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March 28, 2019 / SIA
In an effort to help solve the issue of participation in our industry, to get more people out on the snow, we will be introducing you to some programs that are making a difference. SIA urges you to learn more and support these amazing organizations. The first is Share Winter, based in New York, but making an impact everywhere.
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Introducing Share Winter, formerly the National Winter Sports Education Foundation, a nonprofit on a mission to improve the lives, health and fitness of youth through winter sports. Share Winter currently funds over 32,000 youth in Learn to Ski (Nordic and Alpine) and Snowboard programs across the country, partnering with programs in 21 states, operating at 60 ski areas.
Using industry data and identifying the barriers to youth ski/snowboard participation, Share Winter forms strategic partnerships and invests in innovative solutions to not only get more kids on snow, but to keep them on snow as lifelong snow sports participants.
This year, Share Winter proudly invested close to 1 million dollars into creating pathways for lifelong snow sports participation. Share Winter partners with non-profits, schools, recreation centers, non-profit ski areas, and clubs that provide snow sports programming to youth ages 5-18. Share Winter grantees are required to provide at least 4 on snow days for each participant, and demonstrate a plan to connect each participant to pipelines for participation upon program graduation. Share Winter helps to build ongoing partnerships with ski areas, transportation providers, and ski/snowboard clubs.
Share Winter grantees include:
Loppet Foundation National Winter Activity Center
Mt. Ashland Association Snow Motion/Richmond Elementary School
Sky Tavern New England Nordic Ski Association
SOS Outreach Youth Enrichment Services (YES)
Salt Lake County Dept. of Rec. Boulder Nordic Jr. Racing
Central Cross Country Skiing Chill Foundation
Pico School Program SHRED Foundation
Boys & Girls Club on N. Lake Tahoe
Join the movement. Share Winter works with winter sports and outdoor industry professionals, associations, brands and professional athletes to provide support, resources and guidance to our grantees. Join us at: www.sharewinterfoundation.org
Posted from SIA
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WATERVILLE VALLEY FROM OVERHEAD. Photo Credit: Waterville Valley Resort
Excerpt from Jay Flemma
WATERVILLE VALLEY, NH – It all started with a snarky T-shirt worn by a local skier at Waterville Valley in New Hampshire:
SKI NEW HAMPSHIRE – WE’RE LIKE VERMONT, JUST NOT AS STUCK UP
“Bro, them’s fightin’ words!” joked a fellow skier in a Mad River Glen hat. “I’m gonna make my own shirt! ‘SKI VERMONT – IT’S LIKE NEW HAMPSHIRE, BUT WAY COOLER,” he replied, and the trash-talking was on. Vermonters, on the one hand, championing Killington, Sugarbush, Mt. Snow and the like. And the New Hampshirites (that’s the demonym – the noun you use for people from New Hampshire) New Hampshirites on the other hand praising the likes of Cannon, Attitash, and Loon. It’s the Long Trail against the White Mountains, and your loyalty depends on what side of the border you live.
It’s a worthy question to explore. Along with Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, the White Mountains and the Long Trail are the east coast’s definitive ski resorts, and their contributions to the American skiing culture are impossible to overstate. This series will explore the New Hampshire and Vermont scene in depth, but along the way we’ll review the latest gear, meet some of the interesting people who color our sport and, of course, talk about where to play golf and ski on the same day.
Opened in 1966, Waterville Valley Resort, in the eponymously named New Hampshire town, lies in latitude 43 degrees, 57 minutes North, and longitude 71 degrees 30 minutes West. Comprised of two connected peaks – Mount Tecumsah and Green Peak, facing northeast and north respectively – it stands at a highest altitude of 4,004 feet above sea level, and its 46 miles of trails descend a 2,020 foot vertical. Mount Tecumsah is the larger of the two by far, but they are cleverly interconnected by a high speed quad chair, moving skiers back and forth across the terrain with ease. This greatly eases congestion on the mountain and translates to short lift lines.
The overall trail plan of the resort is excellent. Skiers of all levels except beginner can ascend to the summit and ski all the way down, enjoying the stunning panoramic views. The aforementioned quad chair – called Sunnyside – connects the two mountains, making traversing across the mountain easy. High winds sometimes close certain lifts, such as Sunnyside and the tiny High Country chair servicing Mount Tecumsah’s three short summit runs, but with the exception of a two early hours on Saturday, the vast majority of lifts were open and lift lines were virtually non-existent. For the two hours of high winds, there were long lines with the Green Peak and White Peak Express Quad doing the lion’s share of the work.
Favorite trails of Your Author and His Wingman include Periphery or Tangent -> The Boneyard! (It was all moguled out, but not steep or icy – perfect for honing technique.) True Grit and Psyched, two other expert runs, were also covered in fresh powder, making for exhilarating skiing. World Cup Run, Lower Bobby’s Run, (the steepest terrain on the mountain, named after Bobby Kennedy, who skied here often), are favorites of both locals and ski patrol, as is the colorfully named Wong Way.
Waterville Valley is also renowned for three more things: it’s the birthplace of freestyle skiing, its ski schools are all but unparalleled at any level, and its always packed with families and kids, especially tykes. As soon as they can walk, parents are putting them on skis; it’s a beautiful thing.
“Lookit Daddy! Lookit Daddy! I ski! I ski!!!” a bubbly little blonde girl shrieked joyously, as her proud parents beamed. The Mom hugged the Dad, who looked just as delighted as she did. The family that plays together stays together, indeed.
The link to entire piece is HERE: Border War! Vermont vs. New Hampshire Skiing Part 1 – Waterville Valley
Posted from JayFlemma.com
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WORDS • LESLIE ANTHONY | PHOTOS • MATTIAS FREDRIKSSON
We skiers are creatures of habit. When you hit it right somewhere—and by that, I mean sick powder—you tend to revisit that place again and again, especially if conditions never disappoint. In that event, rest assured others are enjoying the same return migration, and the word-of-mouth connective tissue of the ski world is certain to turn your favored find into a storied destination.
Engelberg, Switzerland, is one of those places. Here, a few adventurous skiers landing at just the right time in the convergent evolution of snowsports and mass communication swiftly propelled it into legend, creating a freeride nexus that has influenced not only the industry and townsfolk, but the lives of many beyond. Having the good fortune to have been one of those skiers, it has been an interesting transformation to witness.
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Posted from FREESKIER
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WORDS • KARINA SCHWARTZNAU | PHOTOS • DANIEL RÖNNBÄK
When I close my eyes and allow my mind to wander, I find myself standing on top of a snowcapped peak surrounded by the sun, the shimmer of snow crystals under my boots and a soft wind that blows through my helmet and between each fiber of my hair. This moment atop any mountain gives me a sense of home, a sense of love, a sense of adventure. But this time, eyes closed and wind through my hair, I feel a small tickle to the exposed part of my skin that gently exfoliates my face and sneaks into my mouth: sand. Sand in my boots, under my skis and in my skin. This moment, atop the mountain of sand in the Sahara Desert, with an untouched line waiting to be skied below me, I found myself in a desert love affair.
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Posted from FREESKIER
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SnowBrains | March 27, 2019
Utah’s archaic 3.2% beer law, dating back to the Prohibition period, is finally coming to an end after Gov. Gary Herbert signed SB132 yesterday, paving the way for higher-alcohol beers in grocery and convenience stores, reports the Salt Lake Tribune.
The 86-year-old law, which takes effect Nov. 1st, 2019, will boost the state cap on retail beer from 3.2 percent to 4 percent alcohol by weight.
Stronger brews will continue to be sold at state-controlled liquor stores.
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Posted from Snow Brains
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