy’s Quad, is a challenging blue. Cindy’s can lead to black options such as Foxfire, Wall Top and the double-black Wall.
It is easy to spend a day at Holiday Valley mixing your trail colors and lifts. Most every skier will find challenges and satisfaction.
Comfy lodge at the bottom. Trails for all abilities at HV. Credit: Craig Melvin
The resort’s beginnings can be traced to the late 1930s when enterprising enthusiasts built a tow from an old truck and built a little warming hut. The operation has moved from slope to slope in the Ellicottville area. The current lodge site was established in the 1960s and the resort has grown from there.
The club atmosphere of those days has endured, said Jane Eshbaugh, director of marketing at Holiday Valley, “Especially in this part of the country, skiing is very social, we see many senior groups skiing together or having coffee or dining.”
“We have so many generations at Holiday Valley. We really market to families, but that includes parents, grandparents and great-grand parents,” Eshbaugh said.
One perk for senior pass holders is the ability to add a grandchild at an additional family rate. At Holiday Valley, loyalty pays. Skiers 65 to 69 can receive 5 percent of a Classic Pass. But if a senior skier has purchased a Season Pass or Ultimate Pass for the past five years, the discount goes to 25 percent. For those 70-plus, the initial discount is 10 percent and 50 percent for those with pass purchases the past five years.
Holiday Valley gets regular snow dumps from lake-effect storms. Nice coating on trees. Credit: Craig Scott
Holiday Valley’s employment rolls are well-populated with seniors. From office and maintenance to on-slope duties such as Ski Patrol, Ski School Instructors and Safety Patrollers.
Because Holiday Valley lies close to Canada (about an hour from the Canadian border), there are often as many Ontario plates in the parking lot as those from New York. The resort features, Canadian Friendship Week, during which lift tickets and rentals are at par with Canadian cash. It’s hard to ride the lifts on a busy day that week without meeting fellow skiers from, say, Toronto or Niagara Falls.
Lift lines, however, are rather rare at Holiday Valley. The lifts are efficient and only on the busiest days are there people waiting to ride.
Holiday Valley offers a number of lodging and dining options, and nearby Ellicottville is a friendly and hip little Eastern ski town.
The nearest large airport is Buffalo International, about 60 minutes away. Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Rochester are about two to three hours away by car.
CLICK HERE FOR HOLIDAY VALLEY TRAIL MAP
CLICK HERE FOR HOLIDAY VALLEY WEBSITE
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