t minus one hour

The 24 Hours Ski-A-Thoners are in their final hour of skiing! Everyone wish them luck as they conclude their heroic 24 hours of skiing for a good cause. Rumor has it, a lot of these participants have taken little to no breaks throughout the night. Both impressive and inspiring to say the least. The lack of sleep and utter exhaustion doesn’t seem to have soiled anyone’s demeanor as there were nothing but hoots, hollers and enthusiastic shouts as skiers rode into the sunrise this morning on Musical Chairs…

Matt and Zack were nothing short of enthusiastic in the midst of hour 21

After taking a short hiatus, it seems that the powder is back!

We have the makings of a great day on the hill with 2″ of fresh powder and some nice sun patches. The forecast is predicting scattered snow showers for the next three days! It seems that mother nature is smiling on us!

Happy Monday (slash Tuesday)

Tuesday to most, today is my Monday. I prefer to kick my Monday off with a blog entry as it’s a nice way to transition from weekend to work. Today lived up to every Monday cliche in the book as I woke up with frozen pipes for approximately the 4th time this winter. Frozen pipes in my house translates to zero warm water. Not even the slightest pity drip from any of the structure’s faucets. Luckily, I am equipped with my Amish morning preparedness routine involving a small saucepan and a  stove burner for basic hygiene purposes. Rough start to the morning, but nothing a nice steaming cup of coffee won’t smooth over right? Wrong. Seems my “Mr. Coffee” was experiencing his own case of the Mondays as an appliance-related malfunction contaminated my recipe for Monday success. The delicate filter collpased mid brew. Disasterous. As I excitedly poured my steaming treat into a well-loved Schweitzer to-go mug, it appeared as if someone had crushed oreos into my normally smooth, grit-free black beverage. Wanting to spare myself the embarassment of arriving to work with a sea of black flecks in my grill, I poured out the pot of coffee. What a waste of hot liquid in a frozen pipe laden house. Luckily the Mojo Cafe on the mountain has fantastic drip coffee. One drowsy bus ride later, it doesn’t matter that when I reached for my employee season pass to pay for my coffee, it was nowhere to be found. A seemingly important detail in my argument against the Mondays became irrelevant as I looked outside at the snow violently spitting down in the Schweitzer Village. Actual white, even supersized fluffy white flakes. Mother Nature could only hold it in for so long. She was past due for some precipitation. At that moment the day took a one eighty. There’s simply no case of the Mondays that an overdue snowfall won’t spin in a positive manner. Nice try Mondays. Better luck next week.

Moral of yet another one of my long, overly detailed stories: It’s snowing!

she’s back.

Barbie and friends hooky-bobbing Schweitzer's fresh corduroy.

Barbie has returned to Schweitzer after an extended sabbatical. What’s a girl in a glamorous evening gown to do all winter long? She was in dire need of a vacation. After ample amounts of R&R, sun-soaking and blended drinks poolside, Barbie is bronzed and ready to return to her infamous webcam role. Please stay tuned for further details regarding Barbie’s start date. Until then, look for her on the mountain as rumor has its she’s developed a new fondness for winter sports.

All Types of Fun

It’s true that we haven’t had new snow in a while… For some, this can become a test of patience over time.  With each day that passes, the desire to hit deep pillows of fluff grows exponentially.  I understand how it goes… I feel it, too.

That said, I have to say that I’ve had an amazing amount of fun on the groomers the past few days.  Maybe it’s my roots as an east-coaster, having grown up on fast corduroy. It’s been great to get out there on my slalom sidecuts and carve up the groomers.  And, hat’s off to our team behind the snowcats that deliver miles of perfect snow every morning – the grooming has been superb.

So, I may not change any opinions out there, but my message of the day is that life doesn’t end when the fresh snow stops falling… in my book, any day on the mountain is a good day and we all know that the season is finite.  So, if you’re wondering about those tracks you see first thing in the morning carving up lower JR or Midway, you can rest assured that I was already there. Hope you’ll join me!

january is the new april. or so it seems.

At the risk of seeming terribly cliche, I gotta put it into writing that I love spring riding. I’ve just returned to the office after two days of warm weather bliss and can’t help but smile as I reminisce about some of the weekend highlights…Those loose cannons ripping down Schweitzer’s corduroy, bare-chested, with their heavy winter coats tied around their waists, flapping like beaver tails in the wind, rear entry boots and onsies in every shade of the fluorescent rainbow, perfect park riding conditions  and the boost of confidence that accompanies soft snow and lastly, indulging in a midday beer from the Wang Shack atop the Great Escape Quad. The view from the top was breathtaking and it seemed the only reality preventing us from observing our neighboring continent was the spherical shape of the globe. Visibility was unlimited. Not a single cloud in the sky. The only trace of white in the endless sea of blue was the occasional overhead jet-stream or playful snowball en catapult route from one set of friends to the next. Seems everyone alike was given a morale boost by the midwinter dose of Vitamin D as there were simply nothing but smiles mountain wide. Enjoy these uncharacteristic conditions while they last as the forecast is predicting snow for this weekend. Winter is far from over. As these few weeks of gorgeous weather have been refreshing and delightful, I think I speak for most when I say, “Bring on the snow!” Slap on that sunscreen and head up as today might be one of the last where you (you know who you are) can legitimize those muscle-bearing, topless runs.

schweitzer video

All footage was shot this week in Schweitzer’s Stomping Grounds Terrain Park. Check it out!

A Bonus on Monday…

Spread the news… While we won’t be offering a “Sunday Solution” $20 afternoon ticket this Sunday during the holiday weekend, we’ve added a “Monday Solution” for this week only! So this Monday, Martin Luther King Day (1/19/09), you can ski or ride for $20 beginning at 12:30pm. The forecast looks amazing all weekend, so come up and enjoy this bonus deal!

a few visuals to accompany that last post…seeing is believing

First chair anyone?

 

Looks Can Be Deceiving…

Today is another one of those amazing days where the drive up Schweitzer Mountain Road yields a major surprise (this time, around turn 6).  It’s one of those days where the valley areas are encased in fog as thick as glue, but the mountaintops charge through the soup and bask in brilliant blue.  Yes, indeed, it’s going to be amazing out there today.

Not only are we in the sunshine today, but we’re expecting more of the same right through the holiday weekend. The valleys are expected to be foggy and cold, while the mountains should see a nice inversion and pleasant weather for the forseeable future. So, don’t let the first glance out your window deceive you… there’s a reward at the end of your drive up the mountain — and it’s pretty darned spectacular!