A Banner Winter Through The Camera Of An Average Skier
Harriet’s Album Of Deep, Deep Snow Pics At Brighton.
Beware of the buried street signs at the corner of Mary Lake Lane and Old Majestic Lane. The summer road became a deep snow ski trail. Credit: Harriet Wallis
At my home resort Brighton, the snowfall has topped 500 inches—about 41 feet—and the snow keeps coming. Brighton is a down home, low key resort near Salt Lake City that’s favored by families and snowboarders.
This two-story trailside cabin has an access problem. Must dig down deep to find the door. Credit: Harriet Wallis
One more snowstorm and this cabin will disappear. Bamboo poles and a rope line keep skiers off the roof. Credit: Harriet Wallis
Plentiful snow is crucial because It’s our drinking water supply, and there have been several years of low snowfall. When Spring runoff starts, every drop of melting mountain snow is captured. It takes just 24 hours from stream to faucet. Dogs are banned from the canyon watersheds to help keep the pure water free from transmittable diseases.
Just before one of those plentiful snowstorms, my friend and I booked a room at the slope-side Brighton Lodge so we could be first on the mountain in the morning.
Inside the cozy Brighton Lodge. Credit: Harriet Wallis
It snowed all night. We skied all day. Then we had to cope with the car.
Outside the Brighton Lodge. Deep snow is fun until it buries the car. Credit: Harriet Wallis
Snowboarders dug it out. Credit: Harriet Wallis
The ample winter also creates some other quirks at Brighton.
While the snow keeps falling, these father and son skiers pitch in to help dig out the gates. Credit: Harriet Wallis
The children’s warming yurt looks more like an igloo. Credit: Harriet Wallis
The parking lot is walled by snow. Where will they put the next storm’s dump? Credit: Harriet Wallis
Even the ride down the canyon toward home has rewards. Deep snow drives the peak-loving mountain goats down to lower elevations. It’s a treat to see them so close.
Shaggy coats and quizzical looks. Credit: Harriet Wallis
To read more from Harriet click here for her stories on SkiUtah.
SeniorsSkiing Guide: Sunapee Goes Epic
Seniors Can Still Get A Mid-Week Pass At A Big Discount Before April 14.
It’s that time of the year. Sunapee celebrates spring with a splash. Credit: Sunapee
Sunapee in New Hampshire went Epic this past winter, joining Stowe and Okemo, Vt., as Vail Resort’s three footholds in the East.
Sunapee draws many locals from neighboring towns plus a hefty day crowd from the Boston area. Parking lots fill up early on weekends. Midweek warriors descend on discounted Wicked Wednesdays. Many get there early, lap the Sunapee Express Quad, and leave by lunch.
Skiers disperse to two base lodges—the older, funkier Spruce Lodge (no stairs to reach it) with wood cubbies stuffed with lunch coolers, and the roomier Sunapee Lodge at the Sunapee Express Quad. A shuttle truck precludes schlepping from one to the other, connected by The Beach—a popular spring picnic spot.
Sunapee got jolted out of state-strapped limbo when the Mueller family took over operations in 1998 and worked the same wonders here as they had at nearby Okemo. Robust snowmaking (97 percent) and grooming make Sunapee a reliable area even when snow in the woods is sparse.
Off the South Peak learning area is where the Muellers secured rights to build the West Bowl Expansion, and Vail may or may not follow through. Locals are happy about more trails but skeptical of condos and some dead set against disturbing the old growth forest here.
As a mid-sized area, Sunapee has 66 trails that are varied and full of character. For scenery, ski down the Skyway overlooking a snow-covered Lake Sunapee for one of the best views in New England. Follow the woods down the ungroomed Williamson Trail, or skip through the trees in Sunrise Glades. Get an adrenaline kick down Blast Off and bounce off the moguls on Upper Flying Goose. The terrain park attracts a group of kids who grew up there together. Epic or not, Sunapee will always be Sunapee.
The Muellers’ parting gift to skiers was a high-speed quad commandeered from Okemo in the Sun Bowl. Previously one had to think twice before shooting down here knowing one was facing a slow ride back up, especially in a blizzard.
Although many people ski here for the convenience, less than two hours from Boston, the area truly is a place to stay awhile. Long a summer haven with its many lakes, the Sunapee area has a happy sense of continuity. Skiing segues into swimming and sailing. The ski area has zip lining, mountain biking, adventure course, and summer camps. The satellites tend to stick around—Bob Skinner’s ski shop at the Rotary, Bubba’s Bar & Grille in Newbury, Peter Christian’s Tavern, New London Inn, Dexter’s Inn, Colby-Sawyer College, familiar spots all.
Ticket buyers this year buy an EpicDay pass, a direct-to-lift card that they can reload on line. Until mid-April closing, a day ticket cost counts in the purchase of next year’s Epic Pass.
Epic Local Pass for $699 (19 plus) accesses 30 resorts and is unrestricted at Mt. Sunapee and Okemo. Epic Pass for $939 (ages 13 up) has access to 65 resorts including Europe and Japan. Buy at the Epic Pass site.
For its loyal seniors, Sunapee still offers a midweek pass. Seniors (65-69) is $429 and Super Senior (70 plus) is $279, if bought before April 14. Those prices increased slightly but now include ten discount buddy and six ski-with-a-friend passes. Call or stop at Guest Services (603) 763-3576.
Click here for Sunapee Webcams
Click here for Sunapee Trail Map
A less-than two-hour drive from Metro Boston, Sunapee has beautiful blues, views, and lots to choose. Credit: Sunapee
This Week In SeniorsSkiing.com (Mar.22)
Odds & Ends, W.S. Merwin, Ski For Light Part 2, Schneider Cup, Resort Reviews, BC Resorts Love Seniors, Mystery Smithy, Crazy Ski Ads.
Spring Arrives Tonight.
This week, there’s yet more snow in The Sierra, and a Nor’Easter in the East, leaving piles of it everywhere. There are clearly opportunities for extending the season well into the summer. The question is: When do you put away the boards? When you have to switch to rock skis? When you have to take the cover off your boat? When tennis brackets are formed? When you’ve had quite enough of skiing, and it’s getting a bit old? If when to call it a season is a decision point for you, imagine what resort managers go through.
The dilemma for ski resorts everywhere is when to close for the season. As long as the demand is there, then why not keep the lifts spinning, the trails groomed, the burgers flipping? But what if the vast majority of late season skiers are pass holders, that is, not paying for tickets, rather flashing an RFID? Hmmm. Ultimately, there is a cross-over point between income, cash flow, and expenses that will form the basis for the decision. Or, do some resort managers keep a perhaps scaled-down operation going to serve those few ardent customers who keep coming, despite an almost empty parking lot? We’re curious how the closing-day decision is made. Is it different between mom-and-pop local areas and corporate properties? Any thoughts?
As for SeniorsSkiing.com, we will continue publishing into the Spring, for sure. However, next week, we are taking our Spring Break, a week off for travel, vacation, and a change of pace. Our regular next edition will be published on April 8; individual articles will be available earlier that week.
Ski For Light.
This week, we are publishing Part 2 of a series on Ski For Light, the non-profit, all-volunteer organization that conducts a week-long cross-country ski experience for blind, visually- and mobility-impaired people. Part 1 is a skier’s story, describing what one blind skier’s experience is. In Part 2, a 25-year veteran guide explains why he keeps coming back.
Perhaps you have some time on your hands as a retired person, or you know someone who is visually-impaired and want to support them. Volunteering, donating, or becoming a SFL guide are worthy, soul-expanding opportunities. We’ve met a couple of SFL participants—skiers and volunteers—and can testify that it can be a transformative experience. Think about it. Click here to find out more.
Find A NGS Benchmark: Another Outdoor Activity You Can Do With Your Grandkids.
A National Geodetic Survey benchmark. There are 400,000 scattered across the country. Credit: NOAA
Here’s an idea for those spring hikes with your grandkids, fat bike rides in the woods, or last-gasp cross-country ski outings. NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey is encouraging people to head to the local hinterlands to find “benchmarks”, collect data, and send on to NOAA. It’s called the GPS on Benchmark project. If you bring your grandkids, you will be teaching how data is collected in the scientific world. For a podcast on the GPS on Benchmark project click here.
A benchmark is a permanent mark or disk that is embedded in the ground or attached to a structure. Each benchmark has a known elevation and location that is used as a reference for maps, charts, and surveying. There are over 400,000 benchmarks located in all areas of the country, installed over the past 200 years. Anyone can visit the bench mark of their choice, record field notes, take digital photos, and collect GPS observations or coordinates and then use online tools to send the information to NOAA.
Remember geocaching? This is the same idea, except your target is a benchmark, and your role is to collect data. You can find benchmarks in your local area by heading to the National Geodetic Survey Data Explorer and entering your zip code. We were surprised to find NGS benchmarks scattered throughout our neighborhood.
Whiskey In A Ski Pole. What A Novel Idea.
From the world of inspired ideas turned into unusual products comes the WhiSki pole for your consideration. This product is a ski pole that is also an eight-ounce flask for a liquid. From the name, you’d assume whiskey. Think of the whiskey pole as serving the same function as that brandy barrel around the neck of the classic St. Bernard. We would have surely loved to have been at the time and place where this idea came out of the firmament. Must have been a fun time. The WhiSki pole has a screw-top in the handle where your choice of beverage is poured in as well as where you, um, drink from. There is a clear warning label in fluorescent orange that admonishes you not to drink and ski, but there are other times when the WhiSki Pole comes in handy. See the video below for examples. For the skiing friend who has everything, click here for more information.
This Week
Co-Publisher Jon Weisberg continues his reports from the Italian Alps with this update on his week skiing with our advertiser AlpSkiTour in the Aosta Valley.
We honor the passing of American poet and conservationist W.S. Merwin this week with his poem, A Contemporary.
This mystery skier is finally identified after 50 years.
A new Mystery Glimpse comes from the New England Ski Museum. Guess who this Smithy lady is. Last week’s photo of the helmeted ski racer on the cover of Sports Illustrated is revealed, and we share another photo taken at the same time.
Correspondent Don Burch has some fun with ski advertising, Tamsin Venn reports on the Hannes Schneider Cup, held at Cranmore Mt, NH, Yvette Cardozo describes how BC ski resorts show their love of senior skiers, and Marc Liebman praises a favorite, Utah’s Solitude Mt. Pat McCloskey takes a side trip to June Mt, CA, and is pleasantly surprised.
Thanks again for supporting SeniorsSkiing.com and please tell your friends. There are more of us everyday and we aren’t going away. See you in a couple of weeks.
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