Tired of Hitting the Slopes Alone?

By Keith L. Fanta, President, Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council

Years ago I found myself in a unique situation where I loved to ski, but none of my friends were skiers. I managed to get out to the slopes, but being alone I knew I was missing something. Skiing isn’t a team sport, but I could see that it had an important social aspect. Then I discovered my first ski club (in the days before boarding became popular, they were known only as ski clubs).

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Blind Skier Wins Gold

Founded in 1971, the American Blind Skiing Foundation is a non-for-profit organization dedicated to providing physical and psychological therapy to the visually impaired through their skiing program. Working with skiers of all ages and levels of expertise, the ABSF’s mission is to provide visually impaired skiers with an extra boost of self-confidence by engaging in a challenging and adventurous sport that those with full sight may not even attempt.
Proficient VI skiers can also choose to participate in Ski Competitions through the ABSF.
This year, defending champion downhill racer John Erickson retained his title by bringing home the gold from the NASTAR National Ski Racing Championship in Winter Park, CO.
To read more about Erickson’s victory, visit: Blind Skier Wins Gold

Ski Club Family Western Trip

The Nomad Ski Club ran another successful Family Trip , with the Second Annual Family Western Ski Trip to Copper Mtn., CO on January 11-16, 2007.  Trip participants included 33 adults, four teenagers, and 10 children (ages 4-12); it included airfare, bus transportation between Denver and Copper, five nights lodging, four days of lift tickets, plus four parties.

This trip proved to be just as successful as our first Family Western Ski Trip to Steamboat, CO, and included similar arrangements with flights in and out of Hayden and a short bus ride.  Both trips had excellent participation by not only families, but couples and singles too; and it was great to see some of our hibernating/older members with their sons and daughters, and even teenagers skiing together!

Both trips had a pleasant mix of adults and children with the kids quickly finding new playmates, moms and dads looking forward to their first Western Trip in a while (or since becoming a parent), and everyone enjoying a low-stress trip (except for maybe the Trip Leader).  Both trips were over the Martin Luther King Holiday, which has turned out to have good snow, reasonable pricing and moderate crowds (unlike President’s Day Weekend). In addition, our return flights have had mid-afternoon departures on Tuesday which gets the kids home in time for a good night’s rest for school on Wednesday.

Other drawing points for our family trips have been spacious two- and three-bedroom condos (kids sleep free on the Sofa Beds), nearly ski in/ski out arrangements (five-minute walk at Steamboat and 200 feet at Copper), four full days of skiing (with kids under 13 ski free), a pre-trip Pizza Party (kids and adults get to meet before the trip and make plans), Welcoming Party (everyone meets again and gets resort info), Club Nastar Dual Race Courses and a Club Luncheon.  All and all, these have been good trips without a preset schedule or need to take buses, etc.

We’ve also done a few other things up front to ensure a pleasant trip for all. Condos are set aside for singles and couples only (no kids). The rooming list is built as people sign up and participants are asked about roommates. Also, children must be related to at least one adult on the trip (no child’s friends), and we try to pick resorts that are family friendly and have good shuttle service.  It’s also helped that both resorts offered five-hour children’s lessons, which allows those of us with small children a few days to ski with our friends in the morning and our kids in late afternoon.

The Club Nastar Races have also had excellent participation especially with the kids (who like to compete against their friends and parents on the dual courses).  At Copper we had 19 adults and 10 children (ages 4-16) participate with 15 medal winners; and at Steamboat we had 21 adults and 10 children (ages 4-12) participate with ten medal winners.  (If a four-year-old can do a Nastar Race, what’s up with the rest of us?)  These last two trips have also offered good value with adults paying $825-875, and children 12 and under paying $320-375 (unless they want their own bed).  We’ve also been able to offer some discounts for teenagers too, which have made these family trips affordable.

About the Author:

Rich Clausius is a Trip Leader with the Nomad Ski Club of Chicago.

Holiday Valley Ski Resort, New York

It all started because we wanted to find a new place to ski that was still in the Midwest but had a great trail map.  I got a phone call from Tiny Rat from Wild Bunch Ski Club, saying he found a great new area in New York that we just had to see.  “New York?” I gasped. “That’s got to be a 16-hour ride!”

We decided to check out the drive ourselves.  We left on December 30 at 12:54am and drove straight through to Holiday Valley, arriving a little more than seven hours later.  Don’t think Tiny was speeding either – he said, “they give lots of tickets in Ohio.”  I said he drove like my Grandma.

As we drove up to the resort, I could not believe it – the place is huge!  We drove by their three base areas, checking out the ski runs before we parked.  The place seems to go on forever!  There are 270 skiable acres, 53 trails, 12 chairlifts (including two high-speed quads).  Currently, their lift capacity is 22,050 skiers per hour but they are installing a new chairlift for next year.  Their elevation is 750 vertical feet and the longest run is short of a mile by only feet.

Although the start of their year was warm just like in the Midwest, they had a third of their runs open.  They have snowmaking on 98% of their runs, which allowed us to see just how big this place is.  Their average snowfall is 180 inches and they are open well into April.  Another plus – they get plenty of lake-effect snow and the runs are not icy like some people would think.

There are plenty of runs for everyone, including a Double Black with a 60% grade that will challenge the best of us.  They offer night skiing on 37 of their runs.  Their five terrain parks sport a half-pipe, tons of rails, tabletops and banked turns.  Nastar is offered, and you can also set up a club race or a sanctioned race.  They even offer a racecourse only available to level-A skiers because it is so challenging.

You can stay ski-in, ski-out at the Inn at Holiday Valley or you can stay in one of their many condos,  some of which are across the street from the Inn at Holiday Valley so you are within walking distance of the lifts.  They also offer an efficient shuttle service.

If you feel you need a break from Holiday Valley, Ellicottville is just about a mile away.  This quaint little town sports eight restaurants that are open for dinner and more if you wish to go for lunch.  There are more than a dozen bars, plenty of shops, Victorian houses and historic buildings for those who are interested.

At only 533 miles, Holiday Valley is a great ski area within driving distance for most of us.  The expansive trail map makes it well worth the ride.  The people at Holiday Valley and the surrounding communities are very accommodating and very friendly, and I do think we will head back – but with our clubs joining in this time.