In The Spotlight
The U.S. Alpine Championships, last hosted on the East Coast at Sugarloaf in 2017, return to the Northeast at Waterville Valley for 2019 and 2021 seasons.
The nation’s best alpine ski racers will descend upon New Hampshire’s Waterville Valley Resort in 2019 and 2021 for U.S. Alpine Championship - the biggest race the resort has hosted since the White Circus visited in 1991 when Julie Parisien won the World Cup giant slalom.
Waterville Valley Resort will play host to the slalom, giant slalom, and parallel slalom events March 23-26, 2019. The parallel slalom event will be a new addition to the U.S. Alpine Championships calendar.
“The introduction of the parallel event into the U.S. Alpine Championships tech week is an effort the alpine department has been advocating for and is excited about,” noted U.S. Ski & Snowboard Alpine Director, Jesse Hunt. “It’s a format that spectators understand and enjoy. With the introduction of more parallel events in the World Cup, as well as the team event in the Olympic Games’ calendar, it’s important we begin to place more focus on the event. The inclusion of parallel into U.S. Alpine Championships is proof of our commitment to developing our young talent to reach the podium for this discipline at all levels in the future.”
The International Ski Federation (FIS) is currently considering modifications to their format, which will be determined at the fall FIS meetings. Based on these conversations, format and qualification details will be modified accordingly for U.S. Alpine Championships.
“We are looking forward to bringing elite ski racing back to Waterville Valley Resort,” said U.S. Ski & Snowboard Chief of Systems and Operations Calum Clark. “The membership and fan base in the east is vast and extremely engaged with the sport, and our athletes love competing in front of them. Julie Parisien had a commanding and inspiring World Cup victory there in 1991, and U.S. Ski & Snowboard is excited to bring some of the best ski racers in the world, like two-time Olympic gold medalists Mikaela Shiffrin and Ted Ligety and Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn, back to the resort in hopes that they too will inspire the next generation.”
Waterville Valley Resort shares the enthusiasm for hosting the event. “This will be the biggest race that Waterville Valley Resort has hosted since our last World Cup in 1991. The whole team is excited to be bringing elite racing back to Waterville Valley,” says Waterville Valley Resort’s President and General Manager, Tim Smith. “I know our guests and pass holders won’t want to miss the opportunity to see these athletes in action.”
The downhill, super-G and alpine combined events will take place prior to the Waterville Valley events, and the venue will be announced shortly. Much like the 2015-2018 Sugarloaf, Maine/Sun Valley, Idaho venue arrangement, U.S. Ski & Snowboard looks to continue the successful long-term calendar plan to move the annual celebration of American ski racing to top resorts around the United States. That said, U.S. Ski & Snowboard will be looking to the west for 2020 and 2022 and the announcement will be forthcoming.
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Hundreds of instructors over the years for kids ski club. (Eskimo Ski Club/Facebook)
A lack of space at Winter Park has forced the 79-year-old Eskimo Ski Club to cease a program that has brought thousands of Denver-area youngsters onto the slopes of the Colorado mountain.
Club officials recently announced that they could not come to an agreement with Winter Park for a location to headquarter the club. Resort officials said they have run out of space in the aging Balcony House at the base of Winter Park, and could not provide sufficient room for lockers for the club’s instructors either at Winter Park or neighboring Mary Jane.
“It is with great sadness that I am writing this,” said club director Annie Bulkley in an email to members. “Winter Park needs the Eskimo Headquarters room for their employee lockers as they are presently stacked 3 to a locker and there is no more available space that will work for the Club’s needs.”
Starting in 1939 by Bulkley’s father Frank, the Eskimo Ski Club sought to teach youngsters from the greater Denver area how to ski on the city-owned mountain. By the start of WWII, 300-400 youngsters rode then-Denver & Salt Lake railroad every Saturday.
After the war, Bulkley convinced officials of what had become the Denver & Rio Grande to run a “ski train” on Saturdays that would get the young “Eskimos” up to the hill. When the ski train stopped running, Eskimo members rode special buses over Berthoud Pass to Winter Park.
The club had 320 members last season. No plans have been announced as to its future.
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Summer vacationers often seek out lakefront property to cool off, and a number of ski and snowboard resorts across the West are blessed with a lake within spittin’ distance.
SnoCountry scanned the West and found an intriguing collection “surf and turf” offerings.
Two resorts -- Heavenly and Homewood -- sit right on the shore of Lake Tahoe for boating, fishing, excursions and swimming beaches. (Surface water temps top out at 65-70 F. so be ready for an exhilarating plunge.)
Homewood has linked up with Homewood High & Dry Marina at its base with rentals of jet skis, kayaks, paddleboards and more – plus a water ski school for instruction.
Over in Colorado, Keystone and Breckenridge are a short ride from Lake Dillon – a reservoir at 9,000 feet elevation. Marinas in Frisco and Dillon rent out fishing boats, party barges and sailboats, and quiet picnicking can be had along some 29 miles of shoreline.
One of SoCal’s favorite places to cool off is Big Bear Lake – some two hours’ drive from the L.A. Basin. Both Snow Summit and Bear Mountain look down onto the lake that has renowned fishing and all manner of watercraft for rent and instruction..
In North Idaho, super-deep Lake Pend Oreille spreads out below Schweitzer Mountain. National forest and state lands have a myriad of trails, beaches, marinas and picnic sites. Fishing best for cold-water trout, and Kokanee and Mackinaw salmon, and shops in Sandpoint rent most anything that floats.
To the west, you’ll find the Payette Lake and Brundage Mountain. The 5,000-acre lake boasts watersports galore, and evening lake cruises. Farther downriver, Tamarack Resort sits on the western shore of Cascade Lake – 47 square miles of high-mountain water. Nearby towns are full of rental and retail shops for any water-bound need.
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Canoing near Brundage Mountain (McCall Chamber/Facebook)
Lake Tahoe speads out below Heavenly (Heavenly/Facebook)
Boats galore at shoreline below Homewood (Homewood/Facebook)
All manner of watercraft in Summit County (Town of Dillon/Facebook)
Hook a big on on Big Bear Lake (Big Bear Lake/Facebook)
Ridin' high above Lake Pend Oreille (Schweitzer/Facebook)
Enjoy an evening cruise near Tamarack (Lake Cascade State Park/Facebook)
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The world’s longest gondola and an expansion of terrain in the order of 2,000 percent highlight a multi-year proposal for what has been the smallest ski and snowboard mountain in Utah.
Formerly known as Wolf Mountain, the Nordic Valley resort was recently purchased by Colorado resort owner James Coleman, who specializes in buying smallish mountains and plowing money into them right away. The mountain currently has three lifts on 140 acres and is a half-drive outside Ogden, situated between Snowbasin to the south and Powder Mountain to the north.
However, it will likely take a couple of years to secure U.S. Forest Service permits for the expansion – and contend with amending a roadless designation for the area by the Unitah-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, the owners say.
The headliner for the Nordic Valley project will be a 4.3-mile gondola – longer than 3.8-mile Grindelwald–Männlichen gondola in the Swiss Alps. The lift would bring skiers and riders up from the city of Ogden up and over an 8,100-foot ridge to the mountain base rom a terminal at a city park on the eastern edge of North Ogden – in 12 minutes.
“In addition to shortening travel times and alleviating canyon traffic, the new gondola will also help reduce vehicle emissions by providing a convenient and sustainable mass-transit solution,” according to the proposal.
In addition to the gondola, Coleman’s Mountain Capital Partners proposes to add 10 chairlifts and cut dozens of new trails to expand to 2,800 acres of skiable terrain – mostly intermediate level.
Three years ago, Mountain Capital Partners began its spending spree by purchasing Purgatory Resort outside Durango. Quickly thereafter, they added town hill Hesperus Ski Area near Durango; Arizona Snowbowl outside Flagstaff; and day-mountains Sipapu and Pajarito in New Mexico.
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Long view of present layout of Nordic Valley (LiftBlog)
Nordic Valley would get 10 more lifts (Nordic Valley/Facebook)
Expansion proposed by new owners (LiftBlog)
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Mount Sunapee Resort is operated and leased from New Hampshire's Mount Sunapee State Park. (Mount Sunapee/Facebook)
Olympic freestyle hopefuls show off their stuff. (Utah Olympic Park/Facebook)
Darian Stevens at Freeski slopestyle finals 2018 Toyota U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix at Mammoth. (Sarah Brunson/U.S. Ski & Snowboard)
Live Cams
Open Areas
| Area Name | Past 24 | Past 48 |
| Hintertux , AT | " | " |
| Broken River , NZ | " | " |
| Catedral Alta Patagonia , AR | " | " |
| Caviahue , AR | " | " |
| Cerro Bayo , AR | " | " |
| Chapelco , AR | " | " |
| Charlotte Pass , AU | " | " |
| Coronet Peak , NZ | " | " |
| Craigieburn Valley Ski Area , NZ | " | " |
| El Colorado-Farellones , CH | " | " |
| Falls Creek Resort , AU | " | " |
| Hotham Alpine Resort , AU | 0" | 1" |
| La Parva , CH | " | " |
| Las Lenas , AR | " | " |
| Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort , AU | " | " |
| Mt Buller , AU | " | " |
| Mount Cheeseman Ski Field , NZ | 0" | 3" |
| Mount Dobson Ski Area , NZ | 0" | 2" |
| Mt Hutt Ski Area , NZ | 0" | 1" |
| Mount Lyford Ski Area , NZ | " | " |
| Mt Olympus , NZ | 0" | 3" |
| Nevados de Chillan , CH | " | " |
| Ohau Snow Fields , NZ | 0" | 6" |
| Perisher Ski Resort , AU | " | " |
| Porter Heights Ski Area , NZ | " | " |
| Ski Portillo , CH | " | " |
| Rainbow Ski Area , NZ | " | " |
| Roundhill Ski Area , NZ | " | " |
| Selwyn Snow Resort , AU | " | " |
| Snow Farm , NZ | " | " |
| Temple Basin , NZ | 0" | 4" |
| The Remarkables , NZ | 0" | 6" |
| Thredbo Alpine Village , AU | " | " |
| Treble Cone , NZ | 0" | 10" |
| Tukino Ski Field , NZ | " | " |
| Turoa Ski Resort , NZ | 0" | 4" |
| Valle Nevado , CH | " | " |
| Whakapapa Ski Area , NZ | 0" | 2 - 4" |
Snapshot
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With almost 3 feet of snow this week alone, Loon Mountain Resort is primed to stay open until mid April. Their spring event lineup is stacked and includes a legendary celebration of one of the best decades of skiing, 80's day.
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From the slopes to the water park? In the same day?! If you are looking to plan a family vacation, Jay Peak in northern Vermont has a little something for everyone.
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Spring may be near, but there is still some great skiing and riding to be had. Bring on hero snow, hoodies, and the Nor'Beaster at Killington Resort in VT!
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This great family mountain is located in Southwestern Massachusetts just over the border from CT and NY. This week, Halley lends a hand as we help Ben transform from ski bum to Ski Butternut.
