Which Room Do You Ski In?

By Dan Balkin / HoliMont Snowsports School

Well, if I had my choice, it would be in the kitchen.  Who doesn’t like to peer into the fridge and start salivating?  But we are using the term “room” metaphorically. I picked up this metaphor while doing a ski instructor update clinic at HoliMont a few years ago.  Every two years all certified instructors must take a two day update clinic run by a member of the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) educational staff.

Our clinician was a young PSIA examiner from Pennsylvania.  At the top of one run he posed a simple question:  where do you stand on your feet when you ski?  This harmless question was designed to provoke the wrong answer and shatter a ski instructor cliché.  Asked this question, many instructors will say “centered over your arches – in the middle of your feet.”  We did not disappoint him.  The “middle of your feet” was the consensus answer in our group.

Our clinic leader Eric now dropped his metaphorical bomb on us.  He said to imagine each of our feet to be comprised of “three rooms.”  The front room is the first third of our foot (supported by the ball of the foot and the pad of skin behind the little toe); the middle room is the center of our foot (supported by the arch); the back room is the last third of our foot (supported by the heel).  Eric explained to us why our conventional wisdom (only stand in the middle of the foot) was wrong. He had our attention because he was a fantastic skier – especially in icy moguls.  His grace and finesse gave him complete credibility in our eyes.

Eric said that if you initiate a turn on a steeper slope on the middle of your foot, the forces generated by the turn are often going to push you onto your heels (the proverbial “back seat”).  He encouraged us to feel as if we were pressing down on the “front room” of our feet to start our turns.  The cues that we feel (while initiating a turn to the right) would be the ball of the left foot and the pad of skin behind the little toe on the right foot.  Another cue would be feeling pressure on the tips of our skis when initiating a ski turn. 

As the turn progresses, pressure and edge angles also increase.  We can absorb the pressures by flexing our legs (just like a shock absorber).  In short, Eric said to start each turn with forward pressure on both feet and then settle into the middle of the foot for the remainder of the turn.  The alternative is to start the turn on the arch (middle) and most likely get tossed onto the heels – a position from which most skiers can’t properly balance.  If you feel you can’t pressure the front of your skis when you start a turn, you most likely need to make one of the following adjustments:  #1-bring your hips up over your feet at the initiation of the turn / #2 – if that does not help, talk to one of our expert boot fitters in town about adjusting the “ramp angle” of your ski boots (proper ramp angle allows you to pressure the front of your ski, not just the middle of you ski; in other words, ramp angles influence your fore and aft balance).   

All ski setups are not created equal.  Different boot and binding combinations can strongly influence your fore/aft balance. With my new boots this season, I had to make some adjustments to the ramp angle in order to feel that I could pressure the front of my skis properly and not get pitched onto my heels on steeper runs.  Fortunately, most après ski activities are conducted on surfaces that are quite level.  If I had to think about hip position, the front room of my feet or ramp angles while sipping a refreshment – life would be complicated indeed.  

HoliMont Racing Updates

We are now about halfway through the 2012 season, which means that the HoliMont Race Team is in top form and cruising through the Western New York competition circuit. 

On January 28^th HoliMont hosted its first IntraClub race of the season.  Listed below are the results of a very competitive day.

Class: 11 & Up Female

Team              Name                                   Run #1           Run #2           Combined

UINT                         Jenna DiDonato                    35.09 (1)               33.77 (1)               1:08.86 (1)

UTravel                   Kathryn Webb                        35.71 (2)               36.82 (2)               1:12.53 (2)

UINT                         Hannah Holland                   39.19 (4)               41.09 (4)               1:20.28 (3)

UJunior                    Julia Ross                                  40.82 (5)               42.17 (6)               1:22.99 (4)

UTravel                   Hanna Laube                          42.84 (9)               41.04 (3)               1:23.88 (5)

Class: 11 & Up Male

Team                      Name                          Run #1           Run #2           Combined

UINT                         Elliott Cahill                           37.25 (1)               34.78 (1)               1:12.03 (1)

UJunior                    Spencer Johnson                   37.94 (2)               38.70 (2)               1:16.64 (2)

UINT                         Liam Deschamps                  39.48 (3)               40.37 (3)               1:19.85 (3)

UINT                         Eric Brankovic                       41.25 (5)               40.73 (4)               1:21.98 (4)

UINT                         Troy Hendriks                       40.92 (4)               42.63 (5)               1:23.55 (5)

Class: 5 & 6 Female

Team                     Name                          Run #1           Run #2           Combined

INT                            Hilary Cummins                   43.07 (1)               43.76 (1)              1:26.83 (1)

INT                            Lauren Farber                        51.00 (2)             51.87 (3)               1:42.87 (2)

INT                            Mary Cathrine Mangan     52.06 (3)               51.60 (2)               1:43.66 (3)

INT                            Madalyn Cummings           58.07 (4)               57.53 (4)               1:55.60 (4)

INT                            Claire Rintoul                        1:10.01 (6)           1:04.99 (5)           2:15.75 (5)

Class: 5 & 6 Male

Team                       Name                          Run #1           Run #2           Combined

INT                            Cameron Johnston               47.08 (1)               44.68 (1)               1:31.76 (1)

INT                            Liam Ainslie                            52.73 (2)               50.82 (2)               1:43.55 (2)

INT                            Hans Solly                                54.24 (3)               53.63 (4)               1:47.87 (3)

INT                            Aaron Gyorgy                         55.29 (4)               53.29 (3)               1:48.58 (4)

INT                            Blake Preston                         1:09.06 (5)           1:06.69 (6)           2:15.75 (5)

Class: 7 & 8 Female

Team                        Name                          Run #1           Run #2           Combined

INT                            Alexandra Cummins          44.31 (1)               45.24 (2)               1:29.55 (1)

INT                            Courtney Maclay                 45.85 (2)               46.32 (3)               1:32.17 (2)

INT                            Elliot Barr                              49.32 (5)               43.90 (1)               1:33.22 (3)

INT                            Nyah Solly                              46.97 (3)               48.25 (4)               1:35.22 (4)

INT                            Annika Hambleton              49.54 (6)               50.32 (6)               1:39.86 (5)

Class: 7 & 8 Male

Team                        Name                          Run #1           Run #2           Combined

INT                            Trey Maclay                           43.59 (1)               45.10 (1)               1:28.69 (1)

INT                            Michael Turnbull                 45.20 (3)               45.73 (2)               1:30.93 (2)

Steppi                      Will Knauss                             44.75 (2)               47.41 (6)               1:32.16 (3)

INT                            Connor Hughey                    46.49 (4)               46.76 (5)               1:33.25 (4)

INT                            David Rintoul                        47.82 (5)               46.27 (4)               1:34.09 (5)

Class: 9 & 10 Female

Team                       Name                          Run #1           Run #2           Combined

INT                            Zoe Knauss                              38.44 (1)               39.75 (1)               1:18.19 (1)

INT                            Megan Turnbull                   42.16 (3)               40.31 (2)               1:22.47 (2)

INT                            Maddie Farber                       41.54 (2)               43.17 (3)               1:24.71 (3)

INT                            Annie Dietrich                       43.73 (4)               45.22 (5)               1:28.95 (4)

INT                            Emma Swankie                     45.62 (5)               44.84 (4)               1:30.46 (5)

Class: 9 & 10 Male

Team                          Name                          Run #1           Run #2           Combined

INT                            Callum Cahill                         41.99 (1)               43.69 (2)               1:25.68 (1)

INT                            Zachary Hughey                   43.64 (3)               43.39 (1)               1:27.03 (2)

INT                            Adam Brankovic                   42.76 (2)               44.48 (4)               1:27.24 (3)

INT                            Matthew Stanton                  45.30 (4)               44.84 (5)               1:30.14 (4)

INT                            Daniel Benedetti                   46.81 (5)               44.36 (3)               1:31.17 (5)

February 5^th HoliMont hosted a NFSC J4/5/6 Combined competition.  In the J-6 Field, HoliMont’s Logan Kidd finished in 5^th Place, Samuel Dresing finished in 6^th Place, Drew Vergon finished in 11^th Place, Trek Wilday finished in 13^th Place, and Kyle Chmiel finished in 14^th Place.

In the J-5 event HoliMont Racer Maxxon Solly took 2^nd Place, Carlo Muscarella took 5^th Place, Austin Gyorgy took 12^th Place, Lucas Johnson took 14^th Place, Tiger London took 15^th Place, Samuel Balanevsky took 22^nd Place, and Kyle McNamara took 23^rd Place. 

In the J-4 event HoliMont Racer Jacob Flaherty took 2^nd Place, Andrew Mangan took 3^rd Place, Spencer Smyth took 5^th Place, Carson Foxcroft took 9^th Place, Kenneth Bianchi took 10^th Place, Gage Thibodeau took 12^th Place, Liam Ross took 14^th Place, Max Balanevsky took 16^th Place, and Ryan Chmiel took 19^th Place.

On the ladies side in the J-6 field HoliMont’s Josephine Cochran finished in 7^th Place. 

In the J-5 class, HoliMont’s Megan Ross finished in 11^th Place, Oksana Wilday finished in 15^th Place, and Katelyn Stevens finished in 17^th Place. 

The J-4 class saw HoliMont’s Danielle Mason take 1^st Place, Andee Berberich took 5^th Place, Chloe Richards took 7^th Place, Anna Vergon took 8^th Place, Angelica Priest took 10^th Place, Brogan Cairns took 11^th Place, Sarah Johnston took 14^th Place, Pyper McDowell took 17^th Place, Shannon Clough took 19^th Place, Hanna Laube took 27^th Place, Isabelle Cochran took 31^st Place, Claire McKenna took 32^nd Place, and Grace Cannon took 33^rd Place.  

On February 6^th, HoliMont had a strong outing at the J3 Super-G Race at Bristol Mountain.

Over 60 female athletes competed in the race and HoliMont had 5 racers place in the top 13.  Patricia Mangan took 1^st Place, Hannah Doro took 4^th Place, Taylor Davies took 5^th Place, Sophia Richards took 7^th Place, and Lake Thibodeau took 13^th Place.

On the men’s side, over 70 athletes were competing for the top spot.  Four racers from HoliMont finished in the Top 16.  Harry Armstrong finished in 5^th Place, William Mangan finished in 6^th Place, JD Foxcroft finished in 7^th Place, and Ian Bell finished in 16^th Place.

National Safety Awareness Week

This week, January 14 – 22, HoliMont will be recognizing National Safety Awareness Week, which is an annual event highlighting resort safety education efforts while increasing slope safety. Resorts throughout the country are encouraged to develop new and creative ways to involve employees and guests in activities for safety week.

“At HoliMont we take safety very seriously and our goal is to always provide a safe and secure environment for HoliMont Members and guests,” said Justin Latimer, HoliMont Safety Manager.  “Historically we have a very good safety record and we’ve enjoyed many accident-free days of skiing and snowboarding so naturally we are on-board with promoting National Safety Awareness Week.”

This year the HoliMont Ski School will be holding a coloring contest for its younger patrons, which will emphasize the importance of skiing and riding safely and following the Skier Responsibility Code.  The HoliMont Safety Patrol will be meeting with Members and guests to talk with them about safety procedures that they should know and abide by.  And as always the Terrain Park Crew will be promoting the Smart Style initiative, which teaches skiers and riders all about proper terrain park etiquette.

Skiing and snowboarding can be enjoyed in many ways. At ski areas you may see people using alpine, snowboard, telemark, cross country and other specialized ski equipment, such as that used by disabled skiers. Regardless of how you decide to enjoy the slopes, always show courtesy to others and be aware that there are elements of risk in skiing that common sense and personal awareness can help reduce. Observe the code listed below and share with other skiers the responsibility for a great skiing experience.

1. Always stay in control.
2. People ahead of you have the right of way.
3. Stop in a safe place for you and others.
4. Whenever starting downhill or merging, look uphill and yield.
5. Use devices to help prevent runaway equipment.
6. Observe signs and warnings, and keep off closed trails.
7. Know how to use the lifts safely.

Be safety conscious and
KNOW THE CODE. IT'S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY.

This is a partial list.

Wrapping up the 14th Annual SkiScape

Last Sunday, the 8^th of January, the organizers from Kids Escaping Drugs came down to HoliMont to host the 14^th Annual SkiScape event.  SkiScape has become a time-honored tradition at HoliMont.  Every year around the beginning of the New Year, Kids Escaping Drugs partners up with HoliMont in order to raise funs for the development of its facilities and the continuation of its programs in Western New York.

The Kids Escaping Drugs program is unique to this area.  In many places, kids who are in need of drug and/or alcohol treatment are placed in facilities with adults.  The Kids Escaping Drugs Campus consists of three buildings that house up to 62 chemically-dependent youths ages 12 to 20. Renaissance House is a 30-bed intensive treatment facility for boys, Stepping Stones is a 16-bed girls’ residence, which combines both inpatient and continuum of care programs and the Promise House is a 16-bed continuum of care residence for boys.

“Obviously this organization (Kids Escaping Drugs) works on a daily basis dealing with a very serious issue,” said Dash Hegeman, HoliMont Marketing Director.  “HoliMont is happy to be able to add some on-snow fun to the fundraising process.  This season we had a very solid turnout even though the weather in surrounding areas might not have looked like it was winter.”

Luckily, where Mother Nature has been lacking, the snowmaking at HoliMont has been picking up the slack.  With every chairlift open over the weekend, the Kids Escaping Drugs crowd had access to approximately 30 slopes. 

One of those slopes was the Exhibition trail, which in the morning, played host to the Annual Firefighter Ski Race.  Firefighter crews from all over the state traveled to HoliMont to compete for bragging rights and a pretty impressive trophy.  This year the North Boston team, led by HoliMont Ski Patroller Sean Crotty, just missed out on the 1^st place trophy when they were edged out by a team from Palenville, NY.  It was a thrilling, and at times, a very entertaining race to watch.

Back in the Main Chalet the Silent Auction featured some great items that ended up collecting a lot of bids (at the time this article went to print, the fundraising total for the day was not available).  There were donated items from both the Buffalo Bills and Sabres, dining packages, golf and spa packages, products from Verizon Wireless, local ski shop gift certificates, and much more. 

If you’re interested in contributing to the Kids Escaping Drugs cause, check out www.makeachange.wny.org. 

Kicking Off The New Year

Given the way that this ski season has started we can only hope that 2012 brings an entirely new, and much colder, weather pattern to Ellicottville.  After all, the New Year is supposed to be about making positive changes in your life and right about now a weeklong stretch of 10-degree temperatures and a couple of feet of lake effect snow would be a very positive change.

It’s not that there hasn’t been anything to celebrate thus far this season.  Up until we got snow last Monday the mere fact that HoliMont had enough coverage to make it from the top of the hill to the bottom, much less enough to warrant having features up in the terrain park, showcased what a great job the snowmaking crew has been doing this season. 

The morning of Monday, January 2^nd, Ellicottville woke up to a glorious sight.  Approximately 5 inches of fresh snow had accumulated throughout the night, which added a drastically needed characteristic to the landscape of the town.  And just like that, the ski-town vibe was back on track.  It was as if an entirely new season had begun…

Speaking of which, the HoliMont New Year’s Party took place last Saturday night.  Organized by HoliMont Member Liz Laube and her family the party was an all-out-family-affair and for the nearly 300 participants was a great way to say goodbye to 2011 and hello to 2012.

 There was an arts & crafts table set up where the younger crowd worked on bringing out their inner-creative genius.  Nearby a flat-screen TV played an assortment of child-appropriate animated movies throughout the night.  The upstairs portion of the Chalet was transformed into “The Loft” where the pre-teen/teen crowd spent much of the evening rocking out with Rock Band.  

 Dina’s at the Mont organized a delicious pasta buffet that left everyone feeling stuffed…or possibly it was the dessert selection that did that.  And in the front of the Chalet the DJ had the tunes pumping where people danced the night away without a care in the world.

When the first countdown began (there were three of them throughout the night so as to cater to all age groups) the Chalet exploded with the sound of festive celebration.  It was clear that everyone was in the mood to party and looking forward to 2012.  And why not?  2012 is looking like it’ll be a fantastic season at HoliMont.  Hopefully your year will be the same!   

Open For Business

Despite the lack of help from Mother Nature, HoliMont officially opened for the season last Friday, December 23^rd and all things considered the conditions were excellent.  So even though Ellicottville never morphed into the winter wonderland that most look forward to every year, HoliMont did its best to provide some added holiday cheer for the weekend.

“We only had a handful of really good nights of snowmaking to work with,” said Mark Burkhard, Mountain Manager at HoliMont.  “So we made a decision to hold off on opening in order to let the piles of snow that were created sit and cure.” 

Patience was indeed a virtue as HoliMont was able to provide Members and guests alike with some prime corduroy to set an edge into. 

“It’s Opening Day.  You always want things to go smoothly and give people a great experience but on Opening Day it’s that much more important,” said Burkhard.  “Sure, the weather throughout December wasn’t ideal but around here you quickly learn to work with what you are given.  Unfortunately, every season isn’t going to start off the way last season did so when we get a late start we put extra pressure on ourselves to make sure Opening Day is flawless.”

This season, Opening Day had a little extra sentimental value added to it.  It marked the last time that the current Exhibition fixed-gripped chairlift would be opening up the season.  Next season, which will mark HoliMont’s 50^th Anniversary; there will be a high-speed detachable quad shuttling people up Exhibition, which will be a fantastic upgrade to the Club and an excellent way to commemorate the 50^th year that the Club has been running.

HoliMont Members Frank Galloway, Kent Dixon, and his son Mitchell Dixon were the first skiers up the Exhibition Quad on Opening Day.  Kent Dixon repeated that feat when he was once again the first Member up the lift on the second day of the ski season. 

Even with limited terrain open, Day 2 was as nice of a day as a snow enthusiast could ask for.  Throughout the morning the sun rose high into a perfectly bright bluebird sky, which lit up the snow-coated trees throughout the valley.  And while the HoliMont Membership was not out in droves, which is fairly typical on Christmas Eve Day, the ones who did make it to the slopes got treated to great slope conditions and a very aesthetically pleasing view from the top of Exhibition.  It was literally a picture perfect day at HoliMont. 

Finally, on Christmas Sunday HoliMont was open from noon until 4pm.  An enthusiastic selection of Members and their guests came out for an afternoon on the slopes and had their commitment rewarded by being treated to limited lift lines and wide open groomed slopes to test their new Christmas gear out on.  So while many people were immersed in a sea of wrapping paper and Christmas baked goods some diehard skiers and snowboarders were out on the slopes getting their skiing/riding legs ready for, what we hope will evolve into, a very long and fun-filled season.

So if you love the snow we hope to see you here at HoliMont throughout the season.  Whether you are a Member, the guest of a Member or a non-member skiing/riding on a weekday we hope that you get the chance to truly experience HoliMont.

 

*Pictured in chairlift photo from L to R: Mitchell Dixon, Kent Dixon, Frank Galloway*

Kids Escaping Drugs SkiScape at HoliMont

HoliMont is please to announce that the 14^th Annual SkiScape event, which is put on by Kids Escaping Drugs, will be held at HoliMont on January 8^th, 2012.  As with the previous 13 years there will be plenty of skiing/snowboarding, lots of food, and a great selection of prizes that will be raffled off.  All of the proceeds from SkiScape help to fund the amazing work that the Kids Escaping Drugs organization does on an annual basis.

By raising a minimum pledge of $50 (plus a $10 early registration fee) you can come take part in this worthy fundraising event.  If you choose to register the day of the event you must pay a minimum of $70 (which includes the registration fee) to participate.  The first 300 participants who register are guaranteed a SkiScape t-shirt.

“HoliMont is happy to partner up with Kids Escaping Drugs for another great SkiScape event,” said Dash Hegeman, HoliMont Marketing Director.  “The work that Kids Escaping Drugs does is so important to the Western New York community and HoliMont is thrilled to have established such a solid, long-lasting relationship with such a great organization.  Each year a lot of hard work goes into planning this event and this season is no different.  The KED staff has really gone the extra distance to make this event not only a great fundraiser but also a really fun event to take part in.”

The more money a person raises for the event, the more prizes they can walk away with at the end of the day.  Every year KED has a great selection of incentives for people/teams who bring in the most money.  Last year it was gift certificates to The Ski Rack in East Aurora.  At the time this article went to print the prizes had not been established but you can bet they will be good ones!

Every year there are an assortment of races and other activities that take place at SkiScape, which participants can sign up for the day of the event.  If you love to ski or snowboard and you’ve never taken part in SkiScape this is definitely the year to come check it out.  The sight of watching the Lake Effect Fire Fighter races, where firefighters from all over the Greater Western New York area race down the slopes of HoliMont in full fire gear is worth the price of admission by itself.

Participants of SkiScape will get an all-day pass to HoliMont, breakfast and lunch as well as the free t-shirt (provided you register early).  Groups of 15 or more will receive a $5 per person discount.  For more information on SkiScape call the KED office at (716) 827-9462 or check out www.ked.makeachangewny.org/events/skiscape.