Private fly-by of our ski hill

This post is a bit delayed due to a busy schedule, but I wanted to share a fun picture with you. On Saturday, October 4th, I got to take a plane ride with my cousin, who had flown in for a regional "fly-in" breakfast at the Rutland-Southern Vermont Regional Airport. We enjoyed a great breakfast of homemade blueberry pancakes with Vermont maple syrup, then we hopped in my cousin's plane and flew around the central Vermont countryside.

The most exciting part for me was flying over my house....very cool indeed. Since I live on the side of a very woody mountain and you can't see my house from far away, it was great to get up in a plane to see my home.

Anyway...The photo in this post shows the magnificent colors on Okemo that morning. Although some of the colors have peaked, many of the oranges and yellows are still very strong.

less than 30 days until our projected opening day. See you on the snow!

Make Way for Loading & Unloading Carpets

The site work is finished. The concrete has set up nicely, the earth is graded and seeded. Now we just have to wait to take delivery of the new loading and unloading carpets and install them on the South Ridge Quad B. It's all about innovation at Okemo this year. The loading carpet at the base is the first of its kind in the eastern U.S. And the unloading carpet at the top is making its national debut here at Okemo.

Here's wishing you a fantastic holiday weekend. Don't forget the Parrotthead Party on Saturday. Admission is free and the bands start playing at 1 p.m. at Jackson Gore. Cheers!

PHAT - Protect Your Head at All Times

Last week I attended the PHAT Conference in Burlington and wanted to pass on the cliff notes.

The conference was a unique collaborative effort designed to make Vermont Skiing And Riding not only the "BEST" in the nation but also the "SAFEST"
It was sponsored by the Vermont Snow Sports Research Team, home of the PHAT program. The PHAT initiative (Protect you Head at All Times, Protect your Head on All Terrain) is a program designed to voluntarily improve ski helmet use throughout our state and the entire nation. The program delivers a positive, noncoercive message stressing the benefits of both skiing and snowboarding as well as responsible helmet use.
The PHAT program was originally developed as an academic/industry collaboration between The University of Vermont and Smugglers Notch Resort. Over the past six years the team has refined the program and documented it’s success in over 70,000 observations of skier behavior.

Items discussed:

- The science behind the role of helmets in skiing and snowboarding.
- A neurosurgeon’s perspective on ski helmets and head injuries
- Public Health implications of injury prevention programs
- Making the culture of a resort helmet friendly
- Spreading PHAT in Vermont and Beyond

Currently, Okemo, Smuggs, Bolton, Jay, Bromley, Sugarbush, Ascutney are the 7 resorts that support the PHAT effort.

We have the PHAT people booked to kick off National Safety Week here at Okemo on
January 18th and a return visit on PHAT Tuesday, February 24th.

Interesting facts per recent studies:

- 135,000 – 5-18yr olds incur head injuries each year in the U.S. (all sports)
- Snowboarders are 3 to 4 times more likely to sustain a head injury than skiers
- Impact damage to helmets can be invisible to the human eye
- Adult male snowboarders are the most likely to wear helmets
- Nationwide helmet use is around 30%
- Females are still less likely to wear a helmet (possible hair effect)
- Tourists are less invested in safety
- 2005 – present there has been a 40-62% reduction in head injuries due to increased helmet use

Helmet usage is very important to me. I’ve had my share of concussions – 2 were severe and one had me in the hospital for days suffering from amnesia.
My wife suffered an equestrian accident a few years ago, besides the 30 stitches to her face, the brim of her helmet saved her nose and cheek bones from being crushed.
Last year there were over 46,000 Equestrian accidents with over 20% being head and neck injuries.

I look forward to Okemo's continued support of the PHAT initiative. More PHAT information can be found at www.skihelmetsafety.org.

Be safe out there!
GravityHound

Columbus Day Weekend Events @ Okemo

It's the last party of the summer and the first of winter (and the foliage is absolutely beautiful)! In true summer style, Okemo has two great bands lined up to play this weekend at Jackson Gore. 'J-San and the Analogues' will kick off the afternoon and will be followed by the Jimmy Buffet Tribute Band 'Changes in Latitudes'. Throw in a BBQ complete with margaritas and Corona, beach balls and leis, and its a party!

Plus, families can join the fun with pumpkin carving, a VINS presentation, a night hike and marshmallow roasting, and the showing of a Warren Miller film.

Schedule of Events:

Saturday:
Noon- 4: Hayrides leaving the drop off circle all afternoon
1-2:45: J-San and the Analogues on stage
3:30-5:30: Changes in Latitudes on stage
6:30-7:30: Night hike and marshmallow roasting at the Fire Pit
8: Warren Miller movie in the Cornerstone Room

Sunday:
Guided foliage hikes at 9 am, 1 pm and 2:30 pm leaving from the Fire Pit
10-11: Pumpkin carving and decorating at the Fire Pit
11-12:30: "Raptor Encounter" presentation by VINS

Hope to see you on the mountain this weekend!

What are the odds?

As if getting a hole-in-one wasn’t a great enough stroke of luck, imagine the odds of a husband and wife making the first holes-in-one of their lives on the same course, nine days apart. That’s exactly what happened to Jim and Karen Brown, Okemo Valley Golf Club members from Ludlow, Vt., and Vero Beach, Fla.

“There’s a couple who should run right out and buy a lottery ticket,” said Okemo Valley Golf Club Head Professional Michael Santa Maria.

Jim Brown aced the fourth hole on Sept. 8. He used his 8-iron to make the 137-yard shot from the white tee. The feat was witnessed by Brown’s golf partners that day, Ed Gordon, Peter Cooney and Howie Cox.

On the following Wednesday, Sept. 17, Karen Brown shot a hole-in-one on the eighth hole. She used her 7-hybrid club to make the 122-yard ace from the gold tee. Sue Latta, Leslie Gordon and Judy Zilvitis witnessed the accomplishment.

Okemo Makes SKIING's "Best of the East" Top Ten

My October issue of Skiing Magazine showed up in the mail yesterday. The arrival of publications like this elicit feelings of delight that the start of ski season is close at hand and panic that the start of ski season is close at hand - so much to do, so little time.

What I found in the pages of Skiing favored the delight response more than panic. The magazine's first annual resort awards included Okemo in the Readers' Choice for Best of the East! I didn't even know they were doing a first annual resort awards. With dozens of categories of distinction, it was actually a little disappointing to see what little recognition eastern resorts received - but that's just the way it always is.

Upon closer inspection, I have to say I'm not all that disappointed that Okemo didn't place in the "best resort you've never skied" category or "best cougar hunting" category (and we're not talking catamounts here) or "best meat market." Although I think they missed the boat with their designation for "best actual meat market." With Singleton's and Lisai's located in Okemo Valley, we should win, hands down, in that division. Thankfully, a certain publisher of Ski Press Magazine knows his meat. Keep your eyes peeled for a Cheap and Steep feature on Okemo in a coming issue of that publication. Cheers!

Tick tock, tick tock

We're just minutes away from the official arrival of autumn as I write this blog entry. And that means we're that much closer to the start of ski season! The lifts will start turning in 54 days. Word of our season opening date made its way around the mountain late last week, so the countdown has begun.

There's plenty of time to enjoy the fall foliage between now and then. The colors are starting to become more prominent and I noticed a general reddish hue on the mountain as I made my way to work this morning. Peak fall foliage will likely be the second week of October. The color is right on schedule. Cheers!