Ski Area Rankings Are Foolish But...
November 22, 2024 We undertake two activities every year. First, we ridicule the fact that numerous publications rank ski resorts. Then we analyze the rankings. First the ridicule. It’s crazy, right? The variables are numerous both on the skier side and the resort side. Some skiers want Dear Valet $50 burgers, and others could care […]Need Ski Trip Advice?
You can feel it! Mornings have a bracing chill, leaves are off the trees and you have seen pics of snow on high peaks both east and west. Winter is on the doorstep! That means we need to not just dream about skiing – we need to make PLANS!! We at conSKIerge are a combination […]
We're Back! (And so is the snow!)
October 18, 2024 While we at conSKIerge basically dream about skiing all year, we generally don’t communicate with y’all during non-ski months. For some reason it doesn’t excite us that a ski area has put in a new bike park or slide gizmo. Yes, there have been some ski related improvements made over the summer, […]
Late Season Musings
April 12, 2024 As the Utah avalanche forecasters like to say…we have entered that time period when summer and winter duke it out. Otherwise known as spring. As I write this I am watching a brilliant sunny spring day go by in Maine thinking that summer is winning out. But every time I venture outside […]
Bye Bye Wilbere
March 28, 2024 Everything is wrong with the Wilbere chairlift at Snowbird ski area in Utah. It is one of the three original lifts at Snowbird that opened in 1971. Mmm…our math ain’t great but we think this makes Wilbere 43 years old. They didn’t make high speed chairs back then so…it is slow. They […]
Privatization of the Ski Industry
March 23, 2024 Last week we had two very dear friends visiting us for two days. As Snowbird/Alta season pass holders we are able to get them day tickets for half price. When the total came to $220 per day for the two of them I started to protest that the person had forgotten the […]
Snowbasin - Utah's Unknown Gem
March 19, 2024 The Utah ski scene has loooong been dominated by a relatively small group of resorts, particularly when compared to states like Colorado. First there was Alta. And for some die-hards that’s all there still is today. But other resorts – Snowbird, Park City and Deer Valet – have developed into masters of […]
Is Skiing Dangerous?
March 15, 2024 We have been struck (shocked really) by several articles recently stressing that skiing is a dangerous sport. We would expect such sensationalism and slander from the New York Post or the National Enquirer. But these headlines have come from what we consider respectable publications – think Outside Magazine and The Atlantic. Yes, […]
Jay Peak Resort - The Phoenix of the Ski Industry
March 8, 2024 Phoenix – “an immortal bird that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again.” We have written about Jay Peak before. (See our article from November 2022 on the sale of Jay Peak – Jay Peak Finally Sold). It remains one of our favorite ski resorts in North America. Tucked away in the […]
We Don't Need to Worry About Avalanches In-Bounds, Right?
March 6, 2024 Charlotte and I probably shouldn’t admit to this, but we love waking up to the sound of the Alta/Snowbird howitzers. While these big guns are being phased out (watch The Last Gunners for more on this), they are still relied on in an attempt to control avalanches in Little Cottonwood Canyon in […]
JaPow - Part 2
February 26, 2024 If you are reading this and failed (amazingly!) to read our first JaPow article then go into reverse and read it. It has the very original name of “JaPow.” We left you hanging as we ventured north on the bullet train (why can’t we build bullet trains in the US?!?) to the […]
JaPow
We are lucky enough to ski Alta/Snowbird for much of the winter. Occasionally we look at conditions elsewhere in North America and wish we were there. But the consistency of the conditions, the terrain, the predictability of snowfall (average over 500 inches year) and the lightness of the snow in our part of Utah rarely […]
Some Fun, Funny and Fascinating News From the Ski World
As you might suspect and as we imagine many of you do as well, we follow one zillion websites, media sources, etc. that cover and discuss the ski industry. Throughout the year we file away articles and releases that interest us, contain juicy information, or, in many cases, simply make us laugh. As I was […]