Tag Archive for: Jackson Ski Touring Center

Short Swings!

February is National Bootfitting Month.

Boots! You either love them or you hate them. If yours give you grief, take heart. February is National Bootfitting Month, and the folks at America’s Best Bootfitters are encouraging skiers to visit one of the America’s Best Bootfitters shops to improve boot performance, comfort, warmth, and fit.

Skiing Magazine Folds.

The buzz during last week’s SIA Snow Show in Denver is that Skiing Magazine has folded. The magazine started publication in 1948. The grapevine suggested it will become part of Ski Magazine, another publication in the AIM Media group. Skiing’s website is still up, but the mag’s media kit is no longer posted.

CALIFORNIA

The Audi FIS World Cup returns to California after a 19 year absence. It takes place March 9-12 at Squaw Valley Resort.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Jackson Ski Touring Center will host an exhibition of abstract paintings throughout its trails. The paintings, to be displayed in niches of snow and other natural materials, will be shown February 11. They are the work of two New Hampshire artists. Cost is $5 on foot; day trail passes discounted for seniors.

UTAH

Alta is supporting the Outdoor Industry for Clean Air and the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment. The area joined the other groups by signing a letter for clean air to Utah legislators. Each year inversions in the Salt Lake Valley increase in density and length, causing significant health issues for residents and visitors. The Utah Legislature pays lip service to the problem but does little to change it. Alta skiers can look down Little Cottonwood Canyon to see an ocean of smog covering the valley.

OTHER

A few of the many interesting products found at the big SIA Snow Show last week in Denver:

  • HangEmRight Ski Hangers are a simple and colorful way to store skis. $14.99
  • DexShell makes waterproof, breathable socks, gloves, and headwear. The products are demonstrated in a tank of water. They work.
  • Vintage Ski World is a source for vintage ski posters, photos, and equipment. Always a fun site to visit! Enter code RJA10 for 10% off.

Short Swings!

CALIFORNIA

Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows received 25 inches over the holiday weekend. Wow, what a difference from last year.

COLORADO

In recognition of National Safety Month (January) Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) member resorts are hosting special safety-related programs and activities to raise awareness and demonstrate how to be safe on the slopes. Events include joining ski patrol on end-of-day patrol sweeps, demonstrations with avalanche dogs, and increased awareness about helmet use.

MONTANA

As it has for the past decade, Big Sky Resort hosted a holiday dinner for more than 1,500 workers. Resort management served the food and cleaned. This year, Big Sky employs about 600 new out-of-state workers and roughly 114 international employees. The area provides free ski and snowboard lessons and rentals to all employees and their children.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Jackson Ski Touring Center’s Get 4 and Go program is a great way to learn x-country! Participants pay $199, for four days of cross country ski and boot/pole rentals, two group lessons, and two private lessons. Upon completion, participants receive a Certificate of Achievement and a season pass for the rest of winter — a total value of $423. The center also has a variety of other discounted offerings to encourage people to learn x-country and skate skiing. Kids under 10 ski free. Nice outing for parents/grandparents with small children/grandchildren: towable kid-sized sleds. Oh, that aching back!  Thanks to Roger Lohr, publisher of XCSkiResorts.com for the tip.

PENNSYLVANNIA

The Area Agency on Aging of Luzerne and Wyoming Counties hosts a free ski/snowboard/telemark clinic, 9:30 AM, Wednesdays starting January 4 at Jack Frost Mountain. Participants will need equipment and lift ticket. A special luncheon, with presentations about eating well and remaining in shape, is scheduled for January 18.

UTAH

The U.S. Speed Skating Championships will be held at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns (Salt Lake City), January 6-8. The best U.S. short and long track speed skating athletes will attempt to qualify to represent the U.S. in the World Cup and World Cup Sprint circuits. Admission is free.

December’s snowfall has given Utah over 100% of its average snowfall to date. In the past week, many resorts received 2 to 4 feet of snow.

VERMONT

Woodstock Inn & Resort, a quintessential New England ski hostelry, is offering several ski and snowshoe packages. The resort includes the Suicide Six Ski Area.

OTHER

January is Learn to Ski & Ride Month. Seventy-five+ US and Canadian resorts are expected to go for a Guinness World Record for the largest ski and snowboard lesson ever taught. About 6,000 people took part in last year’s record attempt.

MDV Sports is new name of the corporate owner of the Marker, Dalbello and Völkl brands. A company announcement states the three brands will cooperate in the areas of R&D, production, sales and marketing.

Short Swings!

Snow Sports Industry Leader Bernie Weichsel Is Honored

SeniorsSkiing.com Advisory Council member and Snow Sports industry leader, Bernie Weichsel, was honored with the YES Lifetime Achievement Award in Boston last weekend. YES (Youth Enrichment Services) serves the urban youth of greater New England by providing outdoor adventures in skiing, snowboarding, hiking, biking, canoeing and camping.  Bernie has been an outstanding supporter of YES for more than 40 years. Bernie’s generosity has provided thousands of Boston youth with the opportunity to experience the outdoors and benefit from enrichment programs at YES. We are proud of you, Bernie!

ISHA Fund Raising Campaign

If you’ve not yet made an annual contribution to the International Ski History Association, please consider a donation today. It’s fully deductible in the United States for the 2016 tax year if posted by December 31. Your ISHA contribution will support the expenses incurred in publishing Skiing History magazine, maintaining the skiinghistory.org Website, and running the annual ISHA Awards program.

Skiing History was recently featured in the Huffington Post as a unique holiday gift! Click here to read the article by Jon Weisberg of SeniorsSkiing.com. And  to send a Skiing History gift, just fill in the gift subscription form. For an even better deal, give your favorite away-from-home student a digital subscription for just $29.

Canada

Quebec City has announced it has won the USA Today online vote for Best Winter Wonderland in North America.  We’ve been to the famous Winter Carnival in January, and it is an amazing and festive celebration of ice and snow.

Monte-Sainte-Ann and Stoneham in Quebec are celebrating incredible snow conditions with 55 received since the beginning of the season. Christmas activities are starting. Why go to Europe when Quebec is a drive or quick flight away?

Colorado

Sunlight Mountain Resort celebrates it’s 50th anniversary with the most expensive lift ticket in the country.  The $700 per ticket price includes one full day of skiing at the resort as well as a pair of limited edition Sunlight 50th anniversary Meier skis and a ticket to the Iron Mountain Hot Springs. The $600 version gets you a 50th anniversary snowboard.

Utah

Deer Valley Resort has won the distinction of the United States’ Best Ski Resort by the World Ski Awards for the fourth consecutive year. The World Ski Awards’ 2016 Ski Oscars winners represent excellence in ski tourism and the leaders shaping the future of the ski industry.

Enjoy midweek skiing and snowboarding for free at Snowbasin Resort when you fly Alaska Airlines into Salt Lake International Airport. From December to April, snow enthusiasts can “Fly Alaska, Ski Free” or simply take a scenic gondola ride at Snowbasin Resort for free within 24 hours of landing at the Salt Lake International Airport Tuesday through Thursday.

Quad Wednesdays are back at Brighton this year! With a charitable donation, you can purchase a lift ticket for only $20. December 14, 2016:  Donate a warm article of clothing such as hats, jackets, pants or anything that will keep someone warm this winter.  Proceeds go to The Road Home Charity. December 21, 2016: Donate a grocery bag of non-perishable food items.  Proceeds go to the Utah Food Bank.

Solitude Mountain Resort is set to host a U.S. Grand Prix/FIS Snowboard World Cup and FIS Skicross NorAm Cup January 19-22, 2017, as part of a test event for the 2019 FIS Freestyle, Snowboard and Freeski World Championships. The event will be the second stop of the U.S. Grand Prix tour for the 2016-17 season and the first major international skiing and snowboarding competition Solitude has hosted.

After two years of construction and licensing, the New World Distillery will be opening this week in Eden, UT. The state of the art distillery is featuring its “Oomaw” gin, soon to be followed by “agave
spirits and Ogden Valley Vodka.  New World will also offer classes in distilling in the Spring.

California

The second season has started for the Mountain Playground Group, a coalition of nine community and independent ski areas from California to Maine. Under the Mountain Rider’s Alliance, these ski areas have teams up to increase market awareness, share in best practices and identify expense-reducing initiatives.

Participating ski areas include Arctic Valley, AK; Bald Mountain, ID; Beartooth Basin; MT/WY; Elk Ridge Ski and Outdoor Recreation, AZ; Hurricane Ridge, WA; Mt Abram, ME; Mt Timothy and Phoenix Mountain, British Columbia.

New Hampshire

SkiNH reports that over the weekend of Dec 10-11 ski resorts received eight inches of fluffy stuff, and it was still coming down.  Check with SkiNH for latest conditions.  Season on in New Hampshire!

Jackson Ski Touring Center opened Dec. 12 with both classic and skate skiing on nine out of 55 trails (29 km groomed) thanks to a cross-country snowstorm.  Also, Jackson XC has announced a series of money-saving packages for beginners as well as more experienced XC skiers.

Vermont

Stowe’s $80 million Adventure Center at Spruce Peak sees its first winter. The sleek center is base camp for the resort’s children’s programs, from day care to ski and snowboard lessons. It’s also home to family-friendly eating in The Canteen and the indoor Stowe Rocks Climbing Center.

Maine

Sunday River skiers will find a new Locke Mountain top terminal on the triple, but will have to wait until 2017-’18 before the Spruce Peak Triple is replaced with a $2.1 million fixed-grip chair.

Massachusetts

Wachusett in Princeton is now more readily accessible for Boston-area skiers, thanks to the MBTA’s new Wachusett Commuter Rail Station in West Fitchburg on the Fitchburg Line.