“Skiing The East” features scenes from Stowe, Okemo, Otis Ridge, Sunday River, Killington, Sugarbush, Mount Snow, Stratton, Wildcat, Magic, Waterville Valley and Maple Valley (long closed). Enjoy this two-minute ride.
CALIFORNIA
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Introduces “Women of Ski Patrol” Calendar. Proceeds from the $25 item help fund avalanche safety education scholarships. The calendar showcases 13 female patrollers from last season’e Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows Ski Patrol Teams. Calendars can be pre-ordered online now for $25 and will be available at retailers throughout the Village at Squaw Valley®.
CANADA
Whistler Blackcomb has a 30″ base. More on the way.
COLORADO
Crested Butte has a four night Christmas family deal at The Grand Lodge. Two adults and two kids get lodging and three days of passes for $1099 (+ tax and fees): http://www.skicb.com/deals.
On December 10, Crested Butte plans to break the Guinness Book of World Records for the number of skiers in full Santa suits (top, bottom, hat, and beard). Arrive in costume and get at $23 lift ticket. www.cbsantacrawl.com. Memo to Santa: Please bring snow!
Eldora’s Annual Ugly Sweater or Elf Costume Contest, is schedued for December 24. Prizes for the ugliest; www.eldora.com.
Purgatory acquired Coloado’s largest snowcat skiing operation. Purgatory Snowcat Adventures has guided cat skiing for skiers/boarders with access to 35,000 acres. Snowcat tours for non-skiers also available.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Loon Mountain Resort celebrates 50 years with a special anniversary weekend scheduled for January 28-29.
Ragged Mountain Resort‘s MISSION: AFFORDABLE program offers season passes for $449. Rossingol’s Learn to Ski & Ride program offers three free lessons to newbies.
Cranmore Mountain’s $79 Value Card provides a one-day lift ticket plus $20 off all subsequent lift ticket purchases (no restrictions). Card holders get a free lift ticket after every 7th visit.
Mount Sunapee offers half-price mid-week lift tickets when purchased four days in advance, online (holiday blackouts apply).
Waterville Valley Resort‘s new Frequent Skier Card gives the first lift ticket free and a $15 discount on future tickets.
UTAH
Alta postponed opening day scheduled for November 18 due to warm weather and lack of snow. The resort also announced that Lucy, a puppy, has joined its patrol. As an Alta passholder, I can report that watching a patrol dog working its way down the mountain in deep pow is a source of pleasure. Best wishes in your new job, Lucy!
Brighton has free skiing for anyone dressed as Santa on Christmas Day.
Numerous Utah areas have torchlight parades on skis during the holidays. They’re memorable. Dates/locations: Deer Valley (Dec 30); Park City (Dec 24); Snowbird (Dec 24); Solitude (Dec 31); Snowbasin (Dec 24).
OTHER
Ted Heck, longtime snow sports writer with a quick wit, passed away. He was 94.
Year-end gift giving: Consider a gift to a ski museum. Some accept tax-deductible donations of vintage gear. All welcome financial support. Two of our favorites are:
Another terrific choice is the International Skiing History Association (ISHA), which is dedicated to preserving and advancing knowledge of ski history. It’s bimonthly magazine, Skiing History, covers topics from early resorts and prominent skiers to the presence of the sport in our material and advertising culture. Members and donors receive Skiing History as a benefit. Membership in ISHA is a great stocking stuffer!
Craving fresh veggies and herbs this winter but living in a mountain town? OPCOM Farm indoor hydroponic gardening systems are worth exploring. Cost is about that of a season pass ($499 – $599.) www.opcomfarm.com
[Editor Note: Waterville Valley’s Silver Streak Program was a Gold Senior Friendly Award Winner, based on SeniorsSkiing.com’s First Ski Area and Resort Survey. Silver Streaks is the oldest senior ski program in the US. We hope that other ski areas can start “Thinking Seniors” like Waterville.]
“I’m so excited, I just turned 65,” says Anne Pelletier, booster for the Silver Streaks, a program for the 50-plus set at Waterville Valley, N.H.
Silver Streakers Mike and Anne Pelletier totally enjoy the benefits of the Waterville Valley program.
Credit: Tamsin Venn
Nearly 30 years old, it was one of the first senior ski programs in the country to cater those 50 and over, a demographic astutely valued by Waterville’s founder ex-Olympian Tom Corcoran.
Pelletier, a lively woman in fire-red ski pants and state-of-the-art heated jacket, has reason to be happy. At age 65, the Waterville season pass benefits kick in: $379 for non-holiday midweek skiing.
For much longer, though, she has been with the Silver Streaks.
For the $95 joining fee, senior skiers get:
The program runs Monday-Thursday, non-holiday, early December to mid-March.
Also every Monday night the Coyote Grill at the White Mountain Athletic Center offers a $12 dinner; après-ski two times a month. (unfortunately $5 martini night was retired for reasons easy to imagine).
Other events: a Memorial ski run from the top in single file to remember those who have died in the past year.
The Pelletiers like the friendships, but they have an ulterior motive.
Says Anne, a platinum (top) NASTAR racer, “We have a need for speed.” Husband Michael, 72, is a top-ranked marathon runner in New England.
Silver Streakers Randy and Reggie Breeckner moved full time to Waterville 15 years ago from their home in the Litchfield Hills in northwestern Connecticut where they raised seven children.
Reggie notes, “I’m going to try snowshoeing when I get old.”
“You develop strategies not to get hurt,” adds Randy, a six-decades-long New England skier. Those include not skiing when it’s icy, foggy, or on busy weekends.
What about snowboarding?
“We know only one person in the group who snowboards,” he says.
Albert and Kristina Ruehli from southern New Hampshire are also on board. Albert learned to ski at age six in his native Switzerland.
Says Albert, “the mountains, the view, it’s a beautiful sport, plus you’re expressing yourself on the hill.”
“I went to a meeting and one of members said, ‘You’re too young to join,’ so of course I joined immediately,” says Kristina, 71.
“We figure when we can’t ski anymore, we should just let an avalanche take us,” adds Kristina philosophically
Julius Feinleib from Thornton, N.H, has grandchildren ages seven and nine who now whiz by him on the trail. His reasons for joining are simple. “Just being with people I recognize.” He also likes the cup of coffee and doughnuts.
For more on Silver Streaks, click here.