“Spring” Skiing at HoliMont

At 7:25am on February 2^nd, down in Punxsutawney, PA, the famous Punxsutawney Phil emerged out of his quarters under a very overcast sky and failed to see his shadow, which supposedly set things in motion for an early spring, rather than the extra 6 weeks of winter that the skiers and snowboarders of Ellicottville prefer. 

Well, we have now passed the six-week mark and winter has yet to step aside and allow spring to come through the door.  Quite honestly, we here at HoliMont couldn’t be happier.  Considering we are now nearing the end of March, the amount of snow left on the slopes is considerable (for anyone who has yet to strike last season from their memory, HoliMont was shutting down at this time last season) and the condition of the snow on the slopes is superb. 

The weekend of March 16^th and 17^th was an enjoyable one for everyone at the Club.  The Jim Barker Memorial Club Championship Race took place on Saturday and HoliMont Members of all ages took to the slopes to test their speed against one another and see who was the fastest, most technical skier at the ’Mont.  Given HoliMont’s strong racing program it was a sight to watch some of the more competitive adults try to best one another’s times.  But it was the sight of the younger racers making their way around the gates that a lot of the crowd was there to see.  These young racers are the future of the Club and as such it was great to see their love for the sport showcased in an event that has very deep roots in the HoliMont community.  Club Championships used to be called just that but last year HoliMont lost longtime Member Jim Barker.  Jim was a fun, loving, energetic man who gave his heart and soul in everything that he did.  In the wintertime much of this heart and soul was devoted to the HoiMont Racing Program and the Club Championships was one of his favorite events so in his remembrance the Racing Program dedicated the Club Championships to him.  Jim would’ve been thrilled with what he saw last Saturday.

Also on Saturday, there was a slopestyle contest that the Terrain Park Crew put together.  It’s always fun to watch kids rip through the park but that fun gets stepped up a couple notches as soon as a section of the park is closed down for them, people are cheering them on from the chairlift above and music is pumping through the park.  The kids who came out for the competition showed off their skills by jibbing, sliding and spinning their way through a series of rails, boxes, and jumps.  More importantly, they all had fun, which is the whole reason for being out on the slopes in the first place. 

Moving forward, on March 30^th, HoliMont will be holding its annual Pond Skimming event.  There is a lot of pent up excitement for this event, as it had to be canceled last year due to the fact that the ski area was forced to close before the scheduled Pond Skimming date.  This season there should be plenty of thrills and (potentially) lots of spills in this Member’s only “Las Vegas” themed event.  The spectacle starts at noon in front of the Main Chalet and the first 30 Members who sign up and show up in appropriately themed costumes, will get to vie for pond skimming bragging rights (or they will get a chilly bath). 

 

Freeing The Heel At HoliMont

Nordic Gods smiled on HoliMont’s Annual Free Heel Fling, an “International” Telemark event, which took place on March 8^th.  More than 60 free heeling skiers from Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, and New York enjoyed the sunny slopes, clinics, camaraderie and a fun tele race. The telemark committee wants to thank all who participated in the event, donated their time and contributed to the raffle and wonderful pot luck lunch. Here is a re-cap of the day.

Gear Up and the City Garage were on hand to supply rental and demo equipment to experienced skiers and new comers. Eight people freed their heels for the first time, including the youngest participate, an eleven year old girl from Ohio. HoliMont’s certified Nordic instructor led clinics throughout the day for all ability levels. Our guest instructor was Jay Nation from Seven Springs, PA. He is a level 3 instructor and a PSIA Nordic Development Team member.

Race coordinator Rick Barry, put a new twist on the classic tele race. The Tele Raid, took skiers to caches all over the mountain, then to a race course with gates, trees and an uphill finish.  Prizes were awarded for the fastest male (Jeff Maceachern) and female (Sean Miller). Metal Telemark skier trophies designed by Clark Duffin of HoliMont Snowsports were awarded to the winners of the race and also to the youngest and the most enthusiastic tele skiers.  Next year’s festival will be on Friday March 7^th, 2014. Mark your calendars, you won’t want to miss it.  ”Free Heel Fling” is fast becoming the largest telemark event in Western New York.

Local businesses who donated gift certificates and prizes for the après raffle include Alexandra’s, A New Beginning Massage and Spa, Bike and Bean, The Birdwalk, Cadillac Jacks, Coffee Culture, Dekdebrun’s Ski Shop, The Depot, Earth Arts, E-Ville Spirits, Hampshire Mills of Salamanca, Just Riding Along Bike Shop in Bradford, PA, Katy’s, Kazoo II, Nature’s Remedy, Oasis Day Spa, The Red Door Ski Shop, Subway, Tangled Twigs, Tim and Bonnie’s Pizza, Tops, Watson’s Chocolate, Village Wine Rack, Wingate by Wyndham, Winery of Ellicottville, and Zippo. Other sponsors include Al Mahar, Mike Hughes, Gear Up, and HoliMont, Inc.

HoliMont Snowsports Trainees Pass Instructor Exam

Congratulations to 15 of our Trainees who passed their Snowsports Teaching and Skiing Exam the weekend of March 9^th.  Trainees work with our Level III Trainers and coaches throughout the season.  They attend clinics each weekend, and have the chance to demonstrate their teaching skills to their peers, as well as to the examiners at the end of the season. Our newest instructors and junior instructors are: Morgan Byrne, Nathan Byrne, Ellie Ferrara, Lindsey Maclay, Kayla McNamara, Rory O’Connor, Hope Pietrocarlo, Brigham Pratt ,Carolyn Rider, Wes Rider, Dean Snelson, Sebby Turner, Courtney Wilday and Liam White.

The Path to Certification in PSIA/AASI

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Those who wish to become professional ski and snowboard instructors have a rigorous path to follow in attaining certification.  All our candidates attend our 8:30 clinics, and have completed a minimum of 50 hours of combined in-house training and actual on-hill teaching in order to be eligible to take the Level I skiing or riding exam.  This season, 10 of our instructors achieved Level I PSIA Skiing certification.  Tia Krebs, Jim Quinn, Cassandra Tarbell, Mike Sweeney, Alexa Pietrowski, and Katarina Ulsrud in the Alpine Division; Chelsea Marucci, Lynn Neeson, Jackie Novkov, and Cody VanGorder received certification in the Adaptive Division of Professional Ski Instructors of America. 

We also had successful candidates for the PSIA/AASI Children’s Specialist Exam which is a nationally recognized certificate based program.  The exam combines knowledge of snowboarding and Alpine skiing and Telemark skiing.  Brian Smith successfully completed Children’s Specialist I at Holiday Valley on March 5.  Wendy Frank, Snowsports Director at HoliMont, Jane Robinson, former Children’s Director at HoliMont, Ron Kubicki, Snowsports Director at Holiday Valley, Rich Rumfola, Children’s Director at Holiday Valley, and Debbie Goslin, Snowsports Director at Kissing Bridge completed their Children’s Specialist 2 exam at HoliMont on March 7.  Congratulations to all for all their hard work. Pictured are L to R First row:  Tia Krebs, Cassandra Tarbell, Katarina Ulsrud, Alexa Pietrowski, Wendy Frank.  Back row:  Brian Smith, Jim Quinn, Mike Sweeney.

L to R – Rich Rumfola, Wendy Frank, “Griz” Caudle, Examiner, Debbie Goslin, Jane Robinson, Ron Kubicki

 

HoliMont’s Torch Light Parade

It is fairly well known that, unlike our neighbors over at Holiday Valley, the slopes of HoliMont close down every afternoon at 4:30pm.  There are a variety of reasons why HoliMont does not have night skiing but every so often the slopes of HoliMont do light up at night and on those special occasions, it is a sight worth seeing.

  

Friday, March 8^th, was one of those occasions.  That night, during the weekly Friday Night Fish Fry at the Chalet, over a hundred HoliMont Members of all ages gathered together at the base of the Exhibition Express lift in order to participate in the torch light parade that (weather pending) generally kicks off the Mardi Gras weekend. 

It was a perfect night for a parade and the spectators, both in and outside of the Chalet, were treated to an astounding sight as the HoliMont Safety Patrol, headed up by Safety Manager Justin Latimer, led the long line of torch-wielding Members from the top of HoliMont, down Exhibition and to the base of the Chalet. 

The parade was over in approximately 10 minutes but in that short timespan memories were created, friends were made, and some lucky Members got to do what nobody else gets to do; ski the slopes of HoliMont at night. 

HoliMont Athletes Bring Home Gold Twice in One Day

Recently, at the U16 Eastern Regional Championships, Patricia Mangan tied for the win of the SG in Sugarloaf, ME while in Attitash, NH at the U16 Eastern Finals, Sophia Richards won the SG for this Series. GO HoliMont!

A Very Social Month For A Social Club

It’s been a very busy month at HoliMont in terms of social functions and festivities.  On top of the normal weekend après ski parties that HoliMont Member’s are accustomed to, the month of February saw Men’s Day, the 50^th Anniversary Gala, and most recently, Ladies Day take over the Chalet.

Friday the 1^st was HoliMont’s annual Men’s Day event where male Member’s brought their friends to the Club for a day of fun on the slopes as well as in the Chalet. 

The guys planned the event for the right day, as the weather was superb for being out on the slopes.  Based on the stories being told in the Chalet during the breakfast portion, there were plenty of guys who had a great night out in Ellicottville Thursday evening.  After breakfast most of the men took to the slopes for a morning of pristine runs and plenty of fun.

Once again, the Buffalo Bills went above and beyond and donated some great Bills gear for the Men’s Day raffle.  Corbetts Ski & Snowboard also kicked in with some awesome prizes, including a pair of skis.

After lunch it was back to the slopes for most of the guys.  The rest just hung out around the Chalet and took advantage of the laid back atmosphere.  Eventually, Comedian Steve Burr took the stage and entertained the crowd for the rest of the afternoon.  When Burr’s set was complete, another successful Men’s Day was in the books.

Two weeks later, HoliMont’s 50^th Anniversary Gala was a huge hit with the HoliMont Membership.  The Chalet was filled with people looking to celebrate HoliMont’s history…and celebrate they did!  Dinner, dancing, fireworks; the night had it all and when it was all said and done everyone left feeling very positive about the future.

One week later the ladies of HoliMont completely took over the Chalet with their Back In Black theme.  Just like the men, or perhaps even more so than the men, a lot of the ladies were out living it up on the town the night before.  But no matter how late they were out they still showed up in droves the next morning to commence with the party. 

Not surprisingly the vibe in the Chalet for ladies day was much different than for Men’s Day.  Having a nice day out on the slopes was definitely an added bonus for the ladies but it was the in Chalet activities that really had the women excited.

As always, Dina’s provided a delicious breakfast spread that had a fantastic aroma floating throughout the Chalet.  Upstairs in the Chalet a vendors market was set up where approximately 15 different shops were showing off some of their finest items.  From handbags, to clothing, to jewelry, and a lot more in between, there were ample opportunities for the women to purchase some very unique products. 

The final thing on the agenda was a DJ spinning a great selection of party beats so that the ladies could spend the remainder of the event dancing the afternoon away.

HoliMont would like to thank Dekdebruns Ski Shop, The City Garage, The Boardroom and Mud, Sweat n’ Gears for coming to HoliMont to provide free ski and snowboard demo’s for all the participants of Men’s and Ladies Day.

Events like Men’s Day, the Gala, and Ladies Day are just a couple of the many reasons why membership at HoliMont is such a worthwhile decision.  Every winter great times are had, lifelong friendships are forged and of course there is always some very fun skiing and snowboarding out on the slopes.