Signs of Spring (Skiing)

The ducks are back in my pond, the snow is just about gone from my yard, and it seems that Vermont's 5th season is upon us. However, it's a different story up at Okemo. There is still a couple feet of snow on the ground and we continue to ski and ride over 100 trails. As you probably know, this has been one of the best seasons, and it's not about to stop.

The weekend weather is calling for spring-like conditions, and to celebrate we're going to be holding the annual slush cup on Saturday, the Snowriders Gone Wild Rail Jam on Sunday morning, and then finish it all off with the 1st annual Harpoon Brewery (arguably the best beer ever) Cardboard Box Race on Sunday afternoon.

For those who don't know, here are some definitions from the Dave Marshak dictionary:

Slush Cup; an annual event, usually held at a ski mountain, in which participants dress up looking like something out of a bad 80's band, wall street, or a scuba diver and then see how far they can skim across a body of freezing cold water on skis or a snowboard. Crowds gather to watch this pneumonia inducing 'sport' and typically finish the day with a cold beer at the mountain lounge.

Snowriders Gone Wild Rail Jam; This annual event, held at Okemo Mountain Resort, challenges skiers and riders of all ages to show us what they have learned over the course of the season. Participants typically 'go big' since there is nothing to loose with the season ending on 4/20. Those with skills go home with 'swag'.

Harpoon Brewery (arguably the best beer ever) Cardboard Box Race; An event at Okemo Mountain Resort where participants create sleds out of cardboard, tape and wax, and then race them down the hill for prizes from Harpoon (arguably the best beer ever). Judging occurs prior to the race and bribes are accepted. Costumes are encouraged, as is alcohol consumption by anyone of age. I hear Harpoon (arguably the best beer ever) makes a nice brew and will have an outdoor beer garden. Teams of 3 box heads typically try to make it to the bottom of the hill with their sled in tact. However, carnage is likely to occur on more than one occasion. Patching of sleds is allowed if something breaks, but only with approved Harpoon Brewery (arguably the best beer ever) boxes.


Come on out to Okemo this weekend - spring may be peeking out at your house, but we've still got the snow. Warm temps and lots of activities will make for some of the best spring skiing in years!

Dee Snider & Family at Okemo

I caught up with Dee Snider last Saturday at the Roundhouse at Jackson Gore. Dee was wrapping up his third visit to Okemo, this time with his family. I wanted to learn more about Okemo’s most recent celebrity fan. While best known as the lead singer of the acclaimed rock band Twisted Sister, Dee Snider is more than a musician. He is a radio personality, television host, author, voice-over artist, screenplay writer, actor, and most of all, he is a doting husband of 32 years and father of four children. From rock star to country crooner, Snider has just recently starred in CMT's Gone Country where he competed against other musicians in their quest to transition to and conquer country music.

Dee is very easy to like with his gregarious nature. Through our discussion I learned that Dee is not only a metal rock legend, but a very down-to-earth family man that really values his time with his wife and four children. The Snider clan reside in East Setauket on Long Island are like most families, each child has displayed some artistic talents. Jesse Blaze, the eldest at age 24 is an aspiring singer following in the footsteps of his dad. He is presently in Los Angeles preparing for a new reality series called Rock The Cradle that debuts on April 3 on MTV. The premise of the show with be American Idol format, with the contestants vying for a recording contract.
Shane, age 20 is a budding stand-up comic that has been landing gigs in top comedy clubs across the country. Shane’s comedic talents first surfaced in public when he wowed his dad (and guests) with an edgy roast at Dee’s 50th birthday party. Cody, age 17 is a promising filmmaker, and Cheyenne, age 11 is a 6th grader exploring punk and emo music styles.

Dee and Suzette have been together for 32 years. Their home life is so ‘normal’ that the producers of The Osbournes scrapped the notion of creating a series around them! In fact, they are so balanced that the team behind Gone Country, has signed Snider and his wife Suzette to a television production deal. The project is tentatively titled Dee Snider to the Rescue. Think: Dee Snider meets Nanny 911.

According to Dee, the Sniders have come to really enjoy Okemo and plan to return again and again because of the family-friendly and helpful staff. Now that Okemo will be open until Sunday, April 20, there's plenty of time & snow for Dee to return.

Ski Season Extended!

I knew it! After skiing for the better part of yesterday I just new we wouldn't be closing the resort as planned. To put it simply - there is simply too much snow to end all the fun now.

So don't pack away your gear just yet... we're officially staying open through April 20th. In fact, load the car and come have some fun this weekend. The weather outlook looks fantastic!

Check the snow report for up-to-the-minute conditions.

CU on the hill!

Early Board Gets the Worm

On a cloudless Easter morning, early-bird skiers and riders took to the snowy slopes of Okemo Mountain Resort where thousands of colorful plastic Easter eggs littered the trails like confetti. Inside the eggs were toys, mini Snickers bars and coupons for The Hatchery – Ludlow’s favorite breakfast spot. But it was the prized, oversized golden egg that the Easter Bunny hid behind a tree near the top of the Whistler trail that made 12-year-old Ian Huntress, of Swansea, Mass., shout, “I found it!” Ian traded in his golden egg for a brand new Atomic snowboard and a gift certificate for breakfast-for-five at The Hatchery.

This just in from Ian's mom ...

I just wanted to thank you for the Egg Hunt today. The winner was my youngest child, and he has been skiing and boarding at Okemo almost his entire life (we bought a unit in Winterplace when he was a year old.) The youngest of three, he has never had a new piece of equipment, EVER! He has always had hand-me-downs and never complained. He was SO thrilled to find that egg and just stunned when I bought him new boots and bindings (from the Okemo ski shop) to go with it! It's a little big, but at 12 years old, he's already over 5'7" and growing fast, so he'll grow into it! He got a chance to take one run on it before we had to head home. He really is so happy to have his own board. He's trying to get us to bring him up again before the season ends to use it again and to use his Hatchery coupon for a free breakfast! Thanks again for a fantastic day!

Winter's not over yet

I'll start by noting that the last photo posted by Silver Linings is a bit disturbing. Funny, but disturbing.

As for Winter, I was out on the snow on Monday morning, expecting a 35-40 degree day, since that's what the weather forecast had indicated. Boy, was I wrong. It was just like the middle of February, low 20's, breezy and crystal blue skies.... and snow everywhere.

It was so nice on Monday, I went out again on Tuesday morning for a few runs. The temps were a little warmer, but winter is still here. Which means.......the skiing and riding will continue to be good for the next few weeks. OK, I know, Mother Nature could change her mind. But she's gonna have to work really hard to make all of the snow disappear that fast.

I had the pleasure this winter of taking part in the Innkeeper's Racing series. Sadly, we had our last race on Tuesday. The fun part was, we had a really great End of Season dinner and awards event up at The Hawk Mountain Resort. Great food, music and a ton of heckling, for those people who won 1st, 2nd or 3rd place.....and the team trophy went to Northern Ski Works....nice job! If you know Chris Kleeman, the Innkeeper's race director, say thank you for a great season, without his dedication the weekly races would never happen.

See you on the snow.

Is that a Marshmallow Peep in the Trees?

Eastern Ski Writers Association President Chris Dehnel spent Sunday in the glades researching terrain for upcoming segments in his Journal Inquirer column and SnowEast magazine and had this to report:

"Tree skiing at Okemo is the best its been in five years.

The run down Outrage was silky smooth - especially in the middle - and almost every fall line had it rewards. There were a lot of easy decisions to make in there - even over the ledges where one can get abit of air.

Forest Bump was a little firm at the top, but the rest of the glade made one forget about that in a hurry.

Supernova had an annoying crust to it - as did most of Jackson Gore early in the day - but when it softens up over the next couple of days, add that run to the list of must-dos for the this spring.

But the real hero of the day was Loose Spruce. It began with a smooth carpet and became better as one worked his way down the glade. Skiing it just made one giddy."

Note from Ross Powers

Feb 23rd and 24th I had one of my Ross Powers Camps at Mount Sunapee. We had a great camp with a good group of riders and coaches. The weather was nice and sunny and Sunapee did a great job with it's park. I don't think I left the park and pipe lift once the whole weekend. After the first day all the campers told me they at least learned one new trick if not a bunch as we were watching video of that day. On the Sunday of my camp there was a pipe contest that some of the campers rode in. One of the campers got second and one got third which was cool to see. I had a great time riding with everyone at the camp and look forward to going back to Sunapee for another camp next year.

I'm looking forward to my Ross Powers Camp coming up March 24th-26th at Okemo. We have a good group of coaches lined up for the camp and hopefully some nice spring weather. Okemo has had such a good pipe and park this year and I look forward to riding it as well as the mountain with all the campers. My goals for the camp are to help the campers learn new tricks, for them to meet new friends and most importantly to have fun. This year we've been doing more video of the campers which has been cool. We will also have a Pizza party with goodies and autographs. I hope to see you at my camp for a fun few days of snowboarding at Okemo.

~Ross