Highly Obsessed: The Snowboarding and Cycling Blog » ski resort

Truthful Ski Resort Conditions At Your Fingertips

Adam — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 19:24:17 +0000

Ever visit a ski resort’s website, read a report stating they just got 15cm of fresh, only to arrive and discover the number to be greatly exaggerated? Ever want to see what the locals are saying about ski conditions right now? A new iPhone app courtesy of skiresort.com now lets you discover the truth. I stumbled across the app via this article at The Globe and Mail.

The application, which is free, delivers all the basics one would expect from a snow condition app: recent snowfall reports, number of lifts open, temperature, and base depth. But it also contains a live stream of comments and reports from folks on the mountain, as well as live webcams. It’s these last two features I would find extremely valuable. The Whistler report, for example, contains a lot of recent entries from folks saying it’s currently wet (it’s raining) but still very decent. The current conditions on Whistler’s site make no mention of rain.

You can find more details on the app here.

Aspen/Snowmass Trying to Re-Use Last Year’s Powder for the 2008-2009 Ski and Snowboarding Season

Adam — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:26:42 +0000

Interesting story at Vaildaily.com today about efforts at Aspen/Snowmass to preserve a huge block of powder from last year’s season. The resort is using a product called Ice Protector Optiforce, which acts as a sort of “blanket” to prevent glacier ice and snow from melting. Tests in Austria and Switzerland have demonstrated that the product can save about 80% of the snow and ice protected using the product.

Aspen/Snowmass hopes to re-use a mound of snow that’s 50 by 75 feet and 20 feet high. The goal is to try and preserve/shape specific terrain park features, as opposed to preserving entire slopes.

If successful, I could see this saving ski resorts precious time, money and water creating giant mounds of snow for things like jumps and pipes. My only question is: why did it take so long for someone to figure this out? What a great idea.

Vermonters Get Resort Improvements

Adam — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:07:28 +0000

First Tracks has a phenomenal overview of all the improvements that took place over the summer at ski resorts around Vermont. If you’re planning to head to Vermont this winter or live there now, you’ll definitely want to check this article out. It includes updates on Stowe, Jay Peak, Bromley, Burke Mountain and many many more.

China Gets in on the Ski Resort Action

Adam — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:37:02 +0000

Recently The Globe and Mail ran a piece on the growth of ski resorts in China. So did Frequency, the quarterly snowboarder’s journal. The story in the Globe is more focused on the development of the real estate market as it relates to ski areas; Frequency’s story is much more about improvements within the resorts themselves, and covers local and international shreds that are coming to China to throw down.

Blue Mountain Ski Resort: From the “I Didn’t Know That” Department

Adam — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:43:10 +0000

Some interesting stuff I discovered while looking around for some post content this week:

There is a ski resort in Ontario that’s taller than Blue Mountain and big enough to host an FIS-sanctioned Giant Slalom Race: The Georgian Peaks Ski Club. With a vertical of 820 feet, Georgian Peaks is Ontario’s highest and longest hill. The catch? Membership is $30k. Looks like I won’t be hitting that hill any time soon.
According to Wikipedia, Blue Mountain actually owned Georgian Peas for a while in the 1980s.
Also according to Wikipedia, Blue Mountain is Canada’s third-busiest ski resort after Whistler-Blackcomb and Mont Tremblant. Having spent a fair bit of time there over the past couple of years, I can honestly say I think that hill is at full capacity. They better look at opening The Orchard soon, or re-investigating a deal with Georgian Peaks; otherwise, the hills will soon become impossible to navigate.

Killington: When Ski Resorts are Sold Off

Adam — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 02:22:39 +0000

Anytime a ski resort is sold to a large company, particularly those which specialize in the operation of ski areas, most everyone will say it’s a mixed blessing. On the plus side, investment is typically put into facilities, lodging and snowmaking; on the downside, locals typically lament things will “never be the same” and that the “local feel” is lost. Both sides are probably right: money can buy nice facilities, but it can’t buy personality.

There seems to be a controversy of sorts like this brewing over at Killington, where folks are steamed. They allege the new Sheriff in town isn’t honouring pass agreements and is trying to cut costs by trimming staff and other such things. I’ve never been to the resort , but it would appear changes are afoot — for better or for worse — now that the resort has been sold.

On the brighter side, it’s now easier to fly to Killington.

Ski Area Openings in North America

Adam — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:25:09 +0000

It’s getting cold, and there’s a bit of snow up north around Barrie; otherwise, however, the weather outlook for ski resorts in Ontario isn’t great thus far.

Of course, around North America — hell, even down the highway — this isn’t the case. Check out all these anticipated openings:

Mont Tremblant: November 21
Sunshine Village: November 15
Lake Louise: November 10 (it’s worth noting that Alberta is getting lots of snow now)
Kicking Horse: December 14
Whistler Blackcomb: November 21
Crested Butte: November 25 (free until December 15 from what I understand. Nice article on traveling to Crested Butte with family here)
Vail: November 16
Jackson Hole: December 1
Aspen: November 22
Holiday Valley (yes, that Holiday Valley in western New York): November 25

So when will things open here in Ontario? Ha! It’s way too early to predict. Stupid Ontario weather.

Arapahoe Basin is Open

Adam — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:13:15 +0000

Let the North American snowboarding season begin! Arapahoe Basin opened yesterday, marketing its earliest opening ever. Looks like an 18″ man-made base at this point, but hey, where else are you going to ride?