News

Ski season in the US is officially here!   Usually a resort in Colorado is able to claim “first resort to open in the US," but on October 18^th, Andes Tower Hills, a 290’ vertical ski hill in Minnesota was the first resort to open this season.  Last year it was the better-known Wolf Creek resort in Colorado and in 2019 it was Keystone.  While this opening is probably temporary, in Austria the FIS Word Cup Alpine Racing Season started with a women’s GS race on October 22^nd and a men’s race the next day.

I want to thank Lulu Copeland for organizing our volunteer afternoon at the Food Bank on Wednesday September 28.  She was not able to be with us, but I also want to thank our members who were able to be there: Pat Caldwell, Bill Cesan, Melanie Lindgren, Lyn Marvil, Patty Richardson, and Barb Wise.  Some of our group sorted items that had been donated by groceries and restaurants while other of us packed food boxes.  We then retired to Stevarinos for dinner and were joined by Larry Richardson, Joe Wilson, and Steve Hicks.  I’m sure we will do this again in the spring, so if you can spare an afternoon, please join us as we give something back to our community.

This month’s trivia question is: Where will the 2029 Asian Winter Games be held?   (The Asian Winter Games are held about every 4 years.  Events include Alpine Skiing, Snowboarding, Ski Jumping, Biathlon, Curling, Figure & Speed Skating, Hockey, and more).   Continue reading to get the answer.

This weekend 13 of our members enjoyed hiking to the Len Foote Hike Inn, between Amnicola Falls State Park and Springer Mountain (where the Appalachian Trail starts).  For three people, this was their first event with the ski club.  The weather was perfect for hiking, the fall colors were beautiful, the food was wonderful, and Barb Wise did her usual outstanding job of organizing the trip. 

At our last Board meeting, the venue for the December 13^th Christmas Party was approved.  Be watching for an email from Hilda and Jinksie for details and information on how to RSVP.  You MUST RSVP to attend, and there will be a small charge to help offset the cost of what I’m sure will be the social event of the year.  Note that the party on December 13^th will also be the membership meeting for December, so there WILL NOT be a meeting on December 6^th.

Speaking of membership meetings, you won’t want to miss the November meeting at the Flat Duck as we will have a program featuring our own Rich Wilson.  Rich is a member of the Choo Choo Chorus.  He is also part of a subset of that group, a barbershop quartet, and they will be performing at our meeting.  The chorus sings for Memorial Day and Veterans Day at the National Cemetery, at nursing homes and retirement centers, for special events, mostly for free.  If this is something you’d be interested in, talk to Rich.

Last month I wrote about the first half of this year’s European Trip (March 16-30), the skiing or touring portion of the trip at Kitzbühel, Austria.  This month we’ll discuss the second half of the trip that is just touring, through Scotland.  If you have ever wondered what a Scotsman wears under his kilt, you might find out if you go on this trip.  Also, trip leader Jim Mullenix has assured me that Nessie will make an appearance the day we visit Loch Ness.  On this half of the trip all meals except for one lunch and one dinner are included.  We’ll make a loop around the country starting in Edinburgh.  From there we’ll cross the Firth of Forth (or the estuary where the River Forth meets the North Sea) and go north to Aberdeen, then NW to Inverness, SW to Fort William, and finally SE to Glasgow.  This trip will be closed out very, very soon, so contact Jim if you are interested.

With November arriving, the holiday season is also upon us.  Wouldn’t a ski trip be a great present?  But you’ll have to act immediately as Telluride is sold out and we have to drop unsold air and hotel slots in the next few days (we have already had to drop all but a couple of unsold air seats for Whistler).

• Whistler BC                   January 21-28, 2023                Trip Leader Roy Brunner
• Telluride CO                  February 4-11, 2023                 Trip Leader Beverly Cleek
• Park City UT                  February 25-March 4, 2023     Trip Leader Scott Kramer
• Kitzbühel / Scotland      March 16-30, 2023                   Trip Leader Jim Mullenix

While many, if not most, of you are enjoying Hilda and Willis’ Halloween Party at the Flat Duck, Mike Hood and I will be working for the club at the Crescent Ski Council Fall Conference in Gatlinburg.  Our primary focus of the weekend will be meeting with tour operators and representatives of the resorts at the Trade Show on Saturday evening.   

We have several new members to report, Charles Hall, Nancy Robart, Clint Stone, John Stone, Valerie Daniel, Fiona Richardson, Jeffrey Renner, and Clark Lancaster.  Let’s all welcome them.

The answer to this month’s trivia question is, believe it or not, the futuristic city of Neom, Saudi Arabia; and specifically, the year-round ski complex named “Trojena”.  Why do I say “futuristic”?  It is because today neither the ski complex or even the city exists.  However, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), whose delegates voted unanimously to award the games to what is now a sandbox, said "The deserts and mountains of Saudi Arabia will soon be a playground for winter sports,".  The ambitious $500 billion project was announced in 2017 and is planned to be complete in 2026.  The mountainous Trojena area does get winter temperatures below freezing with occasional snow.  Also, according to the project's website “year-round temperatures are generally 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the region".  Maybe our Trip Coordinator should put this destination on his radar?

Stay safe everyone,
Bob

Event Listing   

Crescent Ski Council Fall Convention @ Gatlinburg, Glenstone Lodge – October 28-30, 2022  

Flat Duck Halloween Party @ Flat Duck Event Venue (7742 Three Notch Rd., Ringgold, GA 30736) – October 29, 2022 6:30pm   (hosted by Hilda & Willis Jones, Joanne & Charlie Peek, and Bobbi & Chris Witt))

November Membership Meeting @ Flat Duck Event Venue (7742 Three Notch Rd., Ringgold, GA 30736) – November 1, 2022   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-5006606

Crescent Ski Council Race & Learn to Ski/Ride Camp @ Steamboat – December 3-10, 2022

Christmas Party (& December Membership meeting) @ TBD – December 13, 2022

Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Trip – January 21-28, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813143

Telluride Ski Trip – February 4-11, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813162

Park City Ski Trip – February 25 – March 4, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813189

Kitzbühel / Scotland Ski / Touring Trip – March 16-30, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4818156

Crescent Ski Council Spring Convention @ Myrtle Beach – April 21-23, 2023  

Virginia Creeper Bike Ride – May 2023  

Fall will officially arrive on Thursday September 22 at 9:04 pm EDT, so we are getting closer to ski season.  It also means we are getting very close to the dates when we must drop unsold slots on our trips, so if you are considering going on one of our trips, the time to act is now:

• Whistler BC                   January 21-28, 2023                 Trip Leader Roy Brunner
• Telluride CO                  February 4-11, 2023                  Trip Leader Beverly Cleek
• Park City UT                  February 25-March 4, 2023      Trip Leader Scott Kramer
• Kitzbühel / Scotland      March 16-30, 2023                    Trip Leader Jim Mullenix

As you can see where I’ve scratched out Telluride, it is SOLD OUT.  Also, our trips are shown on the Crescent Ski Council website and we are getting inquires from members of other clubs (they have to join our club to go on our trips).  But that is another reason to call Roy, Scott, and/or Jim before it is too late.

At the end of October, while many of you will be enjoying the Halloween Party at the Flat Duck, Mike Hood and I will be representing our Club at the Crescent Ski Council Fall Conference.  One event we will attend is the Trade Show where we’ll get the latest news from the resorts and tour operators.

The board of directors is still investigating potential locations for our monthly membership meetings.  In the spring and fall, Hilda and Willis’ Flat duck farm is great; but it would be nice to be able to provide an optional meal and to be indoors when the weather isn’t as comfortable as it is right now.  None of the following stipulations are required, but we would like to meet at a place that has a private room that holds at least 60 people, has plenty of parking, is centrally located to our area, is near a major highway for easy access, doesn’t cost too much, and ideally it would be a restaurant where people could order a meal during the social hour (although we could have food catered like we were doing at the Enclave pre-pandemic).  If you know any location that meets some or all of the above, give me a call (423-827-2779) or send me an email (rjtram@gmail.com) and we’ll look into it.

Our European Ski/Touring trip this year is to Kitzbühel Austria, followed by touring through Scotland.  You may be asking yourself, where is Kitzbühel?  It is in the Austrian state of Tyrol, about 70 minutes east of Innsbruck and 75 minutes south-west of Salzburg.  Its population is under 9,000, but there are over 10,000 guest house beds.  You may have heard the name before because each year Kitzbühel hosts a World Cup alpine ski race, the Hahnenkammrennen, which is the world’s second oldest ski race, having started in 1931.  It is also famous because the downhill course, the Streif, is the most famous on the circuit as it is considered the most difficult (the 2.1 mile long course has a vertical drop of 2821 feet or an average grade of 27%, with a maximum grade of 85%).  The current record of 1:51.58 minutes was set in 1997, but I’m expecting someone for the CSC to break that.

While the mountains that surround the town are part of the Alps, the elevation of the town is 2,441 feet (not much higher than Lookout Mtn.) and the tallest peak is at a comfortable 6,574 feet (slightly lower than Clingman’s Dome).  The historic town center has a car-free area with shops and restaurants.  We will be staying at the Hotel Kaiserhof which has been run by a single family for generations.  Our package there includes a buffet breakfast and a five-course dinner every day.  For the people that aren’t skiing, there will be optional excursions each day.

For those of us that will be skiing, the Hahnenkammbahn gondola is about 150 feet away, and there are both Blue (easiest) and Red (intermediate) runs back to the hotel.  The mountain has 57 gondolas and lifts, 145 miles of downhill runs, 188 of which are marked and groomed: 47 blue (66 mi), 32 red (41 mi), 17 black (12 mi).  KitzSki, Kitzbühel's main ski lift operator, defended the title of “World's Best Ski Resort Company” for the eighth time in a row at the 2021 World Ski Awards.  Lastly, when you need a break, there are over 60 mountain huts and restaurants to choose from. 

Trivia Question, what world famous writer went to school in Kitzbühel briefly?  In 1927, he went to the Tennerhof, a small private school in Kitzbühel.  On a return trip in 1935, he began a long term relationship with Muriel Wright while skiing in Kitzbühel (unfortunately she was killed in a bombing raid in 1944).  In 1939, he became the personal assistant to the UK’s Director of Naval Intelligence.  In 1942, he formed “30 Assault Unit” that included about 150 men from other commando units, and trained in unarmed combat, safe-cracking and lock-picking.  He worked with Colonel "Wild Bill" Donovan on intelligence co-operation between London and Washington, and also in creating a blueprint for the Office of the Coordinator of Information, which became the Office of Strategic Services and eventually the CIA.  After WWII, he would write 12 novels and two collections of short stories whose central character was named James Bond.  The writer was Ian Fleming.

Whistler Update:  Vail Resorts Inc. has announced the opening dates for their resorts, including Whistler/Blackcomb which is scheduled for November 24.  This matches NOAA’s prediction of a fall and early winter with cooler than average temperatures and higher precipitation in the Northwest.  Second, the company is saying they are on schedule to complete two Whistler/Blackcomb lift upgrades before opening day.  The current six-person Creekside Gondola is being replaced by a high speed 10-person gondola; and the Big Red Express chair lift will go from a four-person to a high speed six-person chair.  The third Vail announcement concerns their lift ticket sales. At each of their resorts, they will be limiting the number of lift tickets that will be sold each day; fortunately this will not affect people with Epic passes. 

I ran across an interesting article a few days ago.  The next time we ski Vail, Aspen, and/or Crested Butte, we may be sharing the slopes with wolves.  In 2020, Colorado voters narrowly passed a proposition requiring the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission to create and carry out a plan to reintroduce and manage gray wolves on the Western Slope by the end of 2023.  A study to determine the best location has identified an area the includes the three resorts mention above (Telluride is just south of the area and Steamboat is just north, but the wolves will be protected anywhere they roam).  Before you get too concerned, the article does state that “wolves generally avoid humans and attacks are extremely rare”.  See the entire article at Colorado wolves could be released in areas with ski resorts (coloradoan.com)

Stay safe everyone,

Bob

Event Listing   

October Membership Meeting @ Flat Duck Event Venue (7742 Three Notch Rd., Ringgold, GA 30736) – October 4, 2022     https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4978082

Len Foote Hike – October 21-22, 2022    https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3235020

Crescent Ski Council Fall Convention @ Gatlinburg, Glenstone Lodge – October 28-30, 2022  

November Membership Meeting @ TBD – November 1, 2022

Crescent Ski Council Race & Learn to Ski/Ride Camp @ Steamboat – December 3-10, 2022

Christmas Party (& December Membership meeting) @ TBD – TBD

Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Trip – January 21-28, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813143

Telluride Ski Trip – February 4-11, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813162

Park City Ski Trip – February 25 – March 4, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813189

Kitzbühel / Scotland Ski / Touring Trip – March 16-30, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4818156

Crescent Ski Council Spring Convention @ Myrtle Beach – April 21-23, 2023  

Virginia Creeper Bike Ride – TBD 2023    

The club held two games that raised money for the Warrior Freedom Service Dogs group. Although we had a winner in the chicken s*** bingo game, the winner generously donated his winnings as well.

From Bobbi Witt: The Chattanooga Ski Club has really come through with their generosity for such a wonderful cause. Saturday at the lake party, we really pulled together for our veterans and beloved warrior dogs. The total collected on Saturday is: $1058.22 ($227 in merchandise sales and $831.22 in donations). Thank you all for your support of our veterans and for giving to a non-profit organization that truly helps our wonderful four-legged friends and our veterans who have always supported us.

The group also sent us a thank you note:

Dear Chattanooga Ski Club, I want to thank you personally for your recent summer event contribution to our veteran's mission and our Warrior Freedom Service Dogs Team! Your intentional efforts and giving is not just about making a donation, it's about making a difference! Thank you for making a difference in the lives of veterans and rescue pups too! You're PAW-some!

Sincerely, Diane McDermott

We’ve had three great events this month, all around or in the water.  First was the lake party at the Blue Springs Hunting Club, organized by Jinksie Harris, Bobbi Witt, and Hilda Jones.  Personally, the highlight of the afternoon was the presentation by the people from Flintstone, Georgia’s 501(c) nonprofit organization “Warrior Freedom Service Dogs," and one local veteran who received a service dog from them. Thanks to your generosity, they left with over $1100 to continue their work helping our veterans who have served us.

Next was the Hiwassee River float trip, organized by Barb Wise.  We had a great day to drift down the river as the flows from Apalachia Dam were much higher than normal, so we didn’t have any trouble getting stuck on rocks or going over the rapids.  We were led down the river by Janet Brooks and Paul Shoun was our sweeper making sure we didn’t lose anyone.  After our time on the water, we retired to Firewater Grill, just across the river from Webb’s store, for dinner and to only slightly exaggerate our exploits on the river.

Last, we had a fun time at our annual SUP/kayak party at the Harbor Heights subdivision Clubhouse on Chickamauga Lake, organized by Jan Wyant. The crowd was a little smaller than previous years, but it was a quality group. We even had one person doing handstands on their SUP (in case you are wondering, it wasn’t me). 

The next time you see Jinksie, Bobbi, Hilda, Barb, and/or Jan be sure to thank them for their hard work and time spent in making these fun activities available to our membership. 

We still have activities to enjoy.  I hope to see everyone at the Membership meeting on Tuesday September 6, at Hilda & Willis’ Flat Duck Farm.

We have a group going to Bardstown, KY over the September 9-11 weekend to cover part of the Bourbon Trail.  As of now, the trip is full, but sometimes there are last minute cancellations, so let Barb Wise know if you’d like to be on the waiting list.

Last, on September 28^th from 1 to 4pm we will again be volunteering at the Chattanooga Area Food Bank (2009 Curtain Pole Road, between Amnicola Hwy and the Tennessee River).  We will be doing some light work (like sorting items donated by local groceries/restaurants or packing food boxes).  This group activity is an easy and fun way to give back to our community.  Afterwards, we (whether you were able to volunteer or not) will go to a local eatery for a get-together. Be looking for an announcement about where we will be going.

With Labor Day, and the unofficial start of fall, just around the corner, I start thinking of cooler weather and our winter ski trips.  Our third ski trip this winter will be to Telluride, Colorado, one of our club’s favorite destinations.  This is obvious as this trip is almost sold out.  The last I heard there were only a few slots left.  If you haven’t signed up for this trip, you really need to move fast.  There are two areas to stay when skiing in Telluride, the historic town of Telluride, and the newer Mountain Village.  While staying in town is nice, the ski runs down to the town are mostly black (with a blue cat track that crisscrosses the mountain down into town).  Because of this our club normally stays in the other location, the Mountain Village, which is a home rule municipality with a mayor, town council and about 1,300 residents.  While it is small, it does have a grocery store, food, beverage, and retail shops.  All levels of terrain (green, blue, and black) are accessible from the Village.  But what makes staying in the Village really nice is the FREE gondola that connects the Mountain Village to the historic town of Telluride.  The gondola, which has been running since December of 1996, is the only public transportation system of its kind in North America.  It takes 13 minutes to go up and over the 10,540 foot peak between the two towns and there are incredible views during the ride, during the day and at night.  Going into town for dinner, shopping, or sightseeing is enjoyable and easy as the gondola runs from 6:30 am to midnight.

Besides the great downhill skiing, you can also go cross-country skiing, ice skating, dog sledding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, horseback riding, and ice climbing,

Telluride Trivia: 

1)  Telluride wasn’t always called Telluride.  When the town was established in 1878, it was called Columbia.  But another town in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California had been using that name for 20 years, so in 1887, after nine years of the post office losing their mail, the town renamed itself Telluride.

2)  Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank in Telluride on June 24, 1889, taking between $21,000 and $24,000 (depending on who is telling the story, either way that was a huge amount of money back then).  The building still stands at 129 W. Colorado Avenue, and is now a shop that you can visit.

3)  Last, for my fellow nerds, the world’s first long-distance transmission of alternating current electricity was achieved in Telluride two years later in 1891.  It was done using a Westinghouse generator and a motor custom-made by Nikola Tesla, to transmit AC electricity to the Gold King mine.  Telluride was also the first city in the world to have an electric streetlight.

Immediately after the lake party, we were going to place our ski trips on the Crescent Ski Council’s website to help fill-out our trips (and we already have some people from other clubs join us and sign up for our trips).  However, Crescent is having problems with their website, so our trips aren’t shown on there yet, but it could be any time.  We expect that there will be members of other clubs that will want to go with us (after all, we are the best club in the Council) so if you want to guarantee a spot on one of our trips this coming winter, you need to sign up right away.

• Whistler BC              January 21-28, 2023                  Trip Leader Roy Brunner
• Telluride CO             February 4-11, 2023                  Trip Leader Beverly Cleek
• Park City UT             February 25-March 4, 2023      Trip Leader Scott Kramer
• Kitzbühel/Scotland  March 16-30, 2023                    Trip Leader Jim Mullenix

We have several new/returning members to report: Ernest Braasch, Lorraine Burnam, Heather & David Cole, Justin Crawford, Paul Davis, Collin Hamrick, Dee & Gary Harwell, Kim & Robert Hood, Elaine Kiger, Carolyn Newsome, Benjamin Nelson, David Pavel, Jean & William Smith, and Mary & William Summer.  Let’s all welcome them to our club.

Stay safe everyone,

Bob

Event Listing   

Nightfall 2022 Promotion & Social @ Miller Park – August 26, 2022   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4914893

September Membership Meeting @ Flat Duck Event Venue (7742 Three Notch Rd., Ringgold, GA 30736) – September 6, 2022      https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4940041

Bourbon Trail @ Bardstown, KY – September 9-11, 2022 https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3753468 

October Membership Meeting @ TBD – October 4, 2022

Len Foote Hike – October 21-22, 2022    https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3235020

Crescent Ski Council Fall Convention @ Gatlinburg, Glenstone Lodge – October 28-30, 2022  

November Membership Meeting @ TBD – November 1, 2022

Crescent Ski Council Race & Learn to Ski/Ride Camp @ Steamboat – December 3-10, 2022

Christmas Party (& December Membership meeting) @ TBD – TBD

Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Trip – January 21-28, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813143

Telluride Ski Trip – February 4-11, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813162

Park City Ski Trip – February 25 – March 4, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813189

Kitzbühel / Scotland Ski / Touring Trip – March 16-30, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4818156

Crescent Ski Council Spring Convention @ Myrtle Beach – April 21-23, 2023  

Virginia Creeper Bike Ride – TBD 2023    

This coming Saturday will be our famous LAKE PARTY.  It and the Christmas party are our two main social activities each year and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone.  There is no cost for members, and guests are only charged $10.  What a deal!  The event starts at noon, with lunch served at 1pm.  Don’t forget to bring some cash as we will have some activities to support our chosen charity: Warrior Freedom Service Dogs.  Representatives from this service dog organization will be present to do a short demonstration with a service dog and offer information on their mission.

The next 30 days are going to be busy.  We have three annual activities where you can cool off in the water: first is the Lake Party on July 30th; second is the Float Trip down the Hiawassee River on August 7th (most of us use rubber duckies, but you can go by raft, kayak, canoe, inner tube, and I’ve even seen people on stand-up paddleboards going down the river); and third is the SUP/kayak party on August 20^th.  What better way to beat the heat!  And if that isn’t enough to keep you busy as we approach the end of summer, we’ll be at Nightfall again on Friday night August 26^th.  The club will have a booth to let people know that Chattanooga has a ski club, and that while we do a lot of skiing, we do so much more.  If you want to help us at the booth talk to potential members, that is great; but if you just want to relax and enjoy the music with other members, that is great too.

Speaking of skiing, our second ski trip this winter will be to Park City, Utah.  There are a lot of great reasons to take this trip:

• Two Side-by-Side Resorts - Park City/Canyons (since they merged before the 2014-15 season) and Deer Valley (where they groom the runs to perfection not just at night, but also during the day).
• Huge Area – Park City/Canyons itself is the largest ski resort in the United States with 7,300 lift served acres and 17 peaks to ski.  There is plenty of terrain for all levels of skiers.
• Lots of Snow – Park City averages 355 inches of snow each year
• Ski Lifts in Town - Among the 43 lifts on the mountain are some that go onto Main Street in town, so you have lots of lunch options in addition to the places on the mountain
• Low Altitude (you don’t have to worry about altitude sickness, or getting winded from just walking, as we’ll be staying at 6,800 ft and the top of the highest lift is only at 9,998 ft;
• Short Ride from the Airport to the Lodging – the Salt Lake City International Airport is only 35-45 minutes away from Park City.
• The Bobsled Experience at Utah Olympic Park – for the adventurous, take a run on the 2002 Winter Olympic bobsled track.  A professional pilot takes three passengers on a ride hitting 70 mph and experiencing 4-5 times the force of gravity.

Signups are continuing for our four 2022-2023 ski trips.  If you haven’t put money down on a trip already, I highly recommend that you do it now. After the lake party, we will place our ski trips on the Crescent Ski Council’s website to help fill out our trips (and we already have some people from other clubs join us and sign up for our trips), so if you want to guarantee a spot on one of our trips this coming winter, you need to sign up at the lake party.

• Whistler BC            January 21-28, 2023                  Trip Leader Roy Brunner
• Telluride CO            February 4-11, 2023                  Trip Leader Beverly Cleek
• Park City UT            February 25-March 4, 2023       Trip Leader Scott Kramer
• Kitzbühel/Scotland   March 16-30, 2023                    Trip Leader Jim Mullenix

Stay safe everyone,

Bob

Event Listing   

Lake Party (& August Membership meeting) @ Blue Springs Club, 3858 Burning Bush Rd, Ringgold, GA – July 30, 2022 noon - ?   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4864587

Hiwassee Raft Trip @ Webb Brothers Float Service  – August 7,2022 noon – 6pm             https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3933037

SUP / Kayak Party @ Club house @Harbor Heights Subdivision, 3789 Kings Road – August 20, 2022 10am-4pm

Nightfall 2022 Promotion & Social @ Miller Park – August 26, 2022  

September Membership Meeting @ TBD – September 6, 2022

Bourbon Trail @ Bardstown, KY – September 9-11, 2022  

https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3753468 

October Membership Meeting @ TBD – October 4, 2022

Len Foote Hike – October 21-22, 2022    https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3235020

Crescent Ski Council Fall Convention @ Gatlinburg, Glenstone Lodge – October 28-30, 2022  

November Membership Meeting @ TBD – November 1, 2022

Crescent Ski Council Race & Learn to Ski/Ride Camp @ Steamboat – December 3-10, 2022

Christmas Party (& December Membership meeting) @ TBD – TBD

Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Trip – January 21-28, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813143

Telluride Ski Trip – February 4-11, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813162

Park City Ski Trip – February 25 – March 4, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813189

Kitzbühel / Scotland Ski / Touring Trip – March 16-30, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4818156

Crescent Ski Council Spring Convention @ Myrtle Beach – April 21-23, 2023  

Virginia Creeper Bike Ride – TBD 2023    

Sign ups have started for our annual lake party.  It is a little later in the month than normal (i.e. July 30), so we WILL HAVE a July membership meeting at Willis and Hilda’s Flat Duck event venue on July 5th.  Note that we WILL NOT have an August membership meeting, so be sure to sign up and make your trip payments at the July membership meeting (July 5^th) or at the lake party (July 30^th). 

Speaking of the lake party, the gates will open at noon and we will start serving food, barbeque pork and chicken with traditional sides along with water AND our signature adult beverage (otherwise BYOB) at 1pm.  If you have a favorite homemade appetizer, fruit or dessert that you would like to bring, please email or contact Jinksie Harris or Bobbi Witt.   There is no cost for members to attend (guests/visitor will be charged $10, or for just a few dollars more, they can join the club and enjoy the party and the other events we have).  However, bring some cash for some fun opportunities to support a local 501c3 non-profit charity, the Warrior Freedom Service Dogs ( https://warriorfreedom.org/ ).  A member of their team, along with a service dog in training, will be at the picnic.

We had another event even earlier in July, on Friday the 1^st.  Like last year, we had a booth set up on Market Street across from Miller Park to advertise the club during the free Nightfall concert  (Nightfall Chattanooga 2022).   Be watching for other announcements as we will do it again later this summer.

Our first ski trip (since it is so hot, I’m thinking about skiing to try to keep cool) is to Whistler-Blackcomb in British Columbia.  The club hasn’t had a trip there since 2003.  It is the biggest ski resort in North America with 8,171 acres (for comparison, Snowmass has 3339 acres).  January (which is when we will be there) averages 2.2 meters (87 inches) of snow.   The peak of Whistler Mountain is at 2,182m (7,160ft) and Blackcomb’s peak is at 2,284m (7,494ft). In comparison, the village is 675m (2,214ft), which gives a huge 1,609m (5280ft) of vertical to ski (second largest in North America), but with the low elevation, altitude sickness isn’t a problem!

The first ski resort was built in Whistler in 1965, in an effort to host the 1968 Winter Olympics (they weren’t selected, but they did host the 2010 games).  In 1980, Blackcomb started, then in 1998 the two merged.  In December 2008, the Peak 2 Peak gondola opened which connects the two mountains.  It is listed in the Guinness World Records book in as the highest cable car above ground - 1,430 feet.  The system includes 28 cabins which hold 28 people each, with 22 seated and six standing.  Twenty-six of the cabins are painted red and white, while the remaining two are painted blue, and have glass floors.  The resort has a combined 38 lifts which can move up to 65,507 skiers per hour – who will try for a “Mega-day” (riding every lift in one day)?

Signups are going very well for our four 2022-2023 ski trips.  If you haven’t put money down on a trip already, I highly recommend that you do it soon.  After the lake party, we will place our ski trips on the Crescent Ski Council’s website to help fill-out our trips, so if you want to guarantee a spot on one of our trips this coming winter, you need to sign up this month.

• Whistler BC       January 21-28, 2023       Trip Leader Roy Brunner
• Telluride CO       February 4-11, 2023        Trip Leader Beverly Cleek
• Park City UT      February 25-March 4, 2023  Trip Leader Scott Kramer
• Kitzbühel/Scotland    March 16-30, 2023       Trip Leader Jim Mullenix

Stay safe everyone,

Bob

Event Listing   

July Membership Meeting @ Flat Duck Event Venue (7742 Three Notch Rd., Ringgold, GA 30736 – July 5, 2022   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4877574

Lake Party (& August Membership meeting) @ Blue Springs Club, 3858 Burning Bush Rd, Ringgold, GA – July 30, 2022   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4864587

Hiwassee Raft Trip @ Webb Brothers Float Service  – August 7,2022 noon – 6pm  https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3933037

SUP / Kayak Party @ Club house @Harbor Heights Subdivision, 3789 Kings Road – August 20, 2022

September Membership Meeting @ TBD – September 6, 2022

Bourbon Trail @ Bardstown, KY – September 9-11, 2022 https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3753468 

October Membership Meeting @ TBD – October 4, 2022

Len Foote Hike – October 21-22, 2022    https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3235020

Crescent Ski Council Fall Convention @ Gatlinburg, Glenstone Lodge – October 28-30, 2022  

November Membership Meeting @ TBD – November 1, 2022

Crescent Ski Council Race & Learn to Ski/Ride Camp @ Steamboat – December 3-10, 2022

Christmas Party (& December Membership meeting) @ TBD – TBD

Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Trip – January 21-28, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813143

Telluride Ski Trip – February 4-11, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813162

Park City Ski Trip – February 25 – March 4, 2023  https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813189

Kitzbühel / Scotland Ski / Touring Trip – March 16-30, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4818156

Crescent Ski Council Spring Convention @ Myrtle Beach – April 21-23, 2023  

Virginia Creeper Bike Ride – TBD 2023    

If you went on one of our club’s ski trip this past winter, did the slopes seem to be more crowded than usual?  The stats are in for the 2021-2022 season and the National Ski Areas Association reports that the season’s 61 million skier days was a record, passing the previous record of 59.3 million skier days from the 2019-2020 season.  This was despite 2021-2022 not being a great year for snow (which historically has correlated with the number of skier days).  One of the drivers of this is the increasing number of season passes that are being sold.  This past season, 52% of all skiers were on season passes.  See the full article from the Colorado Sun: Record number of skier days at US resorts this year despite so-so snowfall (coloradosun.com).

At the end of April, I attended the Crescent Ski Council’s Spring Convention in Myrtle Beach.  As I wrote about last month, the 2022 Steamboat Colorado Race and Ski Camp will be held December 3-10, 2022.  This trip, run by the Crescent Ski Council, is open to all members of the 19 ski clubs that make up the Crescent Ski Council. The trip will go on sale June 15 (previously the date was the 1^st), and the base price is $1690, but the first 70 people to sign-up will only pay $1585. These prices include seven nights lodging, a six-day lift ticket, five full days of lessons, three lunches, and one dinner; if you don’t want to take lessons you can deduct $428 from the price.  Additional information is now on the Crescent web site at Crescent Ski Council Trips.

Some other tidbits that were discussed at the meeting included:

• Crescent’s Race program is planning on six races this coming winter, with all six in North Carolina.
• When boarding an airline flight, be sure your boarding pass is scanned.  If the boarding pass is NOT scanned, the other leg(s) of your ticket are automatically cancelled. This happened to a Crescent member when the gate agent couldn’t get their boarding pass to scan and the traveler was told to go ahead and board.  A week later when the traveler got to the airport to return home, they found that their ticket had been cancelled.
• It was said that the airlines are getting picker about ski bags.  The official policy for most airlines is a boot bag and a ski bag with one pair of skis & poles counts as one “checked” bag.  We were told that airlines are sometimes not allowing additional items (like clothes) to be put in ski bags.
• It was said that TSA is getting picker about requiring EXACT matches between the names on tickets and your photo ID (and if you are enrolled in a “Trusted Traveler Program” (i.e. TSA Pre Check which has a Known Traveler Number, Global Entry which has a Pass ID, etc.). This includes items as minor as an initial (like “J”) on one document and a name (like “James”) on the other.
• Other clubs are having problems like we’ve had recently getting condos at ski resorts.  It was said that more owners are “working-from-home” (i.e. staying at their condo all season) and more owners are renting out through companies like Airbnb.  These two factors result in fewer numbers of condos being available for groups.

A couple of weeks ago we had our first summer activity, the annual Virginia Creeper Bike Ride and Barter Theater play.  We had 17 people enjoy the weekend.  This year we moved the bike ride to Friday (from Saturday) to avoid the crowds.  Even though we left the Bike Shop an hour later than normal (so we could enjoy a leisurely breakfast) we pretty much had the trail to ourselves, which was a big improvement. Thanks to Barb Wise for organizing our special events like this one.  We are planning on having some outings to get together to enjoy a few Nightfall Concerts this summer (Nightfall Chattanooga 2022).  Be watching for announcements on which concerts we’ll be attending as a group.

Signups are going very well for our four 2022-2023 ski trips.  If you haven’t put money down on a trip already, I highly recommend that you do it soon.

• Whistler BC  January 21-28, 2023   Trip Leader Roy Brunner
• Telluride CO  February 4-11, 2023   Trip Leader Beverly Cleek
• Park City UT February 25-March 4, 2023 Trip Leader Scott Kramer
• Kitzbühel/Scotland  March 16-30, 2023  Trip Leader Jim Mullenix

We have a few new/returning members to welcome to the club: Jane Burke, Cole Carper, Kathleen Cusick, Rebecca Fine, Herbert Katzman, Tracy Summer, and Michael Summer. 

Stay safe everyone,

Bob

Event Listing   

June Membership Meeting @ Flat Duck Event Venue (7742 Three Notch Rd., Ringgold, GA 30736 – June 7, 2022   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4837703

July Membership Meeting @ TBD – July 5, 2022

Lake Party (& August Membership meeting) @ Blue Springs Club, 3858 Burning Bush Rd, Ringgold, GA – July 30, 2022

Hiwassee Raft Trip @ Webb Brothers Float Service  – August 7,2022 noon – 6pm  https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3933037

SUP / Kayak Party @ Club house @Harbor Heights Subdivision, 3789 Kings Road – August 20, 2022

September Membership Meeting @ TBD – September 6, 2022

Bourbon Trail @ Bardstown, KY – September 9-11, 2022  

https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3753468 

October Membership Meeting @ TBD – October 4, 2022

Len Foote Hike – October 21-22, 2022    https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3235020

Crescent Ski Council Fall Convention @ Gatlinburg, Glenstone Lodge – October 28-30, 2022  

November Membership Meeting @ TBD – November 1, 2022

Crescent Ski Council Race & Learn to Ski/Ride Camp @ Steamboat – December 3-10, 2022

Christmas Party (& December Membership meeting) @ TBD – TBD

Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Trip – January 21-28, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813143

Telluride Ski Trip – February 4-11, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813162

Park City Ski Trip – February 25 – March 4, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4813189

Kitzbühel / Scotland Ski / Touring Trip – March 16-30, 2023   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4818156

Crescent Ski Council Spring Convention @ Myrtle Beach – April 21-23, 2023  

Virginia Creeper Bike Ride – TBD 2023    

Seventeen (17) adventure-bound cyclists and shoppers headed to Abingdon, VA on Thursday, May 5^th.  After check-in and unloading of our too many bags and luggage from our vehicles, everyone gathered at my lodge - Taylor's Inn - for a margarita party and potluck appetizer dinner.  After some games with lots of laughter and fun, we all headed to the Barter Theatre for a Thursday evening performance of “Kentucky Spring.” It was wonderful! In fact, we have not seen a bad performance in the six years I have been taking a group to the Creeper.  We had group seats close to the front but not too close… the seats were “just right."

Still no rain.

However, during the night the rain came and early Friday morning the rain still came. We had reservations on the 9:30 shuttle to the top of White Top Mountain.   By 9:00 a.m. the rain had slacked off quite a bit, so five brave souls boarded the shuttle to the top; the rest shopped or rode their bikes along the actual start of the trail in Abingdon (that would be me).   President Tramel reported that it rained some on them riding the trail but not enough to cause any problems. He also reported that the trail was mostly just our group and few other people; Friday is the perfect day for the ride down the mountain.  Everyone arrived safe and sound back to our respective lodging just in time before the tornado sirens were blasting all over town and the torrential rains poured down.  Everyone went to the basements of their lodging and waited out the tornado warning.  It continued to rain cats and dogs; however, soon the sirens stopped, even though it continued to rain. Being the troopers that we are and all loving to eat, our party made our way to the restaurant for an excellent group dinner. We all loved it that Lulu and Robert Copeland were able to join us for dinner.

All in all it was a wonderful trip with a lot of great memories….

Go with us next time,

Barb

VIRGINIA CREEPER TRAIL:

 “Forty seven trestles and bridges provide scenic views of the region's creeks, farmland, and mountain forests. The Virginia Creeper Trail is rich in beauty and regional history. From the trail head right in the historic district of Abingdon, VA, it stretches 34.3 miles through the trail town of Damascus, VA, and up to the North Carolina State Line near Whitetop, VA.”

Unfortunately ski season is over (although there are a few resorts still open if you want to make some last runs).  To help fill the void, your board of directors (and especially our Special Events Coordinator, Barb Wise) has many exciting summer and fall activities planned, including the Virginia Creeper Bike Ride/Barter Theater weekend, the Lake Party, the Hiwassee Raft Trip, the SUP / Kayak Party, the Ky Bourbon Trail, and the Len Foote Overnight Hike.  One activity we are considering restarting is having an informal gathering on a few Friday nights this summer to enjoy Nightfall together.  (Last summer, on three nights we had a booth set up where we passed out information to help get the word out that there is a ski club in Chattanooga and we do a lot more than ski.  This summer we are thinking about doing that a few times as well as getting together to enjoy the music.)

At last month’s membership meeting the election of officers was held.  The following were elected to serve:

• President – Bob Tramel
• Vice President – Ashley Ownby
• Secretary – Hilda Jones
• Treasurer – Tom DuBose

Also at April’s meeting we had a guest speaker, Eric Hall, of Owen Cyclery.  He brought with him a couple of bikes and gave us a lot of good information.  If you are in the area of his shop (1920 Northpoint Blvd., Hixson, between Loew's and Home Depot), stop by and see him.

I’m writing this a few hours after the end of the Crescent Ski Council’s Spring Convention (https://www.crescentskicouncil.org ).  I’ll pass on more information that was presented in next month’s newsletter, but I wanted to get this tidbit out right away.  The 2022 Steamboat Colorado Race and Ski Camp will be held December 3-10, 2022.  This trip, run by the Crescent Ski Council, is open to all members of the 19 ski clubs that make up the Crescent Ski Council.  The trip will go on sale June 1, and the base price is $1695, but the first 70 people to sign-up will only pay $1580.  The optional week-long instruction (for never-ever skiers up to experts) is $450 (which is a real bargain as normally a full day group instruction is $269).  If you have been before and want to take lessons from particular instructor, they will do their best to make that happen.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the next membership meeting on May 3^rd at the Flat Duck.  Bring your checkbook as we will start sign-ups for our three western trips:

• Whistler BC       January 21-28, 2023     Trip Leader Roy Brunner
• Telluride CO      February 4-11, 2023      Trip Leader Beverly Cleek
• Park City UT      February 25-March 4, 2023   Trip Leader Scott Kramer

Stay tuned for information about our 2023 European trip…..

Stay safe everyone,
Bob

Event Listing   

May Membership Meeting @ Flat Duck Event Venue (7742 Three Notch Rd., Ringgold, GA 30736)– May 3, 2022   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4801238

Virginia Creeper Bike Ride – May 5-7, 2022    https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3168543

June Membership Meeting @ TBD – June 7, 2022

July Membership Meeting @ TBD – July 5, 2022

Lake Party (& August Membership meeting) @ Blue Springs Club, 3858 Burning Bush Rd, Ringgold, GA – July 30, 2022

Hiwassee Raft Trip @ Webb Brothers Float Service  – August 7,2022 noon – 6pm             https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3933037

SUP / Kayak Party @ Club house @Harbor Heights Subdivision, 3789 Kings Road – August 20, 2022

September Membership Meeting @ TBD – September 6, 2022

Bourbon Trail @ Bardstown, KY – September 9-11, 2022  

https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3753468 

October Membership Meeting @ TBD – October 4, 2022

Len Foote Hike – October 21-22, 2022    https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3235020

Crescent Ski Council Fall Convention @ Gatlinburg, Glenstone Lodge – October 28-30, 2022  

November Membership Meeting @ TBD – November 1, 2022

Crescent Ski Council Race & Learn to Ski/Ride Camp @ Steamboat – December 3-10, 2022

Christmas Party (& December Membership meeting) @ TBD

At our April membership meeting (6pm Social Hour, 7pm business meeting) we will have a special guest speaker, Eric Hall, of Owen Cyclery.  This is appropriate as more people are riding with the warmer temperatures, but also because we have our Virginia Creeper bicycle ride/Barter Theater event coming up on May 5-7.  Also at this meeting we will have the election of officers for the 2022-2023 year.  As with our other meetings at the Flat Duck, feel free to bring your own food and/or drink.

At our March membership meeting we announced the destinations and dates for our 2023 western ski trips.  If you weren’t there, they are:

•       Whistler, BC       January 21-28, 2023
•       Telluride, CO      February 4-11, 2023
•       Park City, UT      February 25-March 4, 2023

We had planned to have everything but the airfare settled by the April meeting and have trip leaders/flyers/trip reservation forms ready so people could start signing-up for those trips.  However, while we have trip leaders, we haven’t had their training session yet, and we still have a few minor details to work out for those trips.  So unfortunately, we will have to wait until the May 3rd membership meeting to start signing up for these trips. 

As we have discussed before, the airlines aren’t showing schedules/fares for the dates of our trips yet, so the initial information will NOT include the air costs.   Also, information from Europe is a little slower getting in, but rest assured that our Trip Coordinator, Scott Kramer, is working on putting together a trip to Europe for 2023, so be on the lookout for that.

While we are on the subject of trips, the board discussed the pros and cons of the long-standing practice of having “pre-trip parties."  At one time, this event served a critical function, handing out airline tickets and other information (the trip leader would mail packets to people who couldn’t make the party).  Since airlines no longer use paper tickets and trip leaders are emailing information to the participants, these gatherings have changed to be primarily social.  While we want to encourage social interaction, the board thought we could replace the in-person event with a Zoom call, which was done successfully on two of this year’s trips.  This will reduce the cost of the trips slightly, everyone on the trip can attend (rather than just the people who live in Chattanooga and don’t have conflicts), and it reduces the work the trip leaders have to do (finding a venue, getting food and drinks, etc.).  On the virtual meeting the trip leaders will ask everyone to introduce themselves to the other participants and then they will discuss the trip.  The participants will still be able to ask questions, so hopefully, as most of us have gotten used to Zoom meetings, we won’t lose too much interaction.

How many chair lifts have you been on in your life?  Well, I ran across an article from the Colorado Sun ( https://coloradosun.com/2022/03/03/peter-landsman-liftblog-skiing-chairlift/?pico=clean&utm_source=The+Colorado+Sun+Newsletters&utm_campaign=8448939c14-SUNRISER_2022-03-03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_61e0bd63dc-8448939c14-66963662&mc_cid=8448939c14&mc_eid=4ad3802761 ) that describes and then interviews a guy, Peter Landsman, who has rode every single chairlift, gondola, tram, platter lift and T-bar in the country, 2,381 of them.  It has taken him 22 years to do this as each week he works four days as a lift supervisor at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, then visits new ski areas for three days.  You may be wondering, how does he pay for this?  (I know your first question is probably “why would he do this," but the cost would be next.)  He uses revenue from advertising on his pretty neat website ( https://liftblog.com/ ).  One question the interviewer asked was “So what is one of the more remarkable resorts you have visited?”.  His answer surprised me: “There’s one ski area in Tennessee that stands out quite a bit: Ober Gatlinburg. It’s a ski resort and amusement park. It’s family owned and there are water slides and a grizzly bear exhibit and alpine slides and all sorts of different activities for all sorts of different kinds of people. And one of those is skiing.  It’s one of the only ones I’ve been where you’re skiing, but then right next door there’s an ice skating rink and bumper boats and all sorts of other activities going on. All for a clientele in the South that isn’t necessarily only about skiing, you know.”

We have one new member, Betty Heatherwick, let’s be sure to welcome her to our club.

Stay safe everyone,

Bob

Event Listing   

April Membership Meeting and Election of Officers @ Flat Duck Event Venue (7742 Three Notch Rd., Ringgold, GA 30736) – April 5, 2022   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4725013

Crescent Ski Council Spring Conference @ Myrtle Beach, Kingston Plantation – April 21-24, 2022   https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-4670718

May Membership Meeting @ TBD – May 3, 2022

Virginia Creeper Bike Ride – May 5-7, 2022    https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3168543

June Membership Meeting @ TBD – June 7, 2022

July Membership Meeting @ TBD – July 5, 2022

Lake Party (& August Membership meeting) @ TBD – July 30, 2022 (tentative)

Hiwassee Raft Trip @ Webb Brothers Float Service  – August 7,2022 noon – 6pm             https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3933037

SUP / Kayak Party Trail @ Club house @Harbor Heights Subdivision, 3789 Kings Road – August 20, 2022

September Membership Meeting @ TBD – September 6, 2022

Bourbon Trail @ Bardstown, KY – TBD (probably September)

October Membership Meeting @ TBD – October 4, 2022

Len Foote Hike – October 21-22, 2022    https://chattanoogaskiclub.org/event-3235020

Crescent Ski Council Fall Convention @ Gatlinburg, Glenstone Lodge – October 28-30, 2022  

November Membership Meeting @ TBD – November 1, 2022

Crescent Ski Council Race & Learn to Ski/Ride Camp @ Steamboat – December 3-10, 2022

Christmas Party (& December Membership meeting) @ TBD – TBD