Klaus Obermeyer

As always, there is plenty of good news at our favorite winter resorts for the end of 2024 and start of 2025.  But let’s begin this monthly edition of Short Swings with a warning – don’t hit the person who hit you.

On one of the first days of the new season in November, two female senior skiers had stopped for a quick break on a trail at Copper Mountain, Colorado, when they were hit by a male skier.  One of the women hit him back with her ski pole in what the Denver Gazette described as “an angry outburst”. 

We all know the downhill skier has the right of way, but it wasn’t the uphill skier at fault for the collision who was charged with assault – it was the woman who hit him back. 

 It’s not clear from the newspaper article whether it was the male skier or ski patrol who charged the woman with assault, or if anybody was injured or even knocked down in the collision. But the message is clear – 

Ski poles are for skiing, not for striking out at the person who hit you.

In happier news –  

Happy 105^th birthday to the legendary Klaus Obermeyer, who started skiing at the age of three in his native Germany.  He’s lived in Aspen most of his life, first as a ski instructor, when he realized his students didn’t have the proper clothing.  He started Sport Obermeyer in 1947, combining his aeronautical engineering training and the Bavarian tradition of down comforters (my Bavarian-born mother called them “steppedecke”) to design warm parkas and other fashionable and functional clothing we all know and love. 

For many of us parents, the best Obermeyer design was his “I-Grow” children’s clothing line, with extendable pants and sleeves that allowed fast-growing kids to wear them for several seasons, as my own kids did.

Obermeyer’s motto is “the longer you ski, the longer you live”.  Absolutely!

Saddleback Mountain, Maine, has been honored by the Audubon Society for the environmentally conscious design of its new mid-mountain restaurant, The Nest. The building’s innovative bird reflection screens help prevent birds from colliding into its plate glass windows. 

As many as 988 million birds die that way each year in the USA.  Saddleback worked with BirdSafe Maine, a partnership between Maine Audubon, the University of Southern Maine and the Portland Society for Architecture, to design the protective windows.  https://maineaudubon.org/advocacy/birdsafe/

Palisades Tahoe has received local regulatory approval for a much-needed expansion of the base area village. It includes up to 850 new lodging units, which will be a mixture of hotel and condo, additional parking, new housing for employees, new trails and what the press release describes as “enhancements on mountain”.  Construction will be over several years.

Aspen has revamped the Beach Club, its mountaintop outdoor dining and entertainment venue, into Eleven212.  The name reflects its altitude – 11,212 feet.  What has not changed is that free entry continues to be first-come-first-serve, or by reservation.

Attitash’s T.G.I.F. program takes place on Thursday’s throughout the ski season and is exclusively for those who are ages 50+. Join this mid-week Adult Seasonal Program (50+) for “no stress” improvement on technique and skills, while building companionship amongst the group. All types of recreational, cruisers and performance skiers are welcome. Join for the season or pay by the day.

The most popular drink at the St. Regis Deer Valley is the 7452 Bloody Mary, also named for its altitude.  The 7452 consists of tomato juice, cornichon juice, Worcestershire, sriracha chili sauce and vodka and is topped with a light green froth made from celery juice, parsley, wasabi powder and green apple, and the glass is rimmed with jet black Hawaiian sea salt and lime.

The spicy cocktail is so popular that the hotel offers clinics to teach guests how to make it. The St. Regis claims to have served an astounding 300,000 of them since it opened in November 2009.  I’ll drink to that!

See you on the slopes. Or at the bar.  Or both.