Dressed for Success: Season Pass

Here you can see my Merry Moose has his season pass and is ready for the season. Whether it is an unlimited, limited, or bargain pass, you are never fully dressed without your season pass. For a one time fee, an unlimited season pass allows you to go skiing whenever you want. The limited pass has certain blocked days, but on the other days you can ski as much as you want. With a bargain pass, you can only ski Saturdays at the beginning and end of the season. Otherwise you can ski two four-hour blocks each week. If you ski more than a few days a year, a season pass ends up paying for itself. Order yours before October 10, 2011, and get 10% off. If your family buys four or more, you can get another 5%! The Nub's Nob Open House October 8, is a great time to get your passes, but you can order them online or by phone up through the tenth.

Advice From the Purple Chair: Lockers

At most other ski resorts, prime real-estate has to do with condos. At Nub's Nob it has to do with lockers. Along side of the Purple Chair is the locker room. For $170 a season (10% less if you pay by October 10) you can rent a locker for your equipment. You can equip it with shelves and hooks, depending on your needs. My dad even has a hand crank machine in his that helps wind ace bandages. I am still waiting to see someone rig up a refrigerator! With a locker you don't have to schlep your skis from the car, and your boots are always warm, dry, and waiting for you. This works out especially well for families. When I was growing up we shared two lockers with my aunt and uncle. One had shelves for boots, etc. and the other was for skis. You can see here I have a modified version for myself: shelves just wide enough for my boots and helmet, but narrow enough so my skis and poles fit. The locker room itself is carpeted and has a special ventilation system to minimize humidity after those wet snowy days. There are rest rooms, a drinking fountain and pop machine, and even a wax room for all of you racers. It has come a long way from the days when the locker room used to be under the old pool! I have very little storage at my house, so I leave my equipment in my locker all year unless there is planned construction, which management will post before the end of the season. I even store my snowshoes and Sorels there during the off season. So whether you ski at Nub's Nob for a week or all season, go get yourself a locker!

Hill Names: Revelry and Birch Run

My computer dictionary says Revelry means:

lively and noisy festivities, esp. when these involve drinking a large amount of alcohol

Until I looked it up, I thought it had something to do with bugle calls in the military, but that is spelled differently. Years ago, Revelry used to be the Nastar racing hill. When night skiing came along, it became home to the league races, and didn't the name certainly fit? At that time, Birch Run was a closed and fenced black diamond run between Revelry and Smooth Sailing. In 1993 the blue "Dories Bowl" chair was replaced with the current 4-person red chair. Dories Bowl and Revelry were reworked and the trees between Revelry and Birch Run were removed. The racing hill was re-christened Birch Run, and is now a wide, rolling, beautiful blue square run. The talking point is, Revelry still appears on the signs and maps! I really can't tell for sure where it is on the hill, but when you find it, let's take a run together!

Signs of the Season: Color

I saw my first changing leaves of the season the other day, another sign that time is moving forward toward opening day. Summer lovers need not panic yet, though. It is usually only the weak, young, old, or sick trees that change at this point, and I am seeing less than in years past. We still won't have peak color until October, just in time for the chairlift rides at the Open House!

Signs of the Season: Tent Sales!

Let the Preseason begin! The preseason runs until the slopes open, and is a great time to talk about skiing and think about equipment. I always feel that the new preseason starts when the tents go up at the Bahnhof and other pro shops. Tent sales are the best place for adults to get new equipment, and for kids to get new clothing. The shops mark down last year's gear and outerwear, and sometimes run specials on the new stuff. I got my boots at one two years ago! Even if you don't need anything, it is great fun to go hang out, see friends you haven't seen in a few months, and talk skiing. The Bahnhof's sale will run until July 31, and they will be open each day from 9 am to 8pm.

Why We Ski: Dads

People start skiing for different reasons, but usually it is because of the encouragement of someone who loves them. For many it may be a significant other or their mom, but for me it was my dad. As you can see from this picture I was exposed to skiing from an early age, and it looks like even back then I wasn't too thrilled. I resisted liking skiing kicking and screaming for many years, but Dad stuck with me. After a broken leg, a winter off, and a move "Up North," I skied Easy Mile for the first time at the age of seven. I remember thinking, "Hey, that wasn't so bad," and asking Dad if we could go do it again. I was hooked! On this Father's Day I would like to thank my dad for sticking with me and passing on his love of skiing, whether I wanted it or not!

Signs of the Season: Last of the Snow

Saturday I participated in the 2nd Annual Grateful Dog Walk/Run at Nubs Nob for the Little Traverse Bay Humane Society. It was a lot of fun and I got to check out the last of the snow on the front hills. You can just see that stripe on Scarface and those two spots on Chute. When I checked the Webcam today, they were all gone, and to think none of us picked May 16-31 in my poll! When the snow is gone, I feel that officially ends the season. It made me sad, but the walk along the cross country trails with all of the green leaves and trillium perked me right back up again. Besides, we can't get to the official beginning of the preseason without officially ending the season before!