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Show Page 8 nminesday, Dec. 22, 1976 STAY v. Opinion Iwrth Craig Altschul TUNED FaBBoftD(D L Non skiers areV easy to annoy, aren't, they? I love it. I live to bug winter-haters. It makes my day go faster. : , . :."V ' . -, It happened again this morning. I got in the elevator in our office building. The temperature - outside was below the comfort levellor mortals' who do not ski. Two ladies raced into the elevator, slapping their arms across their bodies to get warm. ) ? "Isn't it awful out there? " one said, looking right at the other one. "Yes," she replied. "Absolutly'. disgusting." The second lady turned to me as the elevator roared to my floor. "Do you think it'll ever get warm again?" she asked. The door opened on the 12th floor and as I got out I looked back at her over my shoulder. "I hope not, lady. I hope it snows forever." The door shut, i Our friend Karen got on the elevator later that day as we headed down. She was all bundled up to face the wintry chill. "I can't stand it," she said. "What I wouldn't give for some warm sand and some sun." "Well, don't worry about it," I said. "Summer has been cancelled for this year." The next day, it was still snowing and bitter cold outside. Some guy concealing his business suit with three layers of furry coats got on the elevator with me. "This is ridiculous," he offered. "Only some dumb skier would enjoy a day like this." I grinned from ear to ear. "Nice day, hun?" I said. : "Oh, no," he said. "I'm not riding an elevator with a skier, am I? You wierdos actually like snow, don't ! you?" . y : V . -: '-. "That's right," I answered. "We like snow. Lots of it. Tons of it. The more the better. And, buddy, you . can take all your warm weather and...." I didn't say it. I just thought it. But, I do admit, to our non-skiing friends and the whole public-at-large, liking winter is unacceptable. . I don't know about you, but I talk back to the weatherman on TV alVwinter long. "Looks like another -miserable day outithere," heij temperature dips to the freezing level. "Shut up, tur';ey," I say, hoping my coxail cable -reaches into his studio. We have knowing looks, too.1, It depends on your geography if you try to recognize them. In Southern California, just stand on a downtown streetcorner at a Monday lunch hour and watch the sides of people's faces.the white spots where the sunglasses were: Those white bags under their eyes are from goggles, not scurvy. A California winter tan and goggles don't mix. V J But, skiers have the signal. Not a word is said in greeting. The code is obvious. You reach, the corner at the same time and are waiting for the light to change and you notice the telltale mark. Hello is not necessary. You're already buddies-in-kind. i I You look them in the eye and just say, "Where?" They say, "Mammoth." You nod, inderstandingly. No need to ask conditions. You were there, too. 1 New York is different, yet. Skiers have an Eastern status symbol on the highways. A ski rack. Skiers have ski racks. That's all. You meet another ski-racked car at a 'signal light. The nod is imperceptible. But, you know. The bond has been strengthened again. We're just misunderstood because we like winter. We live in New Haven Connecticut.. .and there's a little tiny school here they call Yale. A brisk morning walk down Chapel Street that borders the campus is telling in winter... particularly particular-ly on a Friday: . Yalies ski. You can tell. And, trfey can tell which of we towhies can ski too. If we get , a nod of recognition, we know they ski. They know we ski. Don't ask me how, but we all know. Our thoughs are even telltale. Our minds don't work like non-skiers. We're a different breed A crazy breed. " ;. To a non-skier, walking out the front door in a rain storm is annoying. "When will it stop?" is their first thought. Not us. We see that same rain and our immediate reaction is, "Aha! Rain in the city could mean a snowstorm on the hill." And we jump in the car and listen for the ski report on the radio. After having had all these thoughts, I got on the elevator again. The same ladies I saw the other day ,were back They looked amjnd giggled. "There he is," one of tfiem said. "The" ice man cometh." . Vv-' , ; ,;3 , I glared at her. "LadyV" I said, leaving the elevator. "Keep your SKI TIPS up." v ) By the Utah Ski Assoc. EL1FF BERGMAN Sports, Commercial & Candid SI VER MLL HOUSE RESORT PLAZA 1284Empkt Avt. Box 503 Park City , Utah 84060 (801 ) 649-8280 MardiGrasin New Orleans Will swap our house In University Section of New Orleans, week of Feb. 20-26, 20-26, 1977 for accommodations ac-commodations for family of-burhParkCRy. To exchange particulars, write J.C. Rosen, 4207 Tchoupitoulas, New Orleans, La 701 15. VoDO Ski Businesses are growing at a greater rate than ever before, with growing interest among consumers and growing grow-ing interest in the development develop-ment of new ski facilities, correct? Wrong. New ski area development was at a peak in 1964 and 1965 with 77 and eighty new ski areas opening in North America in each respective year. By , 1972, while there were 220 new lifts built in North America, only 35newski areas were opened. : By 1974, there were only 106 new lifts built in North America and 17 new ski areas opened; and this year, 1976, there were 78 new lifts being built in North America and only one new ski area opening for the public This is the lowest level since 1940. Along with these figures it is interesting to note that most ski manufacturers are estimating the total number of committed skiers (those who ski more than ten days per year) in this country at between three ; and four million. This is only slightly higher than the figure that they were using five years ago. It, appears thay while many new skiers come into the sport each year, there is a very alarming dropout rate and a tremendous percentage of new skiers who never fully get . into the sport . to the extent of becoming committed committ-ed skiers. , While ski manufacturers are very much interested in bringing new skiers into the market and keeping them, they are well aware of the very real limiting factor of the skiing playgrounds themselves. Why aren't new ski areas being developed? While it appears extremely difficult in Utah for expansion of most existing, areas or development develop-ment of new ones, Utah may prove in the future to be one of the few. areas of the country where new; ski development and expansion -is still a real possibility. The tremendous amount of government gov-ernment control and preservationist preser-vationist influence in other areas of the country will likely stifle development before the same thing occurs in Utah because we at least have state and local government, govern-ment, and the local populace, in favor of skiing development develop-ment for recreational and tourist industry purposes. . As a national trend, banks no longer are getting into financing of new areas because of all the problems encountered, not the least of which is legislative and other government interference. Not only is there a tremendous tremen-dous capital investment for facilities, but a tremendous amount of money has to be invested in the four to seven year planning stage before it is even known whether or not a resort development will be allowed. With the added high risks involved in a recreational recreation-al activity considering the uncertainties . of our country's economic future and mother nature's uncertainty uncer-tainty of snow from year to year; banks, insurance companies and other major lending institutions are finding find-ing more favorable places to invest their dollars. 'One investment , banker has suggested that future ski resort development may have to come from skiers' own investments or industry generated profits because, of loss of outside investor interest. So while total skiers, ,or , .those, who have tried skiing , and call themselves, skiers, has increased rapidly, the number of committed skiers is not increasing rapidly; and this is largely due to the lack of adequate new . facilities, and therefore the diminishing diminish-ing quality of skiing. Because people are becoming concerned with paying too much for the quality of experience they're finding, , the expansion of existing ski areas or development of new ones will be the critical factor in whether or not the ski industry will grow. A massive consumer oriented program which enrolls the support of skiers themselves is perhaps the only way to combat the very vocal and effective voices of those who would limit ski area development. develop-ment. The current population certainly has a right to the recreational use of the lands. By Peter Najar Wolfe's Repair Shop A ski's personality, whether it is fast or slow, turns quickly or makes long turns, is a result of its flex pattern (both longitudinally and torsionally ) . The flex pattern of a ski isits flexing properties, in other words, whether it is' a stiff or soft ski. A ski is usually stiffer under the foot area than it is at the tip and tail. Variations of the stiffness affects the performance. For example, a slalom ski has the, same or nearly the same flex at the tip and tail, whereas a giant slalom ski has a softer tip and firmer tail. ' ' ' The softer ski will turn with less effort. Care must be taken not to ski a ski that is too soft for the conditions. A softer ski will work well in softer snow and a stiffer ski will on the harder snow. ; The side cut is the main factor in determining a-ski's a-ski's personality. Its purpose is to allow the ski to turn and to distribute pressure along the whole , length of the edge when the ski is flexed. An easy way to see the side cut is to put the skis side to side. The only place the skis touch is near the tips and tails. The arc that each ski makes is known as the side cut. The greater the arc of the side cut or the more radical the side cut the better the ski will hold on ice. The more radical the side cut the more pressure is on the tips and tails, consequently, more power is generated to make the ski hold well. t ( amber distributes the weight of a skier over the length of the ski. It is best seen by putting two skis; bottom to bottom ; here again, the skis should make contact near the tip and tails. - In choosing a ski it is important to choose one with! the proper amount of camber. A ski with too little camber combined with a soft flex pattern will not .distribute the weight to the tips. Too much weight will becentered under the foot; the result will be a ski that will not track well it will be squirrelly. tfc ne ski has too jnucVtamfeKUotf much weight wi .be transferred to the tips and tails; the result will be' a ski that is slow and hard to turn. f Now is the time to get your skis tuned. Most repahfj shops in Park City are doing fairly slow business and the. mechanics, have more time to spend ort individual skis. So, . if you haven't gotten your; equipment in shape" now is a good time. . v.; Merrv Christmas! ! j$ E MICHAEL'S SKI REPAIR PROFESSIONAL TUNING & MOUNTING "Overnight service, or while you eat out" Open Dally 810 a.m. and 4-8 p.m. Call 649-8503 At the KINDERSPORT (Bottom of Main) o Fair MORNING SHIFT LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE ARRIVE LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE ARRIVE LEAVE LEAVE ARRIVE GARAGE TURN-. CLAIM- PARK CITY PARK CITY CRESENT O'BRIEN'S' HOME- PARK PARK CITY PARK CITY. CLAIM- TURNAROUND TURN-AROUND JUMPER RESORT RESORT RIDGE . STAKE CONDO'S RESORT RESORT JUMPER AROUND 81OO 8:07 8:13 8:15 8:19 8:22 8:25 8:27 8:29 8:30 8:37 '8:43 8:45 8:52 8:58 9:00 9:04 9:07 9:10 9:12 914 9:15 9:22 9:28 9:30 9:37 9:43 9:45 9:49 9:52 9:55 9:57 9:59 10:00 10:07 10:13 10:15 10:22 10:28 10:30 10:34 10:37 10:40 10:42 10:44 10:45 10:52 10:58 " -V GO TO THE GARAGE '-''"; ' SKI SALE i EVENING SHIFT LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE ARRIVE LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE LEAVE ARRIVE LEAVE LEAVE ARRIVE GARAGE TURN- CLAIM- PARK CITY PARK CITY CRESENT O'BRIEN'S HOME- PARK PARK CITY PARK CITY CLAIM- TURNAROUND TURN-AROUND JUMPER RESORT ' RESORT RIDGE STAKE CONDO'S RESORT RESORT JUMPER AROUND . ' ' - 1 : : . . . 3:30 ' 3:37 3:43 3:45 3:52 3:58 4:00 4:04 4:07 "4:10 4:12 " 4:14 4:15 4:22 4i28 , , 4:30 4:37" 4:43 4:45 4:49 4:52 4:55 4:57 : 4:59 5:00 5:07 3:13 - ,3115 5122 5:28 5:30 5:34 5:37 . 5:40 5:42 , ; 5i44 5:45 5:52 5:58 6:00 6:07 6:13 6:15 6:19 6:22 6:25 6:27 6i29 GO TO THE GARAGX ' , . . I . rat w siew m 11' II V i-T I M'L V V A I.WI EVERYTHING IN STORE 10 to 50 off ' SKIS BOOTS PARK AS SWEATERS LAST MINUTE GIFTS- VICEROY JEANS 25 Off ALL HATS & GOGGLES 20 Off TRACK NO-WAX X-C SKIS 40 off in SKI OUTFITTERS |