Ski Report: Global Warming Blues

by Neil Woodburn on

We’ve been posting quite a bit lately about the unseasonably warm weather that has been hitting traditionally cold locations around the globe. One of the posts, written by Iva, covered a New York Times article bemoaning the miserable ski conditions this winter in the European Alps. The New York Times must be getting self conscious about Global Warming because they’ve also printed yet another article about the same topic, but this time in their own backyard.

For Skiers, Too Soon to Panic? discusses the impact of a “balmy” winter on the ski resorts of the Northeastern United States. The area has received far less snow than it usually does at this time and has raised fear amongst many skiers that this may be the beginning of a horrible ski season.

Meteorologists, however, are saying it is still too soon to panic. Some believe that the ski season will indeed pick up in January despite such ominous threats as ski-crazy Vermont recently suffering through the second warmest November ever recorded there.

I’m not so optimistic. Global warming is here folks, and if I owned stock in a ski resort I’d be selling it right now. Sure, there are those of you out there who will accuse me of being an alarmist, but the facts, it seems, are speaking for themselves these days. Better get your skiing in while you can…

Underwater Mp3 Player

by Erik Olsen on

I’m big into listening to my ipod while I paddle or do various un-extreme water sports, so I like to keep an eye out for new products along these lines. One that just recently caught my eye is the Freestyleaudio Fusion Amp Waterproof MP3 Player which is apparently quite suitable for all sorts of water sports. Whether you are into surfing, wakeboarding, paddling, maybe even snorkeling, he Freestyle is waterproof and submersible up to 10 feet. It also can withstand decent levels of shock ( no word on awe, however) and is quite lightweight, weighing in at only 35 grams. It’s NOT a hard drive player, however, so you’ll have to be selective about what you choose to put on it. It comes with a built-in flash memory of 256MB or 512MB and runs $119.95.

New Skiers Tunnel at Snowbird

by Erik Olsen on

One of my favorite ski areas in the country just got a little cooler. Over at Utah’s Snowbird the new Peruvian Tunnel opened to allow skiers to pass through the side of a mountain to, well, get to the other side…as well as to provide better access to the intermediate runs in Mineral Basin. It is allegedly the first built for skiers tunnel in North America, and has been getting some local press. The conveyor inside actually carries skiers and snowboarders a distance of about 600 feet, from Peruvian Gulch in Little Cottonwood Canyon to the Mineral Basin side. A couple of TV stations have got the story and Snowbird itself has a video clip.

The End of Alps Skiing?

by Iva Skoch on

I just got done sobbing uncontrollably. More strange climate news. The NY Times has an article today, noting a recent study that said that the Alps are the warmest they’ve been in 1,250 years (that’s 800 AD, folks), which signals very, very bad things for the skiing industry there.

While I haven’t yet planned any of this year’s skiing, I can tell you that Europe has been really warm so far. Prague’s been experiencing 50 degree F days recently. A number of big skiing events in the Czech Republic were canceled this month for lack of snow and good weather.

My beloved Kitzbuhel is particularly threatened, since it’s only 2,624 feet above sea level. Apparently, the Alps have been so warm this year so far, that even snow making machines aren’t able to run.

Tahoe Adventure Film Festival

by Erik Olsen on

I wish I was going to Tahoe this weekend. But there’s hardly any snow there, Erik, why would you want to do that?

Why? Because the Tahoe Adventure Film Festival takes place Friday and Saturday at MontBleu (once known as Caesars Tahoe), and it promises to be a very cool event.

They say that the festival is “the next best thing to doin’ it,” and by “it” we must presume they are referring to some kind of outdoor activity rather than say sex, although those are not, I suppose, mutually exclusive.

The show’s director is Todd Offenbacher, a one-time bodybuilder and the 1985 Mr. USA runner-up. He is also a hard-core outdoors junkie. This is the fourth year for the festival which consists of three parts: opening night, the main event and a raucous, adrenaline-addled party. Skiing god, Mohawk model Glen Plake will do a multimedia show-and-tell on Friday that examines his adventures.

By the way, the site is great and features an amazing series of video clips from the fest. Also, here’s the schedule. Like I said, I wish I was going.