Breaking News: Vail Resorts has purchased Park City Mountain Resort
From the Salt Lake Tribune:
Vail Resorts has purchased Park City Mountain Resort for $182.5 million in cash, creating the country’s largest ski resort covering more than 7,000 acres.
The Colorado resort announced the acquisition Thursday morning, adding that the sale resolves all litigation with Powdr Corp., Park City Mountain Resort’s parent company.
Why Senior Ski Clubs Matter
Benefits of Membership Go Beyond A Ride To The Mountain
My early years of skiing were with the Troy (NY) Ski Club. At 11, I was the youngest member, attending Thursday night meetings at the YWCA to sign up for the Sunday bus trip to southern Vermont or the Adirondacks. Instruction by an older member was part of the package. I’ve since learned that others in the club went on to prominence in the world of skiing. It was a good beginning, and it was there I learned the value of ski clubs.
70+Ski Club Gathers At Snowbasin, UT. Clubs are a natural magnet for senior skiers.
Credit: DailyHerald.com
For many, ski clubs are still at the center of their skiing lives. Snowskiclub.com lists five reasons why:
Friendship—Meeting new friends with common interests and great networking
Convenience—The trip leader makes all arrangements. Members simply “pay, pack and participate.”
Economy—Group purchasing results in better lodging, lift, and airline prices, often at premier resorts that have “bid” on attracting them. Some clubs own lodges, making accommodation costs extremely economical.
Camaraderie—Trip prices generally include parties, mountain picnics, après ski events, and a meal or two. Off-season, ski clubs gather for a host of summertime activities.
Ski clubs serve many interests and ages. We asked leaders of several leading clubs about the value of ski clubs to the 50+ skier. Here’s what we learned:
NSCF organizes councils in each state.
Credit: NSCF
“Ski clubs encourage older adults to keep active,” says Jo Simpson of the National Ski Council Federation and President of the Sierra Ski Council. NSCF represents 29 councils comprising hundreds of clubs and thousands of members across the US. The group works with the ski industry to promote skiing and boarding to members and to provide them with discounts on goods and services. Click here for a good place to find a club in your area.
Ski clubs help people connect—especially if divorced, widowed and/or not comfortable getting back in the social scene. “Ski clubs can be a safe outlet for developing lasting friendships,” says Debbie Rima, VP
LSS is also an “adventure” club.
Credit: Lone Star Skiers
Trips, Lone Star Skiers & Adventure Club, Dallas, one of whose members is 95 and still racing.
“Many of our members are retired and their children grown,” explains Ann Lawson, VP Special/Travel, Grindelwald Ski Club, Pasadena. “We’re attracting people who fit that profile. It’s a growing area of opportunity for other ski clubs around the country.”
Of the clubs responding to our request for information only one indicated an insurance benefit.
Snowbounders offer liability insurance.
Credit: Snowbounders
Snowbounders, Orange County, CA, maintains liability insurance for all members as part of the membership fee. According to Bill Houck, a member of the Snowbounder board of directors, the club takes après ski to an entirely new level with activities such as dog sledding and hot air ballooning.
As for my après ski philosophy? Remember that recent T-shirt?
Cruise. Booze. Jacuze. Snooze.
Do you belong to a club? What’s your experience been?
Winter 2015 Forecast: Maybe Snow, Maybe Not
Handicapping 2014-2015 winter can lead to confident-sounding but wrong predictions.
By now, you’ve noticed that the weather in the past few years has become a series of conversation-starting, concern-causing, head-scratching, question-asking phenomena. Last winter was—as they say down east— a “hoser”. In the Northeast, we had the most persistent, bitterly cold winter in memory. According to the National Weather Service, New England temperatures frequently and persistently ranged at or below normal low ranges from January to the end of March. Even the Mid-Atlantic States had a cold and snowy season. Early snow and a lot of it created deep powder conditions in the Alps, especially Italy. Meanwhile, the Polar Vortex brought a cold and snowy season to the Northern Rockies and Midwest while California was unseasonably dry and warm.
What’s in store for 2014-15? Joel Gratz of OpenSnow, an interesting online forecasting site we recommend to our readers, is
OpenSnow Compared US and International Models
Credit: OpenSnow
not enthusiastic about long-range forecasts in general. Nevertheless, he compared a number of US and European forecasts for the upcoming 2014-15 season and found some consensus: Dry in the Northwest, Snowy in the Far West and uncertain from the Rockies eastward to New England. Just to test the reliability of long-range predictions like this, he compared the accuracy of several forecast models from the prior 2013-14 season with actual results. Those predictions were “far from perfect”.
So, he concludes, “Can we trust seasonal forecasts from these models? Based on last year (predictions), definitely not.” He suggests we treat all of this as entertainment. On the other hand, this year’s El Nino might actually “force the weather to behave in more predictable ways.” At the end of the day, who knows?
Besides, the Boston Globe reported this June that long-range climate is warming fastest in the Northeastern states, led by Maine and Vermont and in the South West. Conclusion: Ski when and where you can.
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