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Show Sportstacular Sportsfacular Pag 8 Thursday, November 8, 1 97v Thursday, November 8, 1 979 Pag 9 M. Efa mnr& (Editors Note: This week Sportstacular will begin a sequence of Utah ski resort features dedicated to educate both advanced and beginning skiers about Americas finest winter resorts. This week weve started with Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort located in Little Cottonwood Canyon, just east of Salt Lake City). The first ski lift was built in the Sierra in 1913. A modest rope two that gained only 60 feet of elevation, it probably seemed like a great idea at the time: why walk when you can ride? But like most things aimed at making life easier, more fun the automobile, the aerosal can, the ski lift contained a potent germ of mischief. The first lift inevitably spawned more lifts, and with the lifts came the chain-sawe- d trails, gelding wild snow mountains into weird, mechanized playgrounds; and around the mountains, resort towns spread like oil slicks. There was still the grace of snow and the dance of the game; but the wildness and space that are the core of skiing experience began to erode, even as the downhill ski scene reached its feverish florescenes in the The easier the skiing experience got, the less there was of it. A former U.S. racer described the rush of downhilling: When those gates and bumps are whizzing by and the wind is howling through your crash helmet, theres ho time to think about mid-sixtie- s. 2 anything I always forgot to breathe so right away youre in another world, de facto, thinkless, sensual; perceptions leaping out at you, vision of arrowed to And then the finis gate, and the wind stops, and youre back. But youre still high and you know that brighter, more intense world is still there.. The whole range of the game good skiing ( later hotdogging) , powder, schussing an empty trail of hardpack in the last light had this shining ectasy its center. No wonder people dropped out of school, or work, and headed for the snowy ranges, for the rarified, radium heights. But even then, the golden sixties, downhill skiing was becoming big, big business: The game was starting to get lost in the glamour. The slopes and ski towns were jamming up with a new kind of flatlander with a bundle of credit skier, an cards looking for the freedom of the hills with room service and all the trimmings. The ski bums called them turkeys or machine heads; but there were a lot of these newcomers, and they could pay their own way. And following these money eyed hordes, like timber wolves on a herd of sick moose, came the real estate speculators, the hotelier gnomes and restaurateur trolls. The squeeze was on rents and prices shot up. There were traffic jams on the streets, in the lift lines and up on the slopes. Inevitably, the hardest of the upper-middle-cla- ss (smM serious skiers began to look toward the trails, off the pay as you play mountains, off into the back country, the wilderness where after all, skiing began. Ski touring and ski mountaineering were the logical escape hatches for snow freaks looking for wide-ope- n spaces and untracked slopes. hard-cor- e, off the groomed - CREATING THOSE PERFECT MOMENTS A UNIQUE APPROACH TO SKIING 4 (Snowbird, Utah) Snowbird Director of Skiing, Corky Fowler is offering a unique approach to help skiers improve their skiing and love for the sport. Creating Those Perfect Moments is a combined session of four hours of skiing and two hours indoors with film and discussion. It is available on demand only and is designed for intermediate and advanced skiers in groups from four to eight. Corky developed the program as a result of his observations of teaching and learning situations during his 22 year skiing career. He noticed that when skiers were really enjoying themselves and loving toski that they improved at a faster rate, retained what they learned and had an enjoyable time. Fowler has used these observations in developing a format for Creating Those Perfect Moments which produces very positive results. ranges from open bowls and wide meadows to forested trails and uninterrupted runs of up to Vk miles in length. For skiers seeking a challenging experience, the Wasatch Powderbird Guides provide helicopter service for back country powder and spring corn snow . The cost is $250.oo for a group of four persons and $30.00 for each additional person, up to the maximum of eight people. Contact Corky Fowler: P.O. Box 61, Snowbird, Utah, 84070, (801) 742-222- 2. excursions. Receiving an average snowfall of over 450 inches yearly, Snowbird guarantees consistently dependable snow from the first tracks in November through the late ipring skiing of May 1, Snowbirds closing date. The fine, light powder makes super packed skiing, and Snowbirds mountain grooming crew works around the clock to maintain the mountain. Skiers staying at Snowbird also have the opportunity to ski other beginning and intermediate terrain at Alta, just a mile and a half up the road. A shuttle bus provides low cost transportation between the two resorts. After enjoying the mountain, guests may browse through the Village shops or dine in one of eight restaurants. Tennis, swimming, ice skating, saunas, soaking in hot pools, dancing to a disco beat or merely relaxing in one of the private club lounges, gives a variety to theapres ski activities. Game rooms for the children are located in Iron Blosam Lodge, Snowbird Center and the Cliff Lodge. Three condominium lodges and a hptel provide deluxe accomodations, all within easy walking distance of Snowbird Center, the lifts, shops, restaurants and services. The many amenities, the superb skiing conditions and the majestic mountains make Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort an exciting destination for a Utah ski vacation. SNOWBIRD OFFERS DEPENDABLE SKIING AND EASY ACCESSIBILITY (Snowbird, Utah) The combination of dependable snow, variety of available terrain, and the ease of accessibility from a major jetport, make Snowbird the ideal location for a Utah ski vacation. Snowbird is located in the Wasatch National Forests Little Cottonwood Canyon, just 26 miles southeast of Salt Lake City and 45 minutes from the Salt Lake International Airport, making it the easiest-to-get-t- o of all the major destination ski resorts in the, Rocky Mountains. Regular schedules of transportation from the airport and city are provided by the Utah Transit Authority during the resorts ski season. j Snowbirds mountain is unique in the variety of ski terrain offered for all levels of skiing ability. The lift network of a aerial tram and five double chairlifts open nearly 2,000 acres of skiing with 3,100 feet of vertical for skiers that high-capaci- ty GT OFFERED AT SNOWBIRD . (Snowbird, Utah) Skiers visiting SnoWbird Ski and Summer Resort will be offered free guided skiing fours of trails and the lift layout daily at 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. during the 1979-8- 0 ski season. This complimentary service is available through the Snowbird Host Program to skiers of all ability levels and all that is needed is a lift ticket. To assist travelers and guests, Snowbird hosts and hostesses greet skiers at the Salt Lake International Airport and at the resort. They also distribute trail maps, suggest runs best suited to skiing abilities, assist at NASTAR races and give directions and information. The program is comprised of a team pf nine people, chosen in November and trained to work with the skiing public effectively during the entire season with Director, Maire Rosol. SNOWBIRD NASTAR RACERS GET NEW RACE HILL (Snowbird, Utah) Snowbird Ski and Summer Resorts NASTAR (National Standard Race) Season is scheduled to begin November 20, 1979, at 12:30 p.m. This season, Snowbird skiers will have the opportunity to test their racing skills on a newly developed race course located on lower Wilbere Ridge. The new race course has a vertical of 325 feet and measures 1,250 feet in length with a 15 percent average gradient slope that will provide a challenging slalom, not only for the recreational NASTAR skier, but also for the professional racer. According to Bill Moss, Director of Snowbirds Race Department, the new course is a bit longer than last years race course and will be challenging but not difficult. This year racers will also be making their turns around Break-Awa- y Slalom Poles that will be much more flexible than bamboo. Snowbirds NASTAR will be held through the end of April, every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Race registration will be held on race days from 9:00 a.m. to noon at the Gad Valley Ticket Booth. The entry fee for each race will be $3 and 1 per rerun. NASTAR is administered by World Wide Ski Corporation based in Aspen, Colorado. SNOWBIRD SKI SCHOOL EXPANDS SIZE, PROGRAMS ( Snowbird, Utah) The Snowbird Ski School expanded for the 1979-8-0 e season to forty and thirty part-tim- e certified instructors who teach the American Teaching Method (ATM). skiers Special emphasis is placed in childrens and first-tim- e lessons, racing classes, advanced classes, powder technique and skill development. Snowbirds instructors are trained by Ski School Director, Junior Bounous and his assistant, Jerry Warren, a member of die U.S. Demonstration Team who has traveled throughout the U.S., Europe, and Japan working with fellow instructors to refine the ATM. Paul PJ Jones assists in instructing the top classes in improving skills and understanding the technical aspects of skiing. In addition to regularly scheduled ski school classes, Snowbirds Mountain Experience is a unique learning program for advanced skiers whose goal is to ski as much of the mountain as possible and il to experience challenging terrain, powder, and skiing. When the snow is deep and fluffy, a feature for which Snowbird is so popular, ski school is prepared to give powder instructions to both beginner and advanced powder skiers. Group classes and private lessons for all levels of skiers and children 2 years meet daily at 10:45 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. at the base of Chickadee slope. full-tim- THE LODGE AT SNOWBIRD, Tarramurra Lodge, and the Cliff Lodge feature luxurious accommodations adjacent to Snowbird Center and are within easy walking distance to the lifts. Village amenities include shops, boutiques," ski shops and rentals, lounges, swimming, saunas, indoor tennis (rentals available), child day care, game rooms and free daily guided skiing tours. Iron Blosam Lodge f V f v. '. v ' " ' ' i j r V " -- . ; s ' s' ' , ; off-tra- . FREE GUIDED SKIING TOURS Hosts and hostesses will acquaint Snowbird skiers with the trail 1 p.m. To assist travelers and guests, they also greet skiers at the air- and lift layout daily at 10 am. and port and at the resort. M M 7 l v.,l. M tli q . V, V SNOWBIRD OFFERS A VARIETY of skiing for all levels of ability. Runs range from half miles in length with beginner, intermediate and advanced terrain. first-tim- e Photos courtosy of Snowbird Noxt week's fcaturo - Snow Basin one half to 2 and one |