Ski Passes: Get Em While It’s Hot

by Erik Olsen on

When I lived and worked in Tahoe, having an annual ski pass to be able to hit the slopes whenever I wanted was like
a license for fun. But that ski pass was basically free since I worked at Squaw Valley mountain as a photographer. For
locals and ski hounds who frequent a particular hill, passes can set you back a lot. And buying daily passes, well, if
you ski a lot you gotta be rich as Croesus to do that.

This year, though, as in years past, some ski areas are offering great deals on passes if you get on it early. For
example, last month, ski-mega-conglomerate Intrawest announced early-booking
deals at Stratton, Tremblant and Whistler/Blackcomb,
providing discounts of up to 35 percent on lodging-and-lift packages…that is, if you book before the end of
October.

These deals and others are described in greater detail in
this Times piece that gives the low-down on costs
for lift tix and, in some cases accomodations. It’s a very nice primer for the early ski season, and if you’re like me,
it got me a little fired up for the coming ski season.

Ski Dubai

by Erik Olsen on

Man is a master at creating environments that suit his needs. He invented air conditioning to stop sweating. He
created central heat to stop freezing. He created Wal-Mart to make the whole hunting-gathering thing a little
easier.

These days man is taking his love for the extreme to the extremes. All over the country (nay, the world) people are
building sports parks to emulate the outdoors. The mantra seems to be, if God wasn’t cool enough to give us an ocean
here in Kansas, well, by gum, we’ll build one ourselves.

Just look at some of the crazy sh*t that has sprung up over the last few years. To wit: In Dubai in the Emirates, the
oil-glutted region where they have so much money to spare that it just makes sense to build a ski area in the heart of
one of the biggest deserts in the world, they have built, yes, a ski area.

Ski Dubai stands 25 stories high and has two 1,300 foot runs, a solid 20-inch
base, a chairlift, and, get this, a blue-paneled ceiling (a la The Truman Show) to emulate a bright and sunny day.
Unfortunately, this being the middle east, you are unlikely to see legions of ski bunnies carving turns and enjoying
après-ski margaritas after a rough day a shushing down the slopes.

Warren Miller’s Higher Ground Coming in October

by Erik Olsen on

Warren Miller, the avuncular ski movie impresario is at it again, launching his next and newest ski epic this
October (here’s the schedule). The
film, called Warren Miller’s HIGHER GROUND, will once
again chronicle the adventures of several hard-core snow fiends as they search out the best powder on the planet. 
From the rugged steeps of Alaska, to the balls-deep bowls of Colorado, and the jagged cliff of Switzerland, the film is
sure to be a crowd-pleaser to skiers and snowboarders everywhere.

I will confess that Warren Miller is a bit of a hero. He went to high school with my mom, and her stories of how he
would walk into history class, look around and then leave to hit the slopes are part of family lore. I’ve seen many of
his films, and while they can get repetitive, well, I’ll keep on watching them. Sure, we’ve hardly shrugged off summer,
and a cold winter just seems so out of place right now, meteorologically-speaking, but if you’re interested, you can
catch the trailer for the film
here.

Thinking of Snow

by Erik Olsen on

Hey ski fans, sure, it’s the dead of summer. But that doesn’t mean we can’t
start thinking about snow-clad peaks and shredding the V. Give a lcick and check out this fast-paced
video trailer for a film called Spirit of Snow.

It’s short but sweet, delicious really, and a great way to waste a minute of your time. It is from a DVD by
Lenticular Pictures, a small production company that has done several films on outdoor topics.

Many of the films can be sampled on the site and make for decent, albeit brief, enjoyment.