January 27th, 2012
For the past 15 years, I’ve gone to New England each winter to meet up with my friends Adele and Sheara and to go cross-country skiing. We stay at inns or condos and have skied on trails in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont, always looking for new adventures.
Cape Elizabeth, Maine: How to get there, where to stay, where to eat, what to do
But never had we experienced anything quite like what we found in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, last winter. Skiing on the beach. And being able to walk out the back door in the morning and just start gliding.
This was cross-country skiing as it must have begun, as it was meant to be. You walked out of your house, strapped on your skis and off you went, most likely into the woods. Perhaps you were off to shoot your dinner and bring it back to your rustic one-room cabin to cook it over the fire.
No rustic here, though. We were living in vacation luxury, thrilled to be staying in a place that offered a Nordic ski-in, ski-out arrangement. All the other years, we’d lugged our gear to the car, hoped that we hadn’t left our ski boots in the trunk (brrrr) and driven someplace where we paid for a trail pass to attach to our coat zippers.
In Cape Elizabeth, at the Inn by the Sea, there were no trail passes to pay for, no clothing racks filled with ski wear to entice and distract us, no ski center at all. More people probably stayed there for the spa offerings than for the skiing. In fact, we might have been the only people there with skis.
We walked out back that first morning raring to go. One thing we hadn’t thought about was that we might have to blaze a trail to the beach.
The back sidewalks had been shoveled after a recent big snow. But no one yet had touched the walkway down to the sea.
We were undaunted. Sheara stepped onto the hill, holding her skis, figuring she’d put them on once she was on the snow. With a little shriek, she sank in up to her thigh. That wasn’t going to work.
I tried method two. I clicked into my skis while standing on the plowed sidewalk and then stepped laterally onto the snow, one ski and then, quickly, the other. With my weight distributed across the two planks on my feet, I sank just a few inches. We had traction!
Off we went toward the water, the sharp sun reflecting off the wintry white ground.
We plowed through the snow, carving new tracks. Buried sea grasses poked through on both sides of the path. Before long, we reached the little snowy hills that had once been sand dunes. For a moment, the ocean was hidden. We had to herringbone up the small rise so as not to slip backward.
And then, there we were, on the sea side of the dune, the Atlantic stretching before us. The beach was part sand, part snow, the split demarcated by a curved line carved by high tide.
It was one of those moments when you find yourself with a silly grin on your face, not believing that you’ve been lucky enough to arrive at this place, at this moment, in this tableau.
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January 27th, 2012
Ski resorts — and their patrons — from the Sierra to the Rockies are cursing La Niña. Up in western Canada, however, they’re singing its praises.
This weather phenomenon, and a resulting high-pressure ridge in the eastern Pacific, is being blamed for pushing the moisture-bearing jet stream north. That’s bad news for mountain ranges from California to Colorado but good news for the western Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta.
At Whistler Blackcomb, in British Columbia, more than 17 feet has fallen. Some 75 inches has come since Christmas, two feet of that after New Year’s.
Red Mountain, on the east side of British Columbia north of Spokane, Wash., was able to open 100% of its runs earlier than normal. Something of a throwback, the resort relies entirely on natural snow, yet skiers and snowboarders are ripping on all of its 88 trails.
That usually doesn’t occur at Red until later in the season. To lure Yanks north, the resort is offering free lift tickets to U.S. skiers and snowboarders for the next 30 days.
Whistler isn’t offering any deals like Red’s, but it would be a great place for a winter sports vacation even with only half the snow it’s received.
Home to the 2010 Winter Olympics, the resort has two huge mountains — Whistler and Blackcomb — that have a combined 8,171 skiable acres of terrain, more than another other destination in the U.S. or Canada.
Moreover, it boasts a vertical descent of more than 5,200 feet, more than 200 trails, three glaciers, 37 lifts, 16 alpine bowls and the nearly three-mile-long Peak 2 Peak Gondola — which spans the valley between the two mountains. Then there’s ice skating, zip-lining, bobsled rides at the Whistler Sliding Centre and the lively ski village at the resort base, with lodging from basic to luxurious digs at hotels such as the Four Seasons Whistler.
Tourism officials report that December was one of the resort’s best Decembers ever and that it has been busy, but not overly crowded since then.
Jim Douglas, general manager of the two Pan Pacific hotels at Whistler, said several families who came over Christmas told him they had changed their plans to vacation at Lake Tahoe and Colorado.
“They said they wanted to come to where there was good snow, and we certainly have that,” Douglas said. “In fact, we got several more inches today.”
Douglas said the huge snowpack has lured some U.S. skiers and snowboarders to British Columbia who hadn’t visited in several years because of the strengthening Canadian currency.
Four years ago, the Canadian dollar was worth 20% less than its U.S. counterpart. Today, the two currencies are on par.
“With all this snow and the lack of it down your way, people are overlooking the flat exchange rates,” he said.
But Douglas isn’t gloating about Canada’s good luck this year.
“I really hope the weather turns around for resorts all over North America,” he said. “That would be best for the ski industry. It’s a darn shame for a lot of resorts in the States.
“But if you want to ski or snowboard, we’re certainly happy to have you come up here. After all, we’re only three hours away from Los Angeles by plane and then a two-hour drive from the airport.”
travel@latimes.com
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January 25th, 2012
What a great 4 days to be a Utah skier or snowboarder. From one end of the state to another we got dumped on. Check out the action in this new video shot at Snowbird, Solitude, and Powder Mountain. Music: Mayer Hawthorne covering "Work to Do" from his Impressions Album
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January 25th, 2012
Twiggy the Water Skiing Squirrel shows off her moves in a pool at the Boat, RV and Sportshow.
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January 25th, 2012
EasyJet (0905 821 8905; easyjet.com)
flies to Innsbruck, the closest airport to St Anton, from London Gatwick,
Bristol and Liverpool. British Airways (0844 493 0787; ba.com)
flies from Gatwick, too. Zurich (served by BA, Swiss and easyJet) is also
within reasonable reach. From Innsbruck airport, take a bus to the town’s
railway station (15 minutes, 1.90 euros (£1.60) each way) then a train to St
Anton (up to one hour 30 minutes; oebb.at/en;
£17 each way). Alternatively, a coach transfer takes about an hour and a
half. Car hire is available at the airport.
Where to stay
The friendly four-star Hotel Grieshof (0043 5446 2331; grieshof.com)
is quiet yet central – a traditional yet unstuffy option, with a pool and
spa; half-board from £73.50. Of similar ilk is the four-star Schwarzer Adler
(schwarzeradler.com):
a week’s half-board departing March 24 costs from £1,085 per person,
including flights and transfers, through Crystal Ski (0871 231 2256; crystalski.co.uk).
Chalet-board options include Chalet Levett, a refurbished farmhouse in
Nasserein; £499 per person for seven nights (excluding flights) from
February 5 (020 8877 8888; powderwhite.com),
and Chalet Hotel Alpenheim, which costs from £699 per person, including
flights and transfers, departing April 14 (020 8780 4447; inghams.co.uk).
St Anton also has scores of B & Bs which you can book independently.
There’s a useful search engine at stantonamarlberg.com.
Sloping off
Here are two suggestions for an ideal day’s skiing in St Anton – whether you
are new to the resort or know it well.
First-timers
Morning
Take the Galzig cable car and explore the slopes close to St Anton, starting
with the Osthang chair-lift and the Tanzböden T-bar, before dropping via
blue run number 9 into the Steissbachtal – known as Happy Valley – and
taking the Zammermoos chair-lift back up. Pass back behind the Galzig top
station and follow the undulating blue run down to St Christoph.
Lunch
Arrive by midday to be sure of a table at the popular Hospizalm (mains from
£10; 0043 5446 3625; hospizalm.at),
where the waiters’ and waitresses’ beautiful lederhosen and dirndls
may make you want to yodel. There is a slide down to the lavatories, saving
you clambering downstairs in ski boots with a stomach full of tiroler
gröstl (a traditional dish of pork and potatoes).
Afternoon
Ski back to St Anton, via Happy Valley and run number one, and switch to
Rendl, which gets the afternoon sun and is usually quieter. Take your pick
of blue and red runs, zhush through the speed trap or get air in the
snow-park, then have the place to yourself when everyone heads to Galzig for
après-ski. Finish the day with the long red back to town.
Evening
Head for the unpretentious, great-value Fuhrmannstube (Dorfstrasse 74, 0043
5446 2921; mains from £8.20). Everything from the venison to Wiener
schnitzel is spot on. If it’s full, wait by the bar with a red-wine spritzer
(made with a light Austrian red) until there’s space. Most tables are for a
dozen, so you may make friends.
Old hands
Morning
Many skiers stick to obvious pistes, but it’s worth seeking out peripheral
runs once you have your bearings. Head up Galzig and catch the Valluga I
cable-car to 2,650m (Valluga II, to 2,811m, is passable only with a guide).
Follow red and blue runs 19, 14 and 12/12a – hopefully, freshly groomed –
down to the Schindlergrat chair-lift.
At the top, turn right on to itinerary run 15. It’s usually pisted, often
empty and, unless visibility is terrible, a piece of cake for red-run
skiers. There may be moguls either side for the athletic. Catch the
Schindlergrat again; this time, turn left, ski past the Ulmer Hut and follow
the wide, gentle blue 17 run all the way to Stuben, passing under the
Arlberg Pass road on the way.
Lunch
Eat at cosy Berghaus Stuben (0043 664 3858266, info@decantbregant.com),
one of a handful of good-value guesthouses in the village.
Afternoon
If it’s a clear, calm day, ride up both Albona chair-lifts. Lots of off-piste
routes start here, but don’t attempt them without a guide. En route back to
St Anton, enjoy the ride up Valfagehr – this chair-lift’s seats are heated,
and you pass sculptures by Antony Gormley. In good visibility, strong skiers
could add a lap of the black itinerary 18.
Finally, explore Gampen, whose upper slopes are often quiet: get there via
Happy Valley and the Mattun chair-lift. At 4pm, make for the Mooserwirt (www.mooserwirt.at),
Austria’s best known on-piste après-ski, or the lower-key Underground.
Alternatively, give it all a wide berth and visit the shops, the town’s
Wellness Centre or your hotel spa (swimwear is optional in Austrian saunas
and steam rooms, and often forbidden).
Evening
Combine culture and cuisine at the Museum restaurant (Rudi-Matt-Weg 10; 0043
5446 2475; museum-restaurant.at;
mains from £14.50).
Lessons and guiding
The Arlberg Ski School (skischool-arlberg.com)
has a good reputation. For off-piste skiing, join Powder Club (powderclub.at),
or book with Piste to Powder (pistetopowder.com),
which runs courses and guided outings.
Further information
Full area lift pass from £35 per day. For more details, visit stantonamarlberg.com.
Telegraph Tips
1 First-timers should stay near the nursery slopes at Nasserein. Buy a
book of beginners’ tickets (not a full pass) – valid for three drag-lifts
and a short chair-lift.
2 Make sure your hire car has motorway road-tax vignettes and snow
tyres.
3 Old hands could try the Weisse Rausch race, a mad dash of skiers and
boarders over 9km (5.6 miles) of slushy pistes from the Valluga cable-car to
the town. To enter (the next race is on April 21), see arlbergadler.eu.
4 Explore Zürs and Lech via the ski bus from Alpe Rauz, but also
consider Sonnenkopf, a usually deserted mountain with 1,300m vertical of red
and blue runs.
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January 25th, 2012
Well, perhaps she was right. Although with the snow quality at the Alberta
resorts of Lake
Louise and Sunshine Village – even some early season powder caches –
it would have been hard not to feel in good form.
But I wasn’t in the heart of the Canadian
Rockies simply to click on my skis and shred the mountain. I had signed up
for boot camp, a new concept run by Travel Alberta which involves skiers
getting into shape on trips with personal trainers, fitness gurus and yoga
teachers constantly on hand to hone, tone, instruct, advise and cajole.
The aim is to make it easier to maximise your skiing potential because the
exercise regime, both mental and physical, has made your body stronger and
more supple and with added core strength.
For those whose main off-slope activity on a skiing or boarding holiday is
carrying a tray of gluhwein back to your table in an après-ski bar before
jigging about to a healthy serving of Euro-pop, this may all come as a bit
of a shock. The route to this ideal state of ski fitness involves a fair
degree of commitment and hard work. The yoga is the easy part.
There are one or two activity sessions a day. You may find yourself doing
fairly conventional stuff in a gym with a personal trainer – push-ups,
sit-ups and lunges. But out on the snow, you could find yourself playing
catch with other members of your group – with medicine balls.
Another outdoors activity involves relocating to a forest in what feels like
the middle of the wilderness, where Tracy Garneau, one of the world’s top
ultra-long distance runners, leads the group on a jog around a lake before
organising 50-metre repeat shuttles up and down steep steps built into the
hillside.
Then there’s the sled race. Participants tow a sled loaded with a 25kg gym
weight (“nothing too heavy and the course is flat”) across a snowy field.
Oh, and all this outside stuff is in temperatures that can drop way below
zero. Not that you stand about in one spot long enough to notice the cold.
You suddenly realise that there’s another big bonus to the programme – you’re
in beautiful, remote spots that you wouldn’t normally venture to, even on a
ski holiday where it goes without saying the scenery is beautiful.
But here there are no chairlifts, cable cars, mountain restaurants or bars in
sight – just pristine woodland, with the occasional lake visible through the
trees or a tumbling stream overhung with the snow-laden branches of pines on
the ice-rimmed bank. “Yep, I’m coming, I’ll catch you up – just stopped for
a moment to look at the view.”
The activities are split between the towns of Banff,
close to the ski areas of Lake
Louise, Mt Norquay and Sunshine Village, and Jasper, where the local
slopes are at Marmot Basin.
The two towns are linked by the scenic Highway 93, also known as the Icefields
Parkway. This thin strip of high altitude tarmac cuts through a landscape of
ice and jagged mountains. A tentacle of the Athabasca Glacier reaches almost
to the road at one point – the glacier is part of the Columbia Icefield,
1,000ft thick in parts and one of the largest accumulations of ice and snow
south of the Arctic Circle.
The journey is a respite from boot camp – but not one to be undertaken without
proper preparation, because this is no place to run out of petrol.
And rigorous as the boot camp regime may be, there doesn’t have to be any
shortage of luxury when you return to your hotel from either the slopes or a
training session. Accommodation for the boot camp package can be tailored to
individual requirements. We stayed in style at both the baronial Fairmont
Banff Springs – where Briana conducted yoga sessions at the marvellous
Willow Stream Spa – and at the lakeside Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.
The skiing, on excellent snow, was a well-deserved treat after the prep work
of boot camp. And, aches and pains aside, we felt better for it.
Essentials:
Ski Solutions (020 7471 7741, www.skisolutions.com)
can organise a ten-day ski boot camp, including flights, hotels and personal
trainers and instructors, from £2,050.
Where to stay:
Fairmont Banff Springs (www.fairmont.com/banffsprings),
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise (www.fairmont.com/LakeLouise),
Lobstick Lodge, Jasper (www.mpljasper.com).
More information on skiing in Alberta at www.travelalberta.com
and www.canada.travel.
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January 23rd, 2012
Recorded in December of 1992 during the weekend of Bud’s 65th Birthday
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January 23rd, 2012
Recorded in December of 1992 during the weekend of Bud’s 65th Birthday
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January 23rd, 2012
Published: Monday, January 23, 2012
By STAN HUDY
shudy@saratogian.com
The Shenendehowa nordic ski team was all smiles after finally getting to practice on snow in Clifton Park Jan. 12.
STAN HUDY/shudy@saratogian.com
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CLIFTON PARK — There were resounding cheers throughout a small portion of the Shenendehowa winter athletic teams when measurable accumulations of snow final fell in Clifton Park. For the first time in more than 30 days the Plainsmen Nordic ski team was finally able to glide on its precious white surface – snow.
“It’s been dismal, we’ve been complaining, people have been asking us ‘Are you going to be able to get a season in?’ We just kept shaking our heads,” Shenendehowa Nordic coach Jim ZImmons said. “Now that we have some snow, we’ve actually skiing and hopefully it sticks around for a while. We may be the only Clifton Park that is happy about snow.”
Zimmons took over the program last year and had to pull out all stops from his coaching bag of tricks to amuse his skiers during the first 30 days of the season without viable skiing conditions.
“We were on roller skis quite a bit and we did all different kinds of drills on roller skis, we did different drills on dry land, agility drills and we played a lot of games,” Zimmons said. “We were getting ready to challenge the rest of Section II to ultimate Frisbee. We’d get back early, we’d play soccer, we’d play ultimate Frisbee, doing things like that to try and have a little bit of fun.”
The games helped fill a void for the Plainsmen athletes…for a while.
“The games helped a lot, they helped take your mind off the snow, focusing on the present, having fun, but you still wanted the snow to ski,” senior Rachel Andonie said. “Dry land is more physically intense for me, personally, but on the snow is more fun.”
The games were at the end of some long practices where the Nordic squad took to the roads around the Shenendehowa campus on roller skis.
“We had where practices where they would ski a couple of miles,” Zimmons said. “Most of the goal is to work on technique and then some fitness as to when you are skiing a long distance is to do some endurance skiing and fitness.”
The lack of snow was a challenge for junior Austin Huneck who extended his dry land training from cross country running another month. Continued…
“I wait for snow as soon as the fall hits,” Huneck said. “I just love to ski and I would watch the weather every night and there was never anything.
“Dry land is OK for a while, once it hits January you don’t want to be roller skiing and running all the time,” Huneck said. “That’s when winter is supposed to be and you really want to get on the snow.”
After the first meet of the year was cancelled and the weather didn’t look promising, the Section II coaches decided to take their teams north, two hours north, just to find suitable trails at the Wakely Lodge Golf Course in Indian Lake.
“When we drove to Indian Lake, we really didn’t see any snow on the ground until maybe about 15 miles south of Indian Lake,” Zimmons said. “About six years ago apparently there was a year very similar to this and again they had gone up to Wakely Lodge Golf Course.”
For Huneck the 200-mile, four-hour round-trip bus ride was worth it.
“It was really exciting and it was totally worth the drive,” Huneck said. “I would have gone an extra two hours if we had to just to get a race in.”
For the opening meet the girls raced a 3k race and the boys a 6k, with the girls moving up to a 6k on Jan. 16 again at Wakely Lodge with the boys extending their trail to a 9k distance.
Despite the lack of powdery trails for the Nordic squad, the team has stayed intact as it waited for snow to fall.
“The roller skis, for the new skiers is a learning experience and is a learning curve,” Zimmons said. “We’ve actually been watching kids get more and more comfortable, get faster on the roller skis. Now that we have them on actual snow, hopefully for a long time, they can get even better.”
CLIFTON PARK — There were resounding cheers throughout a small portion of the Shenendehowa winter athletic teams when measurable accumulations of snow final fell in Clifton Park. For the first time in more than 30 days the Plainsmen Nordic ski team was finally able to glide on its precious white surface – snow.
“It’s been dismal, we’ve been complaining, people have been asking us ‘Are you going to be able to get a season in?’ We just kept shaking our heads,” Shenendehowa Nordic coach Jim ZImmons said. “Now that we have some snow, we’ve actually skiing and hopefully it sticks around for a while. We may be the only Clifton Park that is happy about snow.”
Zimmons took over the program last year and had to pull out all stops from his coaching bag of tricks to amuse his skiers during the first 30 days of the season without viable skiing conditions.
“We were on roller skis quite a bit and we did all different kinds of drills on roller skis, we did different drills on dry land, agility drills and we played a lot of games,” Zimmons said. “We were getting ready to challenge the rest of Section II to ultimate Frisbee. We’d get back early, we’d play soccer, we’d play ultimate Frisbee, doing things like that to try and have a little bit of fun.”
The games helped fill a void for the Plainsmen athletes…for a while.
“The games helped a lot, they helped take your mind off the snow, focusing on the present, having fun, but you still wanted the snow to ski,” senior Rachel Andonie said. “Dry land is more physically intense for me, personally, but on the snow is more fun.”
The games were at the end of some long practices where the Nordic squad took to the roads around the Shenendehowa campus on roller skis.
“We had where practices where they would ski a couple of miles,” Zimmons said. “Most of the goal is to work on technique and then some fitness as to when you are skiing a long distance is to do some endurance skiing and fitness.”
The lack of snow was a challenge for junior Austin Huneck who extended his dry land training from cross country running another month.
“I wait for snow as soon as the fall hits,” Huneck said. “I just love to ski and I would watch the weather every night and there was never anything.
“Dry land is OK for a while, once it hits January you don’t want to be roller skiing and running all the time,” Huneck said. “That’s when winter is supposed to be and you really want to get on the snow.”
After the first meet of the year was cancelled and the weather didn’t look promising, the Section II coaches decided to take their teams north, two hours north, just to find suitable trails at the Wakely Lodge Golf Course in Indian Lake.
“When we drove to Indian Lake, we really didn’t see any snow on the ground until maybe about 15 miles south of Indian Lake,” Zimmons said. “About six years ago apparently there was a year very similar to this and again they had gone up to Wakely Lodge Golf Course.”
For Huneck the 200-mile, four-hour round-trip bus ride was worth it.
“It was really exciting and it was totally worth the drive,” Huneck said. “I would have gone an extra two hours if we had to just to get a race in.”
For the opening meet the girls raced a 3k race and the boys a 6k, with the girls moving up to a 6k on Jan. 16 again at Wakely Lodge with the boys extending their trail to a 9k distance.
Despite the lack of powdery trails for the Nordic squad, the team has stayed intact as it waited for snow to fall.
“The roller skis, for the new skiers is a learning experience and is a learning curve,” Zimmons said. “We’ve actually been watching kids get more and more comfortable, get faster on the roller skis. Now that we have them on actual snow, hopefully for a long time, they can get even better.”
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January 23rd, 2012
Rival teams
have decided against issuing a protest against Austrian alpine
skier Marcel Hirscher after reports that he had straddled a gate
in his victory in a slalom in Zagreb this month.
“We watched the videos again and there is insufficient
evidence against Hirscher. We don’t feel there is enough ground
for a protest and believe Hirscher should benefit from the
doubt,” the director of the Croatian ski team, Vedran Pavlek,
told Reuters.
Officials from the Italian team said they would not complain
either while a team captains’ meeting in Schladming on Monday
decided not to take the case any further.
At the skiers presentation in Schladming, Hirscher and Croat
Ivica Kostelic were seen shaking hands in an act of
reconcilation after bitter remarks in Kitzbuehel at the weekend.
The incident was revealed by the Austrian newspaper Kronen
Zeitung on Saturday, who investigated the story after an
anonymous phone call.
Video tapes revealed that Hirscher apparently straddled a
gate during his winning run in Zagreb on Jan. 5, an offence his
team admitted. However, the result was validated as no protest
was issued on race day.
Kostelic took over from Hirscher in the World Cup standings
after finishing third in Sunday’s slalom in Kitzbuehel while the
Austrian was disqualified.
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