Cabin Fever: Skiing Style

Thanksgiving for most means turkey, football, and pain-in-the-ass in-laws, but for us east coast skiers, Thanksgiving weekend usually marks our return to the slopes; though usually still with our pain-in the ass in-laws Most NY mountains predict their tentative opening day to be around this time, with weather and snow conditions sometimes moving them up, or worst case scenario, delaying them. Most mountains would rather open with one trail and 3 inches of coverage than not be open for this first holiday weekend. It’s not because it’s a particular popular weekend. Most of the city folk haven’t even rented their seasonals yet. But all of the hard-core, snow junky, season pass holders would riot if they had to wait until-god forbid-December to carve some turns.

“West coasters have been skiing for a month already! What the hell!! That’s it I’m moving to Utah!!”

I think some mountains might be feeling the pressure from these ski bums jonesing for a fix, and trying to open a bit prematurely to assuage them. Belleayre is reporting they got 4 inches of natural snow yesterday and that they will be opening on November 13th…this Saturday. I mean I’m all for getting on the snow as soon as possible, but c’mon.  Whiteface isn’t even opening till Nov. 26^th, and they’re actually blowing snow already. I understand your anticipation, but let’s keep it together. Ill weather a few stray rocks to get my fill, but if I’m gonna need an entirely new layer of p-tex by day’s end, count me out. It’s not even skiing at that point. I shouldn’t need to extract rocks from my cheeks when I wipe out…either of my cheeks. So hang tight, snow will be here before you know it.

Andie’s Fave Workouts

My good friend Andie and I have been skiing together for 9 years now. Through our years of racing, we’ve been through many a training session together. I could’ve seen her favorites coming, since the girl has abs of steel (regardless of how much pizza she eats and beer she drinks) She suggested 2 of her favorite ab excercises: supermans and cherry pickers.

Superman

1. Start on the ground. Lie on your stomach, legs and arms fully extended.

2. Contract your core muscles, pulling the belly button in towards the spine, as you simultaneously raise both arms and legs, leaving only your core resting on the ground

3. Hold for 5 seconds, then release and slowly lower your extremities.

4. Repeat as desired. I’d suggest a few sets of 30 reps. For more of a challenge try the variation called alternating supermans. Begin the same as supermans, with both your arms and legs raised off the ground, but this time only slightly. Now extend and raise your right arm and your left leg at the same time. As you release and drop, begin to raise the other side (your left arm and right leg). Continue until you have sufficiently kicked your ass. I mean abs.

Cherry Pickers

1. Lie on your back with your legs raised to a 90 degree angle at your hip. (For those of who failed geometry, you should look like an “L”)

2.Contract your core muscles, pulling your belly button in towards your spine. Extend your arms fully, and reach up towards your toes.

3. Begin to reach your fingertips all the way to your toes. Alternate left hand to right foot, right hand to left foot. You should have to reach, and that reach upward should come from your core muscles. Continue for a few sets of 30 reps, or whatever you are comfortable with.

Now if you are going to fully commit to the Andie workout, we’re not done yet. The end of the ab workout means the beginning of the liver workout. In true Andie style: get to the lodge bar, grab a beer, talk to (bother) the DJ until he plays your favorite song (to get you to go away), and end the night streaking through the parking lot. And that my friends, is the total Andie workout package. Beer not included.

Fufilling the Need for Speed

One of the newest competitive ski sports out there (that is, until I get FIS to approve skidodgeball) is skicross and snowboardcross. In reality, skicross first appeared in the 80’s skiing cult classic, “Hot Dog…the Movie,” a tale of a young man’s journey to become a famous skier, and partake in all the illegal activity and debauchery that comes with the position. In one of the final scenes of the movie, the two rival ski groups partake in a competition called The Chinese Downhill. It is an anything goes, full contact race from top to bottom. In true 80s fashion, the action sequence is full of slapstick comedy, cheesy dance music, and an underdog victory.

In the eyes of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), snowboardcross was considered a sport worthy of an Olympic appearance 4 years before skicross. Snowboardcross made its debut at the 2006 Winter Olympics at Torino. Anyone remotely interested in winter sports will remember the epic fail that was Lindsey Jacobellis’ final run. Far out in front of the 2^nd place boarder, Switzerland’s Tanja Frieden, Jacobellis had the 1^st ever women’s snowboardcross gold in the bag. Coming over the last jump into the finish, she prematurely celebrated her impending victory with a backside grab. Trouble was, she failed to stick the landing, wiped out, and Frieden came cruising in from behind to snag the gold. From inside her full-faced motorcycle helmet, you could see her red eyes welling up with tears. This is snowboardcross. Anything can happen in a split second, and one of the best athletes in the field can lose it all with one spontaneous motion.

Skicross debuted at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. I actually had the opportunity to attend the Men’s Skicross finals at Cypress Mountain because I was at the games interning for NBC, and happened to be working the night shift that day. I got off work at 8am, took a quick nap, went to the event, came back down to the city, and walked right back into the International Broadcast Centre for my next 12 hour shift. To be completely honest, it’s one of those events that’s easier to watch on TV, since you can’t see the whole slope. But the part we could see, the last bank turn into the last jump before the finish line, was where the majority of the action happened. I watched both Americans Casey Puckett, in his 5^th Olympic appearance, and Daron Rhalves, also a retired U.S. Alpine ski teamer, crash out and bust up their already fragile, injured, and aging (they are 37 and 38 respectively) bodies. After seeing this crazy, fast-paced, anything goes event in person, I was never more convinced that I wanted to try it.

I’ve told myself many times that if I am going to keep competing, I am going to get out of alpine and switch to freestyle or skicross. The biggest issue with breaking into skicross is that it is still not a popular event, and therefore it is hard to find good competitions on the East coast. USSA has yet to post their schedule, but they usually only have one or two competitions in the Northeast, at Lake Placid and maybe in Vermont. URTUR and FIS both posted their schedules, but they have nothing East of Lake Louise (a mountain in Canada near Calgary). Luckily for us eastcoasters, there’s a little something called the Catskill Mountain Series. CMS is a competition series that stretches across the entire season, hitting mountains in the Catskill region, like Hunter, Windham, and Bellyeare, Plattekill, and Catamount. They offer competition in events like slopestyle, halfpipe, and ski/snowboardcross. Here is a list of the Skicross/ Snowboardcross events for the 2010-2011 season of CMS.

Saturday, January 22^nd (7:00am): Windham Mountain- Jason Evans and Bob Basil Boardercross/Skiercross Camp

Sunday, January 23^rd (8:00am): Windham Mountain

Saturday, January 29^th (8:00am): Catamount

Saturday, February 5^th (8:00am): Windham Mountain

Saturday, March 5^th (8:00am): Windham Mountain

A Different Kind of Workout

Disclaimer: I am not a certified trainer nor do I have any authority in exercise science. This post comes from my past experiences as a ski racer. The things I talk about here are things that have been taught to me by coaches, trainers, or fellow skiers. If you do choose to attempt these exercises, please be cautious and aware of your level of physical fitness before beginning.

 

As we gear up for ski season, there are some things we do to prepare. We go get our season pass, we figure out what new piece of gear we can afford this year (it’s a new helmet for me. Mine makes me look like Kazoo, the Martian from The Flintstones), and we gauge just how out of shape we are and what we need to do to be ready for the slopes.  When I was racing, this was about the time when we would start serious pre-season workouts. Dryland training is an important part of skiing, even if you’re not a competitor. Endurance is one of the major fitness aspects of skiing. Your muscles, especially your quads and core, need to be conditioned to handle being in a strained position for long periods of time. Put your back against the wall and crouch down as if you are sitting in an invisible chair, Now stay like that for 2 minutes plus. That is what downhill ski racing feel like. While cardio and lifting are all great ways to get in shape, many ski coaches suggest the use of plyometric exercises in dryland training. Plyometrics uses the weight of your own body as resistance. It is meant to increase power in your muscles so that you can get a more explosive response and improve nerve functions. They are usually simple exercises that can be done relatively anywhere with little to no equipment. Though it has been awhile since I’ve seriously trained, and I can’t remember all of the exercises, there are a few that I will never ever be able to forget. Periodically, I will be posting exercises I retrieved from the recesses of my mind, as well as suggestions from my teammates and coaches, providing they get off their lazy asses and respond to my e-mail.  Bu this week we will start with one of my favorites, and one of the silliest to do in public, the box jump.

BOX JUMP

What you will need for this I, as the title states, a box. Not many people just have boxes of varying heights that they can jump on lying around their houses, so If you have a stoop, ledge, low wall, or staircase, that will work just fine. Ideally you want to have three surfaces of varying heights lines up in a row with about 4-5 foot spaces in between them. The boxes’ heights should start at about knee to mid-thigh, and the tallest should be as tall as you think you’d be comfortable leaping onto, usually about hip height.

1.       Start facing the first box in the line, feet planted in an athletic stance arms length away from the box. Bend both knees, and driving from your core, moving both legs simultaneously, hop up onto the box. Land balanced in a tuck or in your athletic stance.

2.       Now, using the same muscle groups and still moving your legs simultaneously, drive from your core and hop down to the floor. You want to stick the landing, feet planted firmly, legs solid- not shaking or bending so your butt hits the ground.

3.       Continue down the line. For more of a challenge, try jumping off backwards. For even more of a challenge, try jumping on backwards. (but don’t come crying to me when you catch your leg and flip over and land on the other side, because it will happen.) The tallest one will most likely be difficult at first, but the more you work at it, the more you will feel how you need your momentum to travel to get onto the box. Your body will want to get up there, you just have to figure out how.

Hopefully I can find some pictures to help illustrate this a little better.

Ski Swaps: Thrift Stores for Skiers

I currently own 7 pairs of skis. Excessive? Most definitely. When I was racing, I needed 2 pairs of skis for 2 different events, GS and slalom. Then they changed the regulations on the sizes, so I needed a new pair of GS skis. Then the ski shop messed up and gave me a pair that still didn’t meet regulation, so they gave me another pair to try out, and told me to bring back the one I didn’t want. I…never…did…so I guess I kinda stole that pair of skis. I won a pair of Mountain Dew skis in a raffle. My Uncle got me a ridiculous pair of 210 Volkl P40 straight skis circa 1985 for my 16^th bday. That makes….6. And the 7^th is one of the pairs of slalom skis I had when I first started ski racing. Whew.

I have been telling myself for a few years now that I have to get rid of some of them. I was holding on for awhile because I wasn’t sure if my racing career was over. Now, since I’m pretty sure that I’ve moved on from the competitive circuit, I’m ready to lighten my load, and possibly find a new all-mountain or freestyle ski in the process.

There is a ton of ways to sell skis. There are internet auction sites, like ebay and craigslist. Word of mouth is a tried and true method. I got my best pair of slalom skis from an older girl on my team. And then there is the ski swap. The ski swap is like heaven on earth for those in need of gear. The best part about them is that it’s the largest assortment of cheaper equipment that you’ll come across. Most ski shops only have a small selection of used or demo skis for sale. It is sometimes hard to find what you are looking for, especially if you’re on a budget. If this sounds like you, you’ll love the ski swap. It’s also the perfect audience to sell your old stuff off to. New York has too many ski swaps to count. A good starting place is local ski resorts. They all usually have some sort of ski swap or sale just prior to the start of the season, around late October. Here’s a list of some of the larger ones in the state. (There is usually one at the fairgrounds in Syracuse, but I could not find the dates for it. I’ll continue to add to this list as I find out about more)

Potter Brothers Ski Swaps:

9/30-10/3: Potter Bros. Ski Shop, 57 City View Terrace, Kingston, NY (888)-330-4941

10/15-10/17: Potter Bros Ski Shop, 285 Rt. 211 E., Middleton, NY (845) 344-2680

10/22-10/24: Potter Bros Ski Shop, 1083 Rte 9 S., Fishkill, NY (845) 297-2941

11/11-11/14: Potter Bros Ski Shop: 19 Collegeview Ave,. Poughkeepsie, NY (845) 454-3880

Albany Ski & Snowboard Expo:

11/5-11/7: Empire State Plaza, Madison & South St, Albany, NY (518) 383-6183

Niagara Frontier Annual Ski Swap:

10/21-10/24: The Fairgrounds Expo Building, Hamburg, NY (716) 649- 3900

A Guide to NY Oktoberfest

The sport of skiing is practically synonymous with the activity of drinking. Go into any ski lodge bar around 5 o’clock, after the lifts have closed, and I guarantee it will look like a ski patrol meeting. Parents give their children quarters so they can occupy themselves with arcade games while they enjoy a few drinks. So it is natural that Oktoberfest is one of the most popular summer festivals hosted by ski mountains. Hell, I spent my 10^thbirthday at Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is a celebration of Bavarian culture. It actually started as basically an extravagant wedding reception in 1810. People enjoyed it so much that they continued to celebrate every year. It grew from a horse race and an agrarian showcase to the modern day festival we recognize today. This coming weekend (Oct 2-3) is the first weekend of Oktoberfest for many mountains in New York. If this is your first Oktoberfest, you may feel a touch intimidated if you don’t know anything about German culture, or don’t know any beers other than Keystone and Bud Light. So here are my top 5 tips to having an ÜberwältigendOktoberfest.

1.     If you come across a chocolate beer, you drink it.

Oktoberfest is all about drinking. It’s a thinly veiled excuse to day drink and yell random expletives in German, under the guise of appreciating and participating in a different culture. Vendors come to the event to showcase their beers, so it is the perfect opportunity for you to taste around and get to know what you like, without having to buy 20 beers and pass out before the band gets their lederhosen on.  I’ve seen admission done 2 ways. 1^st, you pay an entry fee at the gates, and that gets you all the free samples of beer that you want. Then you pay individually for every full beer that you buy. 2^nd, admission is free, but you pay for a punch card that gets you however many allotted free samples, and you also have to pay individually for every full beer. Either way, you’ll be drinking a lot. There are certain strategies to making the most out of your Oktoberfest drinking experience. My person philosophy is to first taste all of the beers that sound intriguing, but that you’d never waste your own money on finding out that they taste….intriguing. The best beer I ever had at Oktoberfest was a chocolate beer. Sounds disgusting, but getting to taste these crazy beers is the best part of Oktoberfest.

2.     Follow the smell of the Bratwurst

Second only to intake of beer is the necessity of partaking in a good German meal. There will be a lot stuff that resembles various types of meat and sausage, and lots of things having to do with potatoes in all shapes and forms. Bottom line, don’t question it, just eat it. It’s bound to be good, and if it isn’t you won’t know the difference because a) you don’t know what it’s supposed to taste like, and b) you should be drunk by now, so what’s it to you.

3.     Dancing is encouraged

The one and only time it is ever acceptable to listen to (and enjoy) traditional German music is at Oktoberfest. With band names like SPITZE!, Schachtelgebirger Musikanten, and Poppytown Puppets, it’s guaranteed to be the most interesting musical performance you’ve ever been to. In your assumed inebriated state, you’ll be tempted to dance along to this new, strange sound. Go for it! There is sure to be other drunken non-Germans attempting the same thing. The best part about the bands though is not the actual music. It’s when they pause from playing music to start German drinking chants. If you initially don’t know any German drinking chants, which im assuming is not common knowledge, just scream something anyway, nobody will be able to notice. You’ll catch on soon enough. When in doubt just yell, “Dinkelacker, dinkelacker, oi, oi, oi!” That’s a big one. Or “Ein zwei drei Getränk!” Which means one, two, three, drink! I remember it being “zupa!” at the end, but a quick visit to freetranslation.com tells me there is no such word in german as zupa, so we’ll go with the professionals on this one.

4.     There actually is fun for the whole family

Believe it or not, many Oktoberfests do include activities for minors. Ski mountains will offer discounted or free skyrides, which are lift rides to the top, and back down the mountain. You can hike around and see what your favorite trails look like without any snow on them. Some also have a children’s area at the base in the midst of the festival that has games and activities for the younger children. I would, however, not recommend the skyride of you’ve had a few too many.

5.     Go with friends

I feel like this one is a given, but I figured I’d mention it anyway. Oktoberfest is all about having fun, so of course you’re going to want to go with the people you’re going to have the most fun with. Make sure you throw at least one semi-german person in the mix, if only to help you identify the German version of tripe and avoid it at all costs.

Ski Mountains Extend their Seasons with Snowless Activities

The long, humid months between Easter and Thanksgiving are the roughest on skiers. We find ourselves reading back issues of Freeskier, hosting marathon viewings of Matchstick movies, and commenting on how the Summer X-games would be way cooler if there was snow. But while every die-hard skier is counting down the days until opening weekend, (about 67 days until Hunter’s projected opening) there is a ski mountain trying to find some way to generate profit through the barren summer months. Some mountains have the good fortune of being situated in four-season resort towns. Lake George, home of Gore Mountain, is one of the largest summer vacation spots in New York. Ironically, the town is actually deserted in the winter, save the ski mountain. Up the road is Lake Placid, host of the 1932 and 1980 Olympics. The Lake Placid website says that it has been rated #1 in off mountain activities by Ski Magazine readers for 17 years. You can visit the Olympic facilities, like the ski jumping stadium, as well as partake in the usual lake town activities, like fishing and hiking. http://www.whiteface.com/summer/index.php Bristol Mountain, a ski resort in Rochester which claims its elevation to be the highest between the Adirondacks and the Rockies, opens a water park called Roseland Waterpark in the summer time. http://www.bristolmountain.com/

Towns like Lake George and Lake Placid are made to be year round resort towns, partially because their natural geographical resources make them the perfect destination for outdoor sports vacations. Other ski mountains in New York aren’t quite so lucky. Toggenburg and Labrador Mountains, two Syracuse-area ski resorts, are not blessed with the same geographical advantages as Lake George and Placid. Even describing them as mountains is a bit of an exaggeration. They are more like small hills that can be skied from top to bottom in under a minute. Besides the lack of vertical drop, they are both located in the middle of farmland. Not exactly the makings of a picturesque hiking area. These mountains recognize their weaknesses, and do not even attempt to provide summer activities.

However, there are mountains that find themselves in the middle. Maybe they aren’t genetically predisposed to being a year-round resort town, but they have enough going for them that it’s a possible transformation. This is the route that many of the ski mountains in the Catskill region have taken in the last few years. Skyrides and hiking have always been an easy way for ski mountains to attract business. You bring people to the top, they walk around, they take some pictures, and they ride back down; fun and entertaining for the whole family. Then came the introduction of downhill mountain biking. Hunter, Belleayre, and Windham mountains – the three most prominent Catskill region ski resorts- began to install bike racks on the lifts and make new downhill mountain biking trails through the woods across the mountain. Windham now has “Adventure Park,” which includes paintball, rock climbing, and a skate park. http://www.windhammountain.com/adventure-park/ If that isn’t extreme enough for you, Hunter has finished the installation of half of its ”New York Zipline Adventure Tours.” This is a series of ziplines and a high ropes course that take you through the woods, up to 600 feet over the ground. http://www.huntermtn.com/huntermtn/summer-activities/zipline.aspx

Some mountains go a tamer route, supplying a spacious outdoor venue for summer concerts. Belleayre hosts the “Belleayre Music Festival,” which runs from July to September, showcasing artists both local and world-renowned. When I was younger James Blunt played a concert there at the height of his 15 minutes of fame. This summer, I don’t recognize anyone on their line-up.  http://www.belleayre.com/others/concerts.htm This year marked the 3^rd annual Mountain Jam at Hunter. Having hosted performers like The Allman Brothers, Girl Talk, G.Love & Special Sauce, Umphrey’s McGee, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, Allison Kraus, and Phil Lesh, it has garnered attention on a national scale. Rolling Stone actually recommended it in its 2010 summer concert guide. My mom is a ski patrol for Hunter Mountain, so she works security for the event. She has seen everything from bears eating food out of peoples tents while they sit outside, unperturbed, tripping on acid; to a certain over-the-hill jam band requesting oxygen because they couldn’t breathe at such a high elevation (Side note: Hunter Mountain’s base elevation is 1,600 feet above sea level, not exactly enough to induce altitude sickness, or even be noticeable) http://www.mountainjam.com/

Moral of the story: Fret not anxious shredder. Whether you’re into high-flying extreme ziplines, chilling out and fishing on a lake, or shrooming and jamming; there is something for you to do while you bide your time until the barometric pressure drops enough for them to kick on the guns. Or if you’re still too heartbroken by the sight of dry grass on the trails to approach a ski resort without feeling a pang of longing in your chest; slap on your goggles, break out your balance board, and throw on PoorBoyz’ Everyday is Saturday. Best ski movie I’ve seen in awhile. If you can get your younger brother to set up a fan and blow shredded styrofoam and cotton balls at you, all the better.