We’ll have a long article on how fantastic JF.com’s weekend at Sunday River was this winter coming imminently. (And yes, we’ll be covering all the LIV developments in golf as well, just as soon as we get the lowdown on Tiger Woods’s confab with the rest of the PGA Tour players.) But for right now, let’s have a little fun with Eddy the...
We here at JF.com are thrilled to bring you the magnificent photo essays of Andrew DiGiovanni, a US ex-pat now living in Vienna and teaching school there. Proving you should meet as many people on a ski lift as you can, Andrew and I bonded the first time I ever skied my beloved Magic Mountain in Vermont. We lost touch after I published my Magic article in 2019, but a...
“Finally!” “Thank God!” “About time!” “What took so long?” and “I’ll believe it when I see it…” Those are actual reactions from Eastern skiers when they heard the blessed news: Vail has filed a proposal to replace that infernal, wonky, and roundly despised Attitash Summit Triple chairlift...
Pat’s Peak loving Life on Indy Pass —Special to NASJA and JF.com by Jay Flemma— Quick! What loveable local mountain was described by expert skiers as, “so tough you’ll want an extra hour at lunch for hot chocolate before you go back out for more?” It’s New Hampshire’s Pat’s Peak. Beloved in New Hampshire since it...
2022 Update – Magic for the Win [Editor’s Notes: As we go to press, Magic, like most of the northeast, is just exiting a bad stretch of warm weather. However, hope is on the horizon; a nor’easter is on the way, plus lake effect in some areas. Magic may well be in sterling shape by the weekend. Keep a sharp eye and ear on the weather and stay stoked...
In one of the most ambitious of Alterra’s world-wide, multi-million dollar property upgrade projects, the main base lodge of Utah’s Deer Valley Resort is set for a major expansion and renovation. The resort’s Snow Park Lodge will have all of its facilities significantly improved. The new base area will provide additional accommodations and skier...
Idaho’s Schweitzer Mountain Opens New Humbird Hotel —by Jay Flemma, special to NASJA— As part of a multi-year master plan launched in 2017, Northern Idaho’s Schweitzer Mountain has opened a new 31-room hotel accepting reservations for January 14, 2022 and beyond. Named in honor of the lumber company that was for decades the sturdy economic...
Border War! Vermont vs. New Hampshire Skiing Part 1 – Waterville Valley —by Jay Flemma Special to Slave to the Traffic Light Adventure Magazine— WATERVILLE VALLEY, NH – It all started with a snarky T-shirt worn by a local skier at Waterville Valley in New Hampshire: SKI NEW HAMPSHIRE – WE’RE LIKE VERMONT, JUST NOT AS STUCK UP...
LINCOLN, N.H. – This winter New Hampshire’s Loon Mountain Resort unveiled North America’s fastest eight-person chairlift as well as what is billed as “the most technologically advanced lift in the east.” Called the Kancamagus 8, this state-of-the-art Dopplemayr D-Line system spins at a whopping 1,100 feet per minute, (that’s 18...
Proving once again that a sense of humor is the best weapon in the modern age, Taos Ski Valley has done it again. The “Free Tacos” campaign continues with the renaming of their Pioneer Glade as “Free Tacos” in honor of George Medina, the legendary Taos instructor who helped end the resort’s ban on snowboarding in 2008. “Free...
So both Golf Course Trades and Resort Trades magazines are running a second Loon Mountain story that I wrote after my January trip. (Jay Peak is next, by the way.) It was quite an impressive place, but best of all, it was low impact, fun, and easy in every respect low hanging fruit for anyone planning a trip. Here’s a link to the piece. Golf season has...
A huge thank you again to the National Ski Council Federation for running a portion of and posting a link to my Loon Mountain article. (Click the link above.) As usual, they do a fantastic job; we’re grateful for their support. By the way, join a local ski club or two: it’s a great way to incerase your circle of friends and have some new mates to shred...
Don’t look now, but Indypass is eating Vail’s and Alterra’s lunch as the best value in the mega-pass game. Already amassing an impressive lineup of winter sports parks including Jay Peak, Cannon Mountain, and Magic Mountain in the east, and Red Lodge, Brundage, and Tamarack out west, Indypass, just added east coast grande dame Waterville Valley and...
***Updated as of 01-08-21*** A Christmas morning avalanche caused “significant damage” to the mid-station “Overlook” lodge of New York’s Belleayre Mountain Ski Resort in Highmont, forcing the mountain to close for the day. No one was injured, but several doors and windows were broken. In excess of six inches of rain and strong winds...
Man cannot live by skiing alone; frequently there must be a dinner. So I just became your new best friend. We all know how merciless I am when it comes to calling out bad on-mountain dining. Well I may talk the talk, but I also walk the walk. Hence this column. My chef pals and I are gonna ride to the rescue and save you from eating nuts and berries in your car all...