Warren Miller's "Wintervention"

Where shall I begin ...

Over the years, I have become a big fan of the Warren Miller movies. This year's release is named "Wintervention" and marks the official start of the 2010-2011 ski season. Every unbelieveable scene on location gives you the sense of being there or wanting to be there. So if you are the type of skier that has to get just one more run in before the lift is shutdown for the night, then you will need to see "Wintervention". Also, let me know which is your favor Warren Miller movie by casting your vote as you have the last decade of these epic films to choose from.

Below is the location and dates & times of the Upstate New York showing of "Wintervention".


Warren Miller Presents “Wintervention”
1. Binghamton, New York
Broome County Forum 236 Washington Street, Binghamton, NY

Showtimes Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - 7:30pm

2. Syracuse, New York
Palace Theatre 2384 James Street, Syracuse, NY

Showtimes Saturday, December 4, 2010 - 6:00pm
Saturday, December 4, 2010 - 9:00pm

3. Buffalo, New York
Shea's Performing Arts Center 660 Main St, Buffalo, NY

Showtimes Thursday, December 2, 2010 - 7:30pm

4. Rochester, New York

The Auditorium Theater 885 E Main Street, Rochester, NY

Showtimes Friday, December 3, 2010 - 8:00pm

I will trying to gain additional support from some local Ski Resorts to consider advertising their specials and discounts.

Skiing in July?

Where shall I begin ...

Back in January, I was flipping around the TV channels for something to what on a Friday night. For some reason I decide to pause long enough to see the WCNY auctions was going on. Well, WCNY is a Syracuse Channel, but since I live in Wayne County (between Rochester & Syracuse) the cable carries the signal from both cities. WCNY wasn't auctioning off clay pots, mini-golf passes or dance lessons, but vacation packages. The first one to catch my eye was the Steamboat Spring 5 day package valued well above $ 1000, but with the highest bid only @ $ 300 dollars. I watched longer and other great spots appeared again at less than half the actual value. So I called the auction phone number to investigate. Well, the Steamboat Spring package had an expiration date of October 2010, and well before ski season, but there were several Stowe, VT packages available. So I became of member of WCNY auctions in order to have the ability to bid on these Stowe, VT deals. The two night stay in a single bedroom suite was @ $ 200 dollars. I place a bid and become to long the auction board came up with a bid higher than mine. I call back to bid again slightly higher and again the bid was less than the one posted for the vacation package. Then I waited until the last possible moment before the auction board was scheduled to close and placed my final bid. To no avail, the posted bid again was higher than mine. I had lost the bidding war and had nothing to show for my effort except my WCNY Auction membership. Before I went to bed, I went to the WCNY website to see what was schedule to be on the various boards for tomorrow.

I got up on Saturday morning and went through the standard routine when the cell phone rang. It was a person from the WCNY Auctions. They said that my bid won the vacation package. Apparently, the high bidder either decided not to take the package or something. So, my bid was the next highest and the vacation package was mine.

Situation two: I had poorly planned a late (March) spring ski trip with my son to the ADK without considering that New York had not gotten any snow in March. Well, the first stop to Mt. McCauley was a bust as the resort was closed and it was raining. So we venture on to Gore Mt., again closed with barely enough snow to cover parts of some trails. It was disappointing, but there was one Mountain in NY that had to have snow ... White Face. I called and not only were they open, but they were hosting ski racing competitions. The rains got heavier and our excitement about ski was washed away, but White Face was good enough to switch our tickets to the 2010-2011 season.

Now, we have 2 lift ticket to White Face and lodging @ Stowe and limited time before the lodging expires and the time my son's would be home for winter break. So the only decision is that we will go to two great ski resorts in three days. Let it snow ... in December 2010 early and often.

When you ski do it for pure enjoyment!!!

Whiteface - Rain - Olympic Skiers

Where shall I start ...

If the best laid plans can turn out poor, then loosely laid plans can turn out worst. Good concept: ski in the ADK for a few days. Bad timing spring skiing. It was quite nice driving up into the adirondacks mountains to catch the end of the ski season and use a few discount passes. First stop was McCauley Mountain in Old Forge, NY. From a distance it appeared like only a few runs were going to be open. As we approached closer into the parking lot; it was empty and the words not today. A quick exit and off for Gore Mountain. Surely, it would be in better shape, but the words that we might be open on Wednesday (being it was Monday) did not give us a good feeling. A quick break for lunch and off again. With the Olympic theme playing on the Ipod, direct north on 87 and exiting at the High Peaks area. A few winding road turns and the Olympic Ski Jumping area appeared along with a light misty rain.

We arrived at the last hold-out of winter, Whiteface Mountain and the 2010 Visa U.S. Alpine Championship featuring many Olympic athletes what could go wrong. Well, the light misty rain turned abruptly and significantly harder as rain fell. The next day would surely be a washout. From the previous year's rich experience of apres-ski in Lake Placid, was the stark reality that most restaurants were closed and there were no significant activities in Lake Placid as it was as deserted as the slopes ... no people, no athletes, no significants events. It seemed like the season had already ended and the Alpine Championship was, at most, a going through the motions exercise. The rain continued, very heavy at times, lasted all night and into the morning. The athletes dragged themselves from the parking lot with their equipment slung over the back and side. The rain had washed any excitement from their faces. The news article postings of the results only tell half the story. The event took place too late in the season, we decided to take a chance to catch the end of the ski season and everything tunred out to be a bust. The poor spring skiing conditions had decayed rapidly and continuing rainy weather made it even worst. My mistake was to trust that Whiteface could delivery in late March when no other New York ski resort was even open. In the future, report the truth and show the real photos of the mountain terrain, not what the condition were weeks before. I will be dissappointed that the ski season if over, but I will trust your ski report in the future.

Having fun with Gordy & John

Where shall I start ...

A group of friends decide at the last moment to go skiing. It all seemed so harmless. Before the era of cell phones and instant messages, Gordy call my house on a Saturday morning to see if I was interested in skiing @ Swain with him. He drove over and pick me up. We decided to check if John could come too. This was a typical pattern that had played out before. Gordy would swing by Wegmans and try to convince John to either skip work or leave early. John being a dedicated employee would resist the temptation (sometimes). So without John, we started on our way to Swain (Estimate: 1 hour drive leaving Greece @ noon.). While @ Wegmans, we picked up the essentials ... beer and off we went. Gordy's car was held together with duck tape and super glue, but it was still a car and ran and was available. I can't remember how many beers it takes to drive to Swain, but we started with a case and I think a six pack remained and somehow we didn't arrive until 7 pm. Part of the reason was an accident as we were coming off an on ramp and attempting to merge into the lane. We didn't see the car in the lane behind us and as we merged the cars hit together. When you had too many beers, you recollection of the sequence of events becomes somewhat blurred. We had just survived what could have been a very serious accident. The car was slightly damaged, but we were ok. So we continued on not really knowing where we were going, no map or sense of direction. Our previous experience with Swain was riding on a Trailways bus with the ski club. Gordy was pretty sure how to get there even without having a map. Somehow we finally got there, but we were not in the best shape to ski; shaken from the accident and loaded with beer. After waiting for Gordy to get on some equipment rentals on and skiing down the mountain a few times, it was already closing time. What happened to the day of skiing? Which trails did we ski down? How many times did we ski down the mountain? How many times did we fall or have trouble with the chair lift? What time did we eventually get home? I can tell you we drove toward the cities lights.

I am not saying that what we did was right. It was a stupid idea to drink and drive, but at the time it was not uncommon. The drinking age was 18 and we were of proper age. We were very lucky not to statistics that day. It is a stark reminder that high school kids looking to have a great time together really don't consider the possibility that something could happen to them. Even after the near miss in high school, I continued to believe that I could drive after drinking. I had the car and would often be the cab to off campus parties. I stop believing after partying one night (after hours) when turning too early for the drive to the dorm and instead driving up to the dorm thru a snow bank and across the snow covered lawn.

When is enough really enough ... while you are drinking the line between good judgement and poor decisions becomes blurred.

Brantling's Olympic Alpine Champion

Where shall I start ...

I saw in the newspaper that Brantling Ski Resort was offering all day lift tickets for $ 10.00 and so I took my son with me to ski there. What we found was that even in the most unlikely of places an Olympic Alpine Champion had been introduced to skiing. Now, most people don't know too much about this little ski resort in New York. Brantling isn't known for steep vertical slopes or long winding trails or scenic vistas, it's known as the place where Diann Roffe-Steinrotter learn how to ski. Diann Roffe won the silver medal in 1992 Albertville Games and the gold medal in 1994 Lil'hammer. She was born in nearby Warsaw, NY.

I will remember the bruises on the back of my legs from the nasty bar lift and that I may have skied the same trail as an Olympic Champion.

It isn't so surprising that Brantling offers introductory classes specifically for women skiers; and that the Brantling Junior Race Team has produced many athletes who have ski raced in college over the years.

It is always worth going to the ski at these family oriented ski resort as you may not know about its place in skiing history.

The Tully Group

Where shall I start ...

I just went to Labrador to try out the Mountain. Labrador is part of the Tully Ski Resorts which also include Song Mt and Toggenberg. I normally ski @ Bristol Mountain being that it is only about 30 minutes away. They have a family discount on Saturday nights, but the last time I went the ticket line took over an hour. I decided that I could drive for an hour and not have to wait in line. So off to Syracuse and then south to Tully. Labrador has growing room with its three peaks and adequate space to create new runs. The liftlines moved quickly and I was skiing within a few minutes of arriving. Starting on the Northern Peak, I was determined to ski everything that was available. What Labrador lacked in vertical, it made up for in trail length and grooming.

With the Olympic Downhill scheduled for the same day, I was risking that I might miss seeing the competition. To my surprise, the men's downhill was canceled due to poor conditions on the course (rain). It was snowing in Tully, NY and I'm sure the ski racers would have enjoyed the weather versus the slushy trails in Vancouver @ Whistler. What is more surprising was that 49 of the 50 states in the United State had a covering of snow.

Making my way across the mountain on variety of criss-crossing trails, I finally had skied everything open and decided to take a break. Once inside the ski lodge, I pumped back up with Gatorade and would finish the night on the Southern Peak runs. Each one of my favorite trails although not extremely difficult were very enjoyable to ski. I was able to zip down the mountain and complete a lot of as my son says "laps". Up, down, repeat, repeat, repeat. I was working on technique. No, I am not saying I'm ready for the Olympic trials, but I was very pleased with my form and speed. For the record, Jacopie and Upper-Lower Muzzle were my favorites and the most challenging was Cut Throat.

To date, I have now skied two of the three and received from a friend a two-for-one voucher for Toggenberg so I should be able to complete the set this year. The question I often have is ... will you come back. I would like to get a sample of the day only runs, too.

Olympic Alpine Success

Where shall I start ...

Athletes from every country have dreams on bring home an Olympic gold, silver or bronze medal. In the alpine events, downhill, slalom, giant slalom, super G and combined, some countries have dominated in capturing medals in both men's and women's competition. Here is the current top ten list of countries in total medals:

Rank Country Medal Count
1. Austria 101
2. Switzerland 53

3. France 43

4. Germany 34

5. United States 31

6. Italy 27

7. Norway 22

8. Sweden 14

9. Canada 10

10. Liechtenstein 9

Austria has captured more than double the amount of medals of the second and third place countries combined. After visiting Austria, I have a personal understanding why Austria has clearly out performed all other countries. Austria = Skiing. From the youngest ages, Austrian children are schooled on skiing. It is truly Austria's national pastime and taken extremely serious.

American skiers are becoming more successful at the Winter Olympic Alpine competitions, but have a long road to catching the Austrians. Bill Kidd and Jim Heuga in Slalom were the first barrier breakers in the metal category followed by Steve & Phil Mahre, Bill Johnson, Tommy Moe, Bode Miller and Ted Ligety. As for the US Women, they had been successful early and often starting with Gretchen Fraser, Andrea Mead-Lawrence, Penelope Piton, Betty Snite, Jean Sanbert, Susan Corrock, Cindy Nelson, Debbie Armstrong, Christin Cooper and more recently Hilary Lindh, Picabo Street and Julia Mancuso who have all triumphed by being on the medal stand as the American Flag was raised.

The 2010 Vancouver White Games adds Skier Cross to the alpine events where all eyes are watching to see if Daron Rahlves is able to recover and compete. On the women's side, Lindsey Vonn who is entered into five events is America's hope to win gold. Good Luck Team USA.