From: mwallace@nyx.cs.du.edu (Mark Wallace)
Subject: The Colorado Skier - Ski News 1/26
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix @ U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 93 00:18:25 GMT

Following is an article I'm posting which was written by a 
co-worker of mine who's hobby is ski area trivia. 
I'll pass along any feedback you may have, but don't question 
this information without consideration, I've seen some of his 
resources.  

Mark Wallace, Castle Rock, CO
mwallace@nyx.cs.du.edu

******************************************************************


Subject:  THE COLORADO SKIER - SKI NEWS  1/26


Greetings from THE COLORADO SKIER


PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  This is the Premier Edition of our new series on
"Ski News".  We hope that you will find it a worthwhile addition to
THE COLORADO SKIER fine family of ski publications which also includes
"The Lost Ski Areas of Colorado" and "Ski Trivia".  Those series will
continue independently.  We have invited Mary Margaret, Skiing Editor
of the Crested Butte Pilot, to report on our new child which was
unveiled at a recent press party.  Her coverage appears in Section 6. 


               THE COLORADO SKIER - SKI NEWS 1/26      

                    ***  PREMIER EDITION  ***     


EDITOR'S REMARKS:

 A. The SKI TRIVIA posts were getting too big, averaging six pages per
    issue.  So we decided to separate out the miscellaneous stuff into
    a new series of posts.  This will also give us a chance to talk
    about more skiing subjects.  Also we will pick up some of your
    suggested trivia subjects which were good trivia ideas but didn't
    always lend themselves to specific trivia questions.

    We plan to include Snow Reports, Ski Area News, some Trivia
    subjects, a look at the Mail Bag, and what ever else comes to
    mind.  We are also debuting a new series on the weird and wondrous
    world of "strange ski area statistics".

    So sit back and enjoy, but try not to fall asleep.  Please feel
    free to suggest subjects to be covered.  

 B. In past posts we have stated that our material would always be
    objective - not subjective, and factual - not opinion.  That
    policy will continue (mostly) for "TRIVIA" and "LOST" but in this
    new series we will occasionally get into subjective stuff like
    "best skating rinks" and "prettiest ski mountain", etc.  We may
    even offer an opinion.  (Forgive us ULLR for we are about to sin!)



1.  SNOW AND SKI REPORTS

 a. THE WEST - Since we reported last, many of the CALIFORNIA areas
    have achieved over 150 inch bases.  "Best season in ten years"
    said one report (Guess we will have to check that out).  At last
    report, MT BACHELOR had a base of 152 inches, and TIMBERLINE had
    132.  SUN VALLEY and TAOS are up to 86 and 90 inches,
    respectively.  Utah areas are hanging in at just over 100 inches.

    SAY AGAIN? - We thought that a ski area had to actually be OPEN to
    draw skiers and make money.  Here is an exact quote (we are not
    making this up) from the marketing director at KIRKWOOD:   "The
    road's closed, the resort's closed.  It's a welcome, welcome
    surprise."     ???


 b. COLORADO - Respectable, but not fantastic snow depths.  The state
    reports that average snowpack in mid-January is 95% of normal
    state-wide.  It varies from 70-90% of normal in the north to 130%
    in the southwest.  Remember, of course, that "normal" in COLORADO
    is some real good skiing.  For example, it snowed every day at 
    ARAPAHOE BASIN from 14 to 23 Jan - a total of 35 new inches.

    REPORT from CRESTED BUTTE (16, 17 Jan) - Boris and Natasha and
    their Russian Wolfhounds spent a delightful weekend.  There were
    30 inches of new snow the previous week and 17 more from Thursday
    through Sunday.  So, lots of snow, altho not exactly dry powder. 
    Also snow everywhere else - parking lots, sidewalks, roofs.  No
    lift lines except on the North Face poma.

    REPORT from KEYSTONE (18 Jan) - Good base, but the usual Keystone
    hardpack and boiler plate.  Our reporter enjoyed the intermediate
    runs off The Outback through the trees.  Lines were 5-8 mins on a
    holiday.

    REPORT from a Faithful Reader (from Bowie, MD) - "The skiing in
    Summit County in January was fun despite subpar conditions."


 c. VAIL OFFICIAL COMPARISON DATA  (thanks to the Colorado Skier
    archives)

    Base depths at VAIL  (unpacked snow depth at midway - in inches)
       
                          15 Dec       15 Jan
                          ------       ------
        92/93               17           40

       10 year Mean         30           37
       10 year Median       27           37


 d. CAMERON PASS - There was another skiing avalanche death up on
    Cameron Pass west of Fort Collins.  Since two of our faithful
    readers have mentioned being up there from time to time, we held
    our breath while reading a newspaper account.  Even more
    disturbing was the news that the victim lived in "Rist Canyon"
    where reader John lives.  John is, fortunately, still with us.



2.  SKI AREA NEWS

 a. PAJARITO - Attention Kelly, John, and Jeff down New Mexico way. 
    Did you see the article on PAJARITO (which means "short pajamas"
    in English) in the February issue of SKIING?


 b. CUCHARA VALLEY - Reopened this season after being dark for 3
    seasons.  Failed to make it into the 92 Colorado Ski Country Ski
    Guide.  Closed on Tues. and Wed.   (1/25 base depth 34 inches)


 c. MOUNTAIN CLIFFE  (formerly CONQUISTADOR) - Reopened this season
    after being shuttered for 4 seasons.  Failed to make it into the
    92 Colorado Ski Country Ski Guide.  Lost all their snow due to
    wind in early Dec and had to shut down.  Has recovered and now
    reports 95% open.  Closed Tuesdays. (1/25 base depth 31 inches)


 d. POWDERHORN - Had been operating during Chapter 7 bankruptcy.  Was
    purchased by a private company last fall and did open.  Now open
    daily.  (1/26 base depth 57 inches) 


 e. BRECKENRIDGE - Still has not received NFS (Forest Service)
    permission to open Imperial and Peak 7 bowls.  Why?  Now looking
    at March.  Note that the avalanche death last week occurred in an
    out-of-bounds area (called "Windows") off Peak 9, not Peak 7.

    Avalanches have claimed SEVEN lives in Colorado this year, all
    skiers (none in-bounds).  Unfortunately one-third of all avalanche
    deaths in the U.S. each year occur in Colorado. 


 MORE BAD NEWS - Just as we went to press, another avalanche death was
 announced.  This time it was an ice climber.  We think that the
 accident occurred in Ten Mile Canyon near Officer's Gulch, a popular
 ice climbing area. 


 f. KEYSTONE - Has their new "bowls" on the back side of The Outback
    open but a diverse group of locals and cross-country interests has
    complained to the NFS about opening up still more "back-country"
    area to pagans.  Not a law suit - just requires an administrative
    decision on the part of the NFS - who approved the opening in the
    first place.  Any bets?



3.  FOLLOW-UP AND OTHER TRIVIAL STUFF


 a. SHOULD WOMEN SKIERS USE MODEMS?  We don't have many WOMEN readers. 
    This subject has come up in various ways on the net and here we
    will give our perspective.  We keep a log and statistics on all
    respondents who E-Mail to The Colorado Skier or who post to one of
    our subjects.  With "Trivia-7" the total number of different
    respondents to all of our posts reached 100 (and we thank you). 
    But - based on first names - they are almost all men.  Why?

    First, there are two names we are not sure of.  Our very first
    respondent was JAN, from Portland.  We assume that "Jan" can be
    male or female.  Then there was KELLY, from Albuquerque.  Gender -
    neutral again.  So, we had zero females, or maybe one, or two. 
    Great, we muttered, the next E-Mailer will be "PAT", as in
    genderless Pat from SNL!  Sure enough, we heard from "Pat"! 
    Actually it was PATRICE, from Montreal.  We thought possibly that
    "Patrice" could be some French spelling of "Patrick" so took time
    out of our holiday shopping to check out baby name books in a
    bookstore.  The books agreed that "Patrice" was the French
    spelling of "Patricia", and always female.  Congratulations
    PATRICE - you are a member of a small club!  Then, of course,
    there is JUDITH - globe hopping lady skier.  No gender doubt there
    (altho there was that one guy named Judy in North Beach - but he
    didn't ski).

    So, out of 100 respondents we have two confirmed females and two
    possibles - call it three, total.  Three out of 100!  Three per
    cent!  We have read that 42% of all skiers are female.  Where we
    work about 15% of the engineers are women.  Most engineers have
    PCs.  Most PC owners have modems.  Why don't women skiing
    engineers with PCs and Modems talk on the network?  [Or is it why
    don't they talk to The Colorado Skier? - don't tell us, we don't
    want to know!]

    One of our female staffers said that the answer to this perplexing
    question is simple.  Women engineers are too busy WORKING to ever
    want to fool around with these silly network topics.  To which a
    male wag replied:  "Sure, they are busy working to save money to
    go to SUN VALLEY and meet a rich husband - so they can quit work". 
    Whoops!  We didn't say that, and Mark didn't either. 

    To reiterate - Why don't more women skiers use modems?


 b. THE RATTLER - In one of our posts we kidded about the tremendous
    "vertical drop" on "The Rattler" wooden roller coaster at Fiesta
    Texas and how our daughter, PC Jr, loved to ride it.  "BUCK", from
    a Boston suburb (do you work at DEC?), wanted to know if she was
    brave enough to ride in "Seat #6".  What does that mean, Buck?  We
    have heard that folks like to ride in the "front seat" and "rear
    seat" and we can imagine a "Car" #6, and "Row" #6 - but, are the
    individual seats numbered?  PC Jr needs to know (Fiesta Texas
    opens in five weeks).

    BTW, "Buck" sounds like a nickname.  Most "juniors" get nicknames
    (to avoid being called "Junior").  Would you be "Buck, Jr"? 

    Speaking of suburbs of Boston (stay with us on this one).  When we
    were kids growing up in the midwest, on long car trips we would
    pass the time counting SILOs.  When we moved to the west where
    there are few silos, we switched to counting WINDMILLs.  Then
    while we spent our two years of penance in a small town near
    Boston (where there are neither silos nor windmills) we switched
    to counting "DEC plants".  There is one in every town!  Further
    north (NH, ME) we counted DEXTER Shoe Stores.



4.  WHOM DO YOU TRUST - THE STATISTICS GAME

     [A new feature on ski area numbers that just don't add up.] 

    When VAIL opened "China Bowl" back in 1988, the expansion brought
    their total skiable acreage to 3787 acres (they are now at 3992
    acres).  VAIL was naturally curious as to where they ranked in
    size among the largest U.S. ski areas.  MAMMOTH MTN claimed 3000
    acres, making VAIL bigger.  SQUAW VALLEY, however, claimed 8,300
    acres.  Wow!  The VAIL PR department called SQUAW and asked,
    really?  Yes, said SQUAW, when every lift and run is open there
    are 8,300 skiable acres (in 1988).  At that time, "The White Book
    of Ski Areas" also listed 8,300 acres for SQUAW.

    Let us move forward to the present.  Well, buckaroos, the Fall
    1992 SQUAW VALLEY ads in all of your favorite ski magazines now
    say 4,000 acres!  Why, one ski magazine asked them, have you
    dropped from 8,000 acres to 4,000 acres?  It just seems like a
    more realistic figure, SQUAW replied!  Meanwhile, the 92/93 "White
    Book" reports that SQUAW VALLEY has 4,850 lift-served skiable
    acres.      STRANGE!



5.  FROM THE MAIL BAG

 a. LOOKING FOR MS WRIGHT - George, from Golden, CO (home of the Coors
    Brewery) asked if we had hired Shirley Wright away from Click and
    Clack, the Tappet Brothers.  Seemed unlikely, but we checked.  Ms
    Wright says that her last employer was The Good Time Garage in
    Cambridge, MA, run by two guys named Tom and Ray.  OK?

 b. HOT SPRINGS - Next issue Donny, if you tell us where you're from!  
    (COS?)    [Is this known as blackmail, or extortion?]



6.  "Hit The Trail" by Mary Margaret  

    DATELINE - Somewhere in Colorado at COLORADO SKIER headquarters.

    I like literary parties.  Usually the food is good and there are
    lots of beautiful people.  Of course these were ski people - cute
    at best.  And the food - Kool-Aid and Ritz crackers!  I heard that
    there was some Ripple and Tater Tots earlier, but that was all
    gone when I got there.  It took forever to get up the infamous
    Colorado Skier driveway.  It looked as high and as steep as the
    longest run at NASHOBA VALLEY!  They wouldn't let us drive up -
    too icy.  We had to ride up with their transportation coordinator,
    Rick Shaw.  He was driving a Jeep CJ.  Talk about class!

    We were told that there would be some skiing celebrities at the
    party.  I was hoping for Clint Eastwood, or the Don Johnsons, or
    maybe RJ (Bob) Wagner and Jill St. John.  [You know, in ski
    clothes, on a cloudy day, I look a lot like Jill.  I'm much
    younger, of course.]  But, instead, we got BUDDY HACKETT.  He
    doesn't look much like a skier but I've seen him ski and he's
    pretty good.  He has one major advantage over the rest of us. 
    When he falls down - rather than try to get up - he just rolls to
    the bottom of the hill!  Nice guy too (but that language!).  Of
    course, John Denver wasn't invited.  Recently he has become to the
    ski industry as Jane Fonda is to the whaling industry.  What
    happened to your Aspen roots, Henry John Deutschendorf?

    Oh yes, the new publication.  Colorado Ski News?  Who needs it! 
    We've already got Ski, Skiing, Powder, and Snow Country, plus the
    Summit Sentinel, Summit Journal, Straight Creek Journal, Aspen
    Times, Gunnison Times, Leadville Herald-Democrat, on and on, ad
    nauseam.  Aren't they enough?  The publisher claims that this
    "Colorado Skier" person will read all the ski news and digest it
    for the rest of us.  How kind!  Why don't they just call it "Skier
    Digest"?  Oh well, at least I get free copies - how bad can it be. 
    I'll give it a shot.  It might be fun.  Ciao!   Mary Margaret



7.  EPILOG

 a. Thanks for providing your city name in E-Mails to us.  BTW, you
    only have to do it once - we keep records.  

 b. ULLR, the God of Snow - You may have noticed that we prayed to the
    God ULLR earlier (or was that EARL, ullier).  ULLR is the God of
    Snow commemorated in the "ULLR Festival" in The Kingdom of
    Breckenridge.  There has been an ULLR celebration in The Kingdom
    for about 30 years, sometimes called "ULLR Fest", "ULLR Dag", or
    "ULLR Days".  (We have a 1966 coin which says "ULLR Winter
    Carnival")  Why the "Kingdom" of Breckenridge?  Well, that is a
    long story.   Some other time.  [Who knows about "Flauschink?]


   Cheers from THE COLORADO SKIER


 From Calvin & Hobbes  (Calvin speaking about the new Colorado Skier
 feature "Ski News"):

 "You call this NEWS?!  This isn't informative!  This is a sound bite! 
 This is entertainment!  This is sensationalism!    Fortunately,
 that's all I have the patience for.  :-)"      [thanks, we think]
Newsgroups: rec.skiing