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warren's world

Last month I shoveled a foot of new, light powder off of my porch here at the Yellowstone Club. An hour later, I was standing at the top of Pioneer Peak and 80 miles away I could see the Grand Tetons etched against a cobalt blue sky. I had walked a quarter of a mile from my home, climbed into my boots and skis, ridden two chairlifts almost 3,000 vertical feet and had seen no other skiers except my four guests and three of the 17 ski patrolmen working that day.

As I looked down the west side of Pioneer Peak several thousand acres of newly created runs had more than a foot of fresh snow on them and as a part-time guide mine would be the first tracks on one of them.

At a time such as this, I always pause to be thankful that I got my hands on a 16mm movie camera in 1949 and have been able to make a living sharing this kind of world with the people who for the last 55 years have bought tickets to my movies and thus supported my own skiing lifestyle. [more]

$262 million owed to credit suisse

The investment bank Credit Suisse started foreclosure proceedings against Tamarack Resort Tuesday with a lawsuit filed in district court in Valley County, Idaho.

The bank claims the upscale resort defaulted on its $250 million loan. The suit comes in the wake of the resort's majority owners' Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last month.

Tamarack CEO Jean-Pierre Boespflug said in statement that the move was anticipated and will give the resort time to "either refinance, add a partner with additional financing or sell the resort to a suitable buyer capable of managing the asset with the continued interest of the community in mind." [more]

boon or bust?

The proposed Bitterroot Resort would have a “significant economic impact” on Missoula and Ravalli Counties Dick King, president and CEO of the Missoula Area Economic Development Corporation told a crowd of about 75 people gathered at the Lolo Community Center Tuesday night, but the reaction from the public was decidedly cautious.

King presented the final draft of the Bitterroot Resort Economic Impact Analysis report for public review during the Lolo Community Council’s regularly scheduled meeting. The report, which was prepared by the Portland-based consulting firm ECONorthwest, analyzed the potential economic impacts to Missoula and Ravalli Counties of both a small and big version of the proposed Bitterroot Resort south of Lolo. [more]

Many Resorts Open Through April

It’s true, this year’s ski season started slowly for those of us in the Southwest. But then December came, the snow started to fly, and in many places it still hasn’t stopped. Ski areas in New Mexico and Colorado have seen record years, epic base depths, and more skiers and boarders than expected. In fact, most of the resorts in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico are extending their seasons into April.

A few updated closing dates after the jump. [more]

NEW WEST BOOK REVIEW & INTERVIEW

Skier Chris Davenport set out on an epic adventure. An Aspen, Colo., resident, Davenport dedicated himself to skiing all of Colorado’s Fourteeners – the 54 peaks topping out at over 14,000 feet – within a year. He would do it from their summits, or close to it, with free-skiing style.

For many, just climbing the Fourteeners in the comparatively balmy summer months is a long-term commitment. Others have skied them, but only one other has skied them all. Davenport did it in a year, and with aplomb.

He documents his journey photographically in his striking book Ski the 14ers. Just as Davenport pushed backcountry skiing to a new level, his work takes coffee table books dedicated to Colorado’s peaks to a new extreme. As he notes in his introduction, there’s nothing new about beautiful picture books of mountain landscapes. Davenport’s book, filled with photos shot by himself and his backcountry companions, exposes the mountains in their winter glory, or fury. [more]

Taos Ski Week, Day 6

Today is the last day of the Taos Ski Week. In the morning Dano immediately takes us up to hike the ridge. Any upper-level (or even mid-level) Taos Ski Week class would be incomplete without a crowning run on the famous Highline Ridge.

At the top of lift two we pop off our skis, sling them over our shoulders, and hike up through the trees to the ridgeline. I take the lead and Dano hollers at me to pace myself, but I’m too excited. I have hiked the ridge before, many times, but for some reason it feels different today. It’s a celebration. The culmination of a full week skiing hard and pushing ourselves past our own boundaries. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’ve never in my life skied better than I have this week. [more]

warren's world

Since my 83rd birthday is now four months behind me, I’ve become very comfortable with my age and it’s sure a lot better than the alternative. As a friend of mine who died at the age of 103 said, “The more birthdays you have, the longer you live.”

My body still moves, but at a much slower speed and not nearly with the ability it did forty or fifty years ago because, “Anyone who says they can do something as well at 50 as they could at 25, was sure lousy at 25.”

I have managed to ski a lot of days in my life with people half my age and maybe that’s why I have decided to write a book about aging. The midlife crisis seems to be some sort of a milestone for a lot of people. Midlife crises are supposed to happen during your 39th year because the life expectancy in America today is 78 years while 100 years ago it was only 38. [more]

Taos Ski Week, Day 5

The meat of the morning is the video analysis. I had heard rumors about this, but didn’t know if every class did it. Our instructor lines us up at the top of Moe’s, a short black run on the back side full of moguls. At the bottom of the run, another ski instructor stands with a video camera. When he give the signal, the first person in our group drops into the moguls and makes a few turns. Her form is beautiful. The next person goes, and he also does well. I move to the back of the line. I want as much time as possible to remind myself of everything I’ve learned this week, and prepare myself to display it. [more]

Taos Ski Week, Day 4

Apparently, ski boots don’t have to hurt. I did not know that. I thought it was just the price you had to pay for a day on the slopes. Dano tells me I should go to the Boot Doctor, one of the shops at the base of the mountain, and have them take a look at my boots. It could be that they’re too big, and I have to crank the buckles down too hard, cutting off circulation to my toes. Or, it could be that I need a new footbed. I don’t even know what a footbed is. [more]

warren's world

On Feb. 23, 1934, the starting gun went off and 57 men on skis shoved out of the starting gate at the same time. The finish line was 3,000 feet below, two miles away and none of the course had been packed. There was only a start and finish line with no gates in between. Before everyone got to the finish line, 11 skis were broken, four racers had broken legs, two others broke an arm, but only one back was broken.

Over the years downhill racing would change so that the course is now packed and control gates added that the racers have to ski through. Gradually the finishing times would get closer and closer together as the racers’ skills improved. Today, tens of thousands of dollars are spent and many weeks are taken to pack the course smooth and fast. The time of the 10th place finisher is sometimes less than one second behind the winner. [more]

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