News

Our trip went very well with 33 participants on the trip, including eight new members. Unfortunately, we had two additional people cancel last minute. Our trip began in Atlanta at the International Terminal. We had a direct flight to Calgary, Canada and it arrived on time.  We processed through customs and were met by our bus driver. Our five star driver stopped for food and liquor and got us to the Ptarmigan Hotel in two hours driving time.

Check-in went great and the rooms were all as expected. Banff has so much to offer in addition to skiing and I think our members experienced it all. Many went out to ski Sunday. Visability was not great so it was an early day for some. We had good weather most of the week. On Tuesday, we had a group dinner at Melissa’s downtown. We had two drink tickets and all the food you basically could eat. It was a good time enjoyed by all. The week had many non-skiers trying to see all of Banff but I think they could have explored another week to see all of its beauty. The members enjoyed going to Lake Louise, the mountain top night view Indian ritual experience by gondola, the Banff Springs Hotel, hiking, shopping, great food, snow shoeing, etc., was enjoyed by all.

We only had a couple of issues. One was, “don’t leave your phone on the bus upon arrival.” The other was one minor to moderate injury by our dear friend Tom DuBose. He fell on a very easy slope which unfortunately happens to us more than we care to mention.

Our trip home was also a piece of cake with another great bus driver. We experienced a wreck on the way to the airport that had just happened. Our bus driver got out to offer assistance but luckily none was needed. The trip worked out well and no luggage was lost. Everyone arrived home safely.

While you are packing away your winter duds, boots and ski/boarding equipment - put some thought into what you would rather sell or otherwise pass along to someone who would enjoy it. 

Gather those things, be sure they are clean and tagged with your name and what price you want for the item, then prepare to take them to the Enclave Club Room for our May 5 meeting!

Since that day is Cinco de Mayo, we will celebrate with some surprise treats for everyone!  Guests are also welcome to bring items or shop. 

To take the idea further - send to me pictures of an item or two for a preview post: hgjones8224@gmail.com.

Our Chattanooga Ski Club Facebook post is already stirring up interest for this event - please share the post on your social media to help spread the word.

See you April 7 meeting at Farm to Fork Restaurant for our annual Election of Officers!

Hilda Jones, Pres.  

Just like that, it’s the time to prepare for the election of officers for the Chattanooga Ski Club. This will take place at the April 3^rd meeting held in the Enclave club room. Four elected officers - President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer - are at the center of leadership with a host of equally important committee chairpersons chosen by the President and approved by the other three officers. 

Please make every effort to attend our meetings, especially the April meeting in that we will be voting for next year’s officers. 

The March meeting will be back at the Farm to Fork Restaurant-food, beverages and hopefully a fun and informative meeting! I hope to see you all there.

Hilda Jones, President

This ski trip was originally scheduled to go to Telluride Ski Resort, but a ski patrol strike that started in late December caused the owner of Telluride to close the entire ski resort. At the time, there had not been a lot of snow at Telluride due to a La Nina year, with only lifts 1 and 4 open and a minimal number of trails open. Since the resort was closed, Sandy Guadette of Ski Group worked on moving us over to Crested Butte and Grand Lodge. The strike was eventually resolved on January 9th, but the vendor had already moved us over to Crested Butte. This move was made on January 7th. Bear Creek would not give back to Ski Group the deposit, although Sandy got the Grand Lodge to reduce their rate to a corresponding amount of what she lost on the deposit. Grand Lodge room rate was cheaper, although van transfer was more expensive. Ski Group did proved a $100 refund due the the difference in cost between the two resorts.

Mountain Limo was contracted by Ski Group to take us initially to Telluride, which was then switched to Crested Butte. They were very organized and met us with signs at the airport. Darren, Weston and Chris were the drivers and did a good job in helping load and unload all the gear.

At Grand Lodge, we were provided the Emmons Suites, with a king bed and a Murphy king bed (better than pull out sofa bed). Although this takes up some room, it was a pretty good accommodation. The kitchenette had a microwave, small coffee pot, toaster, some pots, pans, dishes, utensils and silverware. A small amount of cooking can be done in the room.

The first night, we had a wine and cheese party in the trip leader’s room. This worked out well and everyone came to the party. I purchased 12 bottles of wine, although only around six were used on the first night; I had purchased more wine and food than what was needed. So we had a pot luck party on Friday night and were able to finish up most of the rest of the wine and some of the food. Having everyone in one hotel room for both of these events worked well and it was not too crowded. Some people came and went at different times, so that helped.

The snow conditions were ok. The resort received about 1” and 2” just before we got there, then it never snowed the entire time we were there. Most of the time it was sunny although there were some clouds. The temperatures were around the mid 30s for the week, which softened up the snow by 11am or so, which made for some decent skiing. The last day was colder and windier, which did not make for a great skiing day and most were finished by around  2 pm. Crested Butte did not have a lot of snow making going on and we only saw some snow making guns on one run during the first couple of days. And that run only opened up on Thursday.

Most of the other ski resorts in Colorado were in similar conditions, as there were not a lot of snowfall events. Vail reported that this was the worst snowpack in the recording station's 47 year history.

Most of the lower part of the mountain was open, but the upper parts of the mountain with black and double black runs were not open due to lack of snow. A good part of the trails were groomed each night and there were only a few locations that were icy. Some of the trails were not groomed and had a decent amount of moguls. But in some areas, the snow was thin with a lot of small trees, rocks and grass sticking through the snow, so a skier had to be careful. These runs continued to deteriorate as the week went on.

We went to the Bruhaus Restaurant for the group dinner on Wednesday night. I had called in advance and they were very accommodating. We had 3 long tables set up upon arrival. I believe that most of the club members were in attendance. The Knoxville Ski club joined us, although only two of the 15 on the trip joined us. The trip leader was named Kevin. The food and drinks were really good and this was a popular restaurant for our group, as several went there more than once. The Secret Stash pizza place and the Public house were also popular places to go.

So overall, it turned out to be a successful ski trip. We were pleasantly surprised that the slopes were in good enough shape to enjoy skiing. Most of the ski participants participated in the group events that we had during the week. Everyone got along well and found ski partners that met their abilities.

We contacted all air travelers the day before to make them aware of bad weather driving to Nashville.  Everyone made it to the airport on time. There were 16 people on group air, one couple had same flight schedule. We met eight people at Denver airport that came in night before, or early flights from Alabama.  All this went well.

Lesson learned - contact the bus company 24 hours in advance to verify pickup time. The bus company had 10:30 PM instead of 10:30 AM as our arrival time. We lost about an hour waiting for them to find someone to pick us up, but everyone in the group was patient. 

We had a one hour food/liquor stop in Wheat Ridge at Walmart and Molly’s Liquor. We then boarded the bus for the rest of our four hour trip to Snowmass.  

The check-in at Crestwood was smooth. I personally delivered all lift tickets once everyone was in their condos. One boot bag went to the wrong condo, but I sent a group text and the bag was recovered. 

On Sunday, we had a welcome wine and cheese reception. There was plenty of wine/beer, and there were a few charcuterie boards. Tyler Dame and Sonya (from Aspen/Snowmass tourism) came to the event. They spoke near the end providing information on skiing and local restaurants. They opened up for questions from the group. 

Lisa Jennings (Snowmass tourism) left a $100 gift certificate at front desk for us for Sundance liquors.  We were able to buy four nice bottles of wine and a 24 pack of beer to supplement Tuesday’s party using the certificate.

On Tuesday (2/3) we had a group dinner party in the Independence Room.  We had six lasagnas,10 pizzas delivered, salad, cookies, box wine and extra wine/beer complements of Snowmass tourism.  Four people in the group (Hilda/Jo Ann, Nancy H, Bunny and Meshon) offered to bake a lasagna in their condo. Everyone had a wonderful meal and time to socialize followed by polkas, old time rock and roll, and music from the 70’s on the PA system using my playlists.  Many danced in spite of the 8,000+ ft. altitude. A true group effort between lasagna baking and cleanup after the event.

On Wednesday, several decided to meet for a beer at a brewery in Snowmass village. It was a bit loud and too crowded to all sit together until several left for dinner at another location. I would not recommend this.

Alison Bolnick had a fall resulting in a broken bone in lower leg/ankle. Karen Hall was with her when it happened and helped her at the clinic. Hilda also stopped there on her way back from Aspen.  By the time I found out about it, they were on their way back to Alison’s condo. Alison’s roommates were amazing in helping her for the next few days along with getting her home from Nashville airport (thank you to AB Maynard, Doug Werth and Janet Schmeidlein).

On Thursday, we had happy hour in our condo. We had two types of chicken wings (from Walmart),  leftover pizza, some cheese and chips. Some of the box wine was still available. In spite of our small living area, almost all 35 attended and had a great time.

We were generously allowed to use the Independence Room again for our ‘leftover party’ on Friday night. All there enjoyed themselves for our last night.

After some minor issues loading the bus, we left on time for our trek back to the airport. There was some delays/confusion checking a group in at Denver airport. We had plenty of time to stop for food/drinks before boarding flights home. Group flight was delayed one hour for changing of the front tires.

Several in the group flew to Aspen, some used Eagle.The weather was great, so no issues with their flights.  

There’s a first time for everything - this is one for us.  As the departure date for our Telluride trip approached recently, we learned that Telluride Ski Resort was forced to close for an undetermined time due to a strike by their Ski Patrol. This, paired with a serious lack of snow, had our leaders trying to decide whether to cancel the trip altogether with no refund or go with little or no expectation of skiing.  To the rescue came our group trip agent, Sandy Gaudette with SkiGroup.net. Within a very few days, Sandy came up with a plan and made it happen! She was able to have our group spend a great week at Crested Butte, CO for essentially the same cost and great accommodations! Changing destinations meant negotiating refunds from Telluride, booking bus shuttles, last minute lodging and other endless details.  Just to let you know how valuable a travel agent can be.

Until next month,

Hilda Jones, President

Dear Ski Club Members,

Tuesday, December 2nd kicks off the Christmas season for me. I hope to see you all at the epic Christmas Party at The Car Barn!  If you have not made your reservations, make them NOW  on www.Chattanoogaskiclub.org. Problems registering? - contact a board member or me! Food, dancing, games, raffle, pics with the Grinch and the best camaraderie with your ski club friends. It’s also a good opportunity to bring a friend who might want to become a part of this fun group.   

Ski trips are coming up right around the corner. Trip leaders are making the final plans. Whether you ski or not, you can be a part of this very special experience! 

Meanwhile, Jim Mullenix, our Trips Coordinator, is working closely with the rest of the board to plan trips for 2027!!! Yes, these days we must plan that far ahead to get the best accommodations, locations and prices for our club. We work hard to offer the most advantageous destinations for the cost -- BUT, the most valuable thing we offer is sharing the experience of traveling with a great group of folks who love the outdoors and especially those exquisite mountains! Here’s to a wonderful season of travel experiences with the Chattanooga Ski Club.

Happy Holidays,

Hilda Jones, President
423-903-8128 cell

Behind the Scenes

Twenty individuals make up your ski club’s current Board of Directors, including elected positions, appointed Committee chairpersons and current trip leaders for future trips. 

What’s on my mind today is how smart, insightful, focused and dedicated these individuals are when it comes to making our club run well. All have diverse and valuable talents and areas of expertise that they are willing to share.These folks are intent on making the right decisions for our organization and they work well together. I feel so fortunate to have this group making up the board.

One challenge the board has is to shift focus as our members’ needs change.This is something I think we are doing rather well. Admittedly, it’s a never-ending pursuit.This is where you as a member may impact the direction of our activities.Voice your ideas for new activities at meetings or to board members whenever you like as well as let us know how you feel about the things we are currently doing.

In an effort to keep my column short enough that it is likely to be read, I’ll end with a quote from Mae West - “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

Hilda Jones,
President

It seems to me that time speeds up as we get closer to the end of each year! Obviously, that is an illusion, but with the many events our club has on the calendar… it surely feels real. So I’ll get right to it…

Be sure you have as many of these events on your calendar as will fit:

*October Members Meeting @ Farm to Fork Restaurant on Tues. Oct 7  (program to be presented on ballroom dancing)

*Len Foote Hike – Oct 17-18

*Flat Duck Halloween Party - Oct 25 (plan your costume!)

*Crescent Ski Council Fall Conference in Gatlinburg- Oct 24-26

*November Members Meeting @ The Enclave Club Room (program to be presented on the new Lookouts Stadium)

*Christmas Party @ The Car Barn Venue - Dec. 2 (be sure to register for this on the website!)

As you all know, more details are available on all events are available on our website and keep an eye on our Facebook page as well.

A Closing Thought:

I’m grateful for this community and excited for the adventures ahead. Let’s make this season memorable—on and off the slopes. See you at the parties and on the mountain!

Warm regards,

Hilda Jones,
President, Ski Club