Helmet Head Finalists

Okay, the time has finally arrived... drum roll please! Be sure to vote for your favorite (see right hand column for voting).

Alicia

 

Andrea

Eric

 

Ian

 

Jack

James

Ken

 

Kevin

Leslie

 

Neal

Pat

MLK Day in the Mountains

There's a quote I heard on an NPR broadcast durning the recent presidential election. It was so powerful a sentiment, I have carried it with me. After doing a little research to determine its origin, I've discovered that it has evolved in variations since the 1990s. It seems especially poignant right now.

Rosa sat so Martin could march. Martin marched so Barack could run. Barack ran so our children can fly.

Good ol' Vermont Cold Snap

Here is some information that's handy for the upcoming weekend, which looks to be FANTASTIC for snow conditions, albeit a little chilly.

- Thursday and Friday will be the coldest
--Saturday's temps will begin to moderate in the morning. Temps are forecasted 10-15 degrees in the base and 0-5 degrees at the summit
--Sunday we're looking at 15-20 degrees
--Strong winds are not forecasted
--Okemo will also be extending our First Hour FREE skiing from 60 minutes to 90 minutes on Thurs, Friday and Saturday (just so you can make sure!)

A few other bonuses should you be on the hill this weekend:

--Hot Chocolate Galore! We'll have the Okemo Cold Patrol on alert with coupons for free hot chocolate - look for them in the base lodges. (Hint: take lots of breaks!)

--All guests purchasing tickets will receive "BELOW ZEROKEMO" coupons good for a return visit for $39 - valid Sunday through Friday beginning 1/20/09 (excluding the February Holiday).

So keep in mind:

--Dress in layers.
--Hand and toe warmers are a great idea.
--Take frequent breaks!
--Ski & Ride on sheltered trails and the lower lifts. Riding the Solitude Express or Jackson Gore Express keeps you away from "the top" but gets you pretty close.
--Cover all exposed skin. This means a neck gaiter or even a mask.
--Another option is beginning your day a bit later, after the sun has a few hours to do its thing!

As always. Be safe and have fun!

"Cold, schmold. Put on another sweater."

OK, so I'm channeling my mother here, but whenever I see a chilly forecast (in Vermont! In January! Go figure!) my parents' voices echo in my ears. ("Don't you touch that thermostat, young man!")

Truth is, it IS going to be a bit nippy on the mountain the next few days. Old Man Winter is flexing his muscles and showing us what he can do when he puts his mind to it, and the upcoming cold temperatures plus a bit of a breeze (yes, I'm being euphemistic) does mean that bundling up nice and tight is in order.

There's an old saying that there's no such thing as bad weather; only bad clothing. I don't know if that's completely true, but certainly, now is probably not the time to rock the Jets hoodie and the Wrangler jeans. (I'm talking to you, Brett Favre.) Remember to dress appropriately, (warning warning warning shameless marketing plug approaching) visit the Okemo Snowsports Shop for a great selection of handwarmers, bootwarmers and (my personal fave) face and neck gaiters and masks, and you'll be just fine. Besides, that's what Okemo's world-famous hot cocoa is for, right? Warming up after a few great runs on a 100% open mountain? Mmmm... Okemo hot cocoa... velvety chocolate goodness...

Besides, there's great news in these cold temperatures: in addition to the primo snowmaking and grooming days this cold front is providing us, the temps are going to rise significantly starting Saturday morning... just in time for a heck of a nice MLK weekend. See? Old Man Winter's not so mean after all.

Jan. 20 is OkemOBAMA Day!

Jan. 20, 2009, is Inauguration Day for the 44th president of the United States of America. To celebrate the momentous inauguration of Barack Obama, Okemo Mountain Resort has declared Jan. 20 OkemOBAMA Day. Lift tickets will be priced at $44 for a full-day ticket and every television set within public view will be tuned to Inauguration Day festivities.

Six Feet of Snow

Isn't it funny how a turn of phrase can trigger memories? Reading Tom's snow report yesterday brought me back to those road trip selects tapes we always made. Little Feat always made the cut and there was nothing like harmonizing to Lowell George singing Six Feet of Snow.

That's a lot of snow! When you consider how early in the season it is, that's pretty impressive. Despite all that natural snowfall, Okemo's VP of Operations Barry Tucker assured me that his crew is "continuing to make snow aggressively." Successful resurfacing efforts brought a number of trails back online for this weekend and it looks like there's more snowfall on the way. I'm hearing 6-10 inches! Fingers crossed.

Back to Lowell ... "Don`t you know the ice and snow is sneaking in through my windows ..." Cheers!

The Art of Okemo

Meet the Art of Okemo - Art Farrington. Like Van Gogh or Picasso, Art and his fellow groomer operators are masters of their medium.

It is especially evident during busy times like this - Okemo has turned grooming into an art form. All that edge-to-edge corduroy doesn't just happen by itself. Okemo's team of grooming artists start with a fresh white canvas every evening and Okemo's top-secret methodology delivers some of the best skiing and snowboarding surfaces in the business. It's the Okemo Difference that brings people back time and again.