ChairTalk: New Chairlift!

If Nub's doesn't open for Thanksgiving weekend, a lot of times it might be the Friday after. I have missed skiing those days while teaching elementary computers and library classes. Now that I have retired, I don't have to miss! This year it was extra exciting with the inaugural riding of new green chair! I knew I wouldn't get the first chair (rumor is those guys were there at 6 am!), but I was excited to see it off and follow soon after! 

You can see the announcement of the new chair and why Nub's chose to keep the fixed grip style here.

Advice From the Purple Chair: It's Live! Live!

This morning I watched Olympic skiing live for the first time in my life! Due to time differences and the popularity of skiing, the networks tend to save races for primetime broadcasts. The downhill races earlier in the week were broadcast 19 hours after the race started! This makes it hard to avoid spoilers. Also due to time constraints, they usually only show Americans, medalists, and crashes. These things can take some of the mystery and drama out of watching the sport. Thanks to the Internet, NBC is having all events live on their web page. Today, instead of staying up late to see the Super-Combined, I got up a few minutes early and watched the slalom portion at 6:30 am. It was amazing! I saw every racer and had no idea what would happen. It was great! A lot of races are at 2:00 am, but some second runs are going to be at 5:30 am. I know that is early, but it is worth it! See http://www.nbcolympics.com/results-schedule for times and links to the video. You may have to log in through your TV provider.

Why We Ski: The Picker-Uppers

It is an Olympic year and with it come the commercials. Here is a great one honoring Moms and all they do to pick us up.

We owe a lot to our moms, dads, and teachers for helping us to get up and keep going, especially in our winter sports where there is a lot of falling down! I have always loved the thought that the person who wins gold in the Winter Olympics is the one who doesn't fall. Whether you end up an Olympian or not, and whether your parents teach you or sign you up for a lesson, thanks to them you have the skills for a sport that will last a lifetime! Falling makes us stronger!

Chairtalk: Around the World

Nub's Nob is off to a great, possibly best, start! Most of the front and a few of the back hills are now open!

Today I was able to complete a modified* "Around the World" challenge. Around the World is where you ski every hill. To make it more interesting, you try to never take the same chairlift twice in a row. This screen shot from my Ski Tracks app shows how I got around. Obviously they are using a satellite picture from a different time of year!

*No black diamonds, glades, or race area for me. As Dad would say, I am acting my age!

Signs of the Season: Skunks

There is an old skiers' tale that the whiter the skunks are, the snowier the winter will be. Recently I was driving and saw a skunk so white that at first I thought it was a cat!

My schedule is turned in and the Nub's Nob Winter Sports School can start taking reservations. I will be instructing December 22, 27-28, 30-31, January 3-4, Saturdays through February 22, and then March 22. Ski you out there!

Why We Ski: Milestones

There are many significant birthdays: 16 to get your driver's license, 21 to purchase alcohol, 35 to be able to run for president. Although I am not rushing it, I look forward to turning 70. Skiers 70 and over can get free daily ski passes at Nub's Nob. Just come to the ticket window, show your ID, and away you go! If want to skip the first steps, you can spend $25.00 for an Unlimited Season Pass. While some local resorts raised the age for free passes to 80, I am thankful that Nub's Nob keeps it at 70. Now, I just have to wait 26 years!

By the way, the 70+ ticket is $22.50 and all season tickets are 10% off for one more day. Order now!

ChairTalk: The Ski

It has been a long time since I really wanted a ski based on graphics (think green Rossignol slalom skis), but Scott is bringing back "The Ski." I love it! Bobbie Burns came up with the ski and design in the 70's, and it really took off as a freestyle ski. I didn't remember it's name, but who could forget those awesome graphics! It will come in four different lengths, each length a different color scheme. Decisions, decisions!

ChairTalk: Shadows

Here is my shadow leading me up Whitefish on the black chair. I love the way it shrinks and grows depending on how high I am in the air. C. S. Lewis wrote about this effect in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, one of my favorite Narnia books.

ChairTalk: Off-Hill Jobs

I am constantly amazed at the talent of my fellow instructors. They are all wonderful skiing and snowboarding ambassadors, but they have many other talents, too. This spectacular picture of my goggles and the front hills of Nub's Nob was taken by photographer/winter sports instructor Josh Angel. When you ask an instructor about their off-hill careers, don't make the mistake of saying "What is your real job?" Instructing is a real job and a tough one at that! We just make it look easy :) Instead, try asking if they have another career or what they do in the off-season. You might find out some interesting things.

Why We Ski: Snow Days

When I was a kid it seemed like we had Snow Days all the time. On snowy days when school wasn't cancelled, we would complain about how hard it was to get to school: too slippery, too deep, low visibility, etc. When school was cancelled, though, none of that could stop us. Suddenly we were all expert winter drivers. We would head out to the ski hill and make the first chair. These days it seems that school cancelations aren't so much about snow but about rain and ice. When I am not teaching skiing on Saturdays, I am the librarian at Charlevoix Elementary. Before today my school district had four school cancellations, but none of them enticed me to ski. Today was different! I got the call a half hour before my alarm was supposed to go off and was so excited I couldn't fall back asleep. I didn't make the first chair, but I did make the most of the morning. It was a little chilly and there was some wind on the front hills, but I found some fun powder and even made a glade run! Unlike in my youth I did not stay out the whole day, but it sure was fun reliving those times.

Hill Names: Duck Soup

Did you know that a pintail is a type of duck? Pintail Peak at Nub's Nob was named after a boat owned by Walter Fisher. When the land was acquired a lot of names were bandied about. Pintail Peak had a really nice ring to it. When naming the hills, the resort tried to stick to the wildlife theme: Goosebumps, Whitefish, etc. What did they decide upon for the long, flat hill leading back to the area? Duck Soup of course! No one seems to be sure where the saying "easy as duck soup" comes from, but for this hill, it fits!

Advice From the Purple Chair: Nights

Do you ever avoid heading to the ski hill on weekends or holidays because you think it will be too crowded? The answer is night skiing. At night hills are always quieter than during the day, and lift lines almost disappear. Another advantage is the slopes are freshly groomed. On weekends and holidays Nub's Nob shuts the lifts down at 4:30 and sends out the fleet of Pisten Bully snow cats. They groom all of the lit runs before the lifts reopen at 6:00, leaving a smooth, soft carpet of snow to ski on.

Back to Nature: Weather

To paraphrase Charles Dickens, when I work up this morning I knew it could be one of the best days of the year or one of the worst days of the year. It depended on one thing: the weather. I am a weather junkie. I "Wake Up With Al" each day and always have a tab on my computer open to Weather.com. I also love my Weather Channel app. Usually I know what to expect, but the forecast for today had me baffled. Last night's reports stated "fog/drizzle" for the morning and "partly cloudy/windy" for the afternoon. The high of 48 degrees would be first thing in the morning with temperatures falling throughout the day. The day could end up damp and dreary or bright and warm. On my way to breakfast in the morning I could see a faint glow in the east! At our morning meeting there were clouds to the west, but they were moving north! Temperatures did warm up overnight, but the snowpack "set up" and hardened just enough: soft enough in the morning to get an edge but not too soft to be bad by the end of the afternoon. All things came together to give us a perfect spring skiing day in the middle of January. It was the best of times! Thank you sunshine! Now, back to the snow!

Take the poll to the right of the blog: What do you like better: sunny days or powder days?

ChairTalk: Webcast!

After three years I finally made it onto a Nub's Nob Webcast! A student and I can be seen at about 1:15 into Season 4, Episode 5.

Advice From the Purple Chair: Mornings

Yesterday morning I had a lesson with a brother and sister. They commented how they liked skiing in the morning best, and I thought it would make a good blog entry. Mornings are the best time to ski, especially during the holidays and weekends. The hills are freshly groomed and smooth as carpet. There are no lift lines and you have the hill to yourself. I know it is hard to get up and get going, but my advice is to go out for the first couple hours each day. Your quality of skiing will be better and you will get more runs in. If you are up late having fun with friends and family, take a nap in the afternoon when the hills are crowded!

Why We Ski: Rituals

Many sports have superstitions and rituals and so does skiing. Just like kids hoping for a snowday, we have our own lucky habits for a (hopeful) powder day. I am still convinced the sun only shines when I have forgotten my sunglasses. Are there any skiers out there who don't have their favorite socks, fleece, or long underwear? Just the act of preparing to head out onto the slopes is one long ritual. Anyone who doesn't believe me needs to watch my dad in the locker when he is gearing up! For the past few years I have taken my Sorel boots out of storage each October to be ready for any early snowfall. For the past few years there hasn't been an early snowfall. Coincidence? Just to be sure this year, my boots are not home with me but tucked snugly in my locker. I will gladly suffer through cold ankles for the good of skiers everywhere! Let it snow!

Signs of the Season: A Chance to Say Goodbye

Probably the hardest part of the sudden end of last ski season was missing out on the chance to say goodbye. Goodbye to that last grilled cheese sandwich, goodbye to that last run down Smokey, and goodbye to friends. Unfortunately it took away a chance to say a final goodbye to Frank Couzens. My earliest memory of Frank is feeling disappointed to find out we weren't related. At that young age I seemed to be related to most of Grosse Pointe, and with a name like that, Frank had to be a relative, right? I don't know what his official title at Nub's Nob was, but the closest I can think of was Frank was our Skiing Ambassador. When I think of Frank I don't see him skiing: I see him shaking hands and talking skiing in the locker room, shaking hands and talking skiing in the lodge, and shaking hands and talking skiing at the bottom of the Nastar hill. Also, he was a master at stacking chairs. He kept the lines moving fairly, filled every chair, and made everyone feel privileged to be there. Thanks Frank.

We also missed the chance to say goodbye to master ski patroller Dan Somalski and former ski instructor and ski school director David "Zetti" Kondziela. I would have let Dan take me on a sled anywhere (even down Twilight!), and Zetti was an instructor and boss with an amazing sense of humor that fit into any situation. These three men gave back to the sport in levels I can only hope for and they will all be terribly missed.

Saturday is the annual Open House at Nub's Nob. Don't go for the discounted season pass, the lift rides, the ski swap, or even the free food (which are all great). Go to say hello to friends you haven't seen for seven months. You never know when you may miss the chance to say goodbye.

ChairTalk: The Season That Was

Some would say this was the season that wasn't. It had a slow start and too fast of a finish. But as Warren Miller said, "The best place in the world to ski is where you're skiing that day," and thanks to the crew at Nub's Nob we had a lot of great days. One thing skiers like to do is reminisce. Quite often I am in a group and past years come up: "Remember the year the temperature never went above zero?" or "How about that Christmas when it snowed 80 inches in two days!" Now we can talk about the year it was in the 80's for a week in March and there wasn't enough snow for Mardi Gras! For now I have cleaned out my locker and hung up my beads, and I remind myself that next year's skiing and celebrations will be twice as sweet!

Hill Names: Twilight Zone

Obviously the black diamond mogul run on the front of Nub's Nob is named for the old TV show. What a lot of people don't know is management didn't name it. Years ago there was a space between Chute and the trees that didn't get groomed. As snow built up, it would become slanted and had a shadowy feel. Skiers (mostly kids) would go there looking for fresh snow and the moguls built up over each winter. The kids named it Twilight Zone. After a few years, the suggestion was made to turn it into an official hill. The space was widened and signs were made. Now it stands as a Northern Michigan right of passage.

ChairTalk: Pintail Peak Warming Hut

In 1995 Nub's Nob swapped land with the State of Michigan and in 1997 Pintail Peak opened. It wasn't until the warming hut was built in 2003 that I started taking lessons out there. I never wanted to risk a lesson out there in case they got cold or had to use the restroom. With the warming hut, it is now the perfect place for intermediate lessons. Most of the slopes are wide blue hills serviced by quick chairlifts that usually have shorter lines. The warming hut has a fireplace, restrooms, a view of Little Traverse Bay, and a cafeteria that serves soup and sandwiches. On weekends and holiday the vintage Sno-Cat above brings up the food and supplies. The building's official name is The Pintail Peak Warming House, but I like to call it The Outback Jack Shack! By the way, that makes the wooden item to the left the Outback Jack Shack Rack!