TOP SECRET
CODED
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By:  Paul Burrows

Barb and Dave have arranged another very positive program. This one just happens to be in Jackson Hole. YAHOO!

I have noticed the JH logo and words race camp in the Ski Challenge news letters for a long time. I finally got around to going last year. I wish I had not waited so long.

The instruction is provided by the JH Ski School. They do a great job along with the rest of the mountain staff. Here’s what you’ll find. If Nature has not cooperated they make snow so there is good cover on a lot of the runs. I do not know how the group came out last season, but I had no damage to my skis. There is a dedicated support crew that takes care of the courses, same for the video.

During the day you will mix drills with gates. The drills for my group took us on a tour of the open runs. We were not kept in just one place. The course was the only thing kept in the same place. It was on Werner just off the Apres Vous chair. This schedule pretty much takes up the first two days. The morning of the third day is a NASTAR race, pacesetter and all. It’s then on to lunch. Continued training was offered after lunch, but I was pretty much raced out and just wanted to free ski, as many years had passed since I was last out to Jackson Hole.

The lodging is fun. It’s a Bavarian Hotel, Gasthaus, and Beirstube that is lightly Americanized all rolled into one. The lodging prices are very respectable (good show Barb), and the location cannot be beat. Its out the door, two rights followed by about 30-40 steps and you are at the Ski School and the base the lifts. No complaints here!

To get out to Jackson some of us drove, and the rest flew. With the timing of the program it’s not peak season and I am guessing the airline prices are a bit more agreeable than later in the winter.  We were given the gift of three bluebird days, but to be honest even if it had been overcast, snowing, or both, it still would have been a good time.

My currently non-skiing wife also attended, found more than enough to do and had a great time.  Hats off to Barb and Dave for putting a great one together, sehr gut!

This is just my version of the time out in Jackson Hole last December. For the fine points you need to read the material Barb has placed in the Ski Challenge news letter.

Great Mountain,
Great Folks,
Excellent Adventure!
Paul Burrows
Buck Hill, Wednesday Afternoons

Joe’s Sporting Goods
Retail Sales Associate – Alpine/Nordic/Snowboard Department
Part-time

Apply Here

 Share your passion for the outdoors while generating sales, providing great customer service and building a loyal customer base.  Experience as a skier or snowboarder is preferred as you are expected to assist customers by providing technical details and offer suggestions on new products.  A good work ethic, confidence, self motivation and a service-oriented attitude are some of the requirements to be a sales associate at Joe’s!

Responsibilities:

• Interacting with customers, both in person and on the phone.
• Providing the utmost customer service, advice, and fitting of Downhill Ski, Snowboard, and Nordic Ski gear
• Ability to multi-task with paying close attention to detail
• Completing assigned tasks for opening or closing the department.
• Merchandising and replenishing stock, cleaning, and refilling supplies as needed.
• Communicate customer requests and feedback with the buyer.

Skills:

• Passion in Skiing, Snowboarding, Nordic Skiing and the outdoors
  • Interest in Watersports, Camping, Paddle Sports and Footwear
• Background in properly fitting boots/orthotics
• Possesses good written, verbal communication skills, and interpersonal skills.
• Be a team player and have the ability of meeting assigned targets/goals.
• Have good organizational skills and an understanding of basic merchandising.

Requirements:

• 2 nights/week 2 weekends/month September – March
  • Possibility of spring/summer employment
• Weekend and Holiday availability
• Experienced winter enthusiast

Education:

• High school, college preferred.  Retirees are encouraged to apply.
• Up-to-date knowledge of current snow sports products and fitting techniques
• Merchandising and sales background preferred.
• Training will be provided

A deposit (payment for one participant on a team) is due August 31 to reserve an existing team spot for the 2019 Ski Challenge season!

NEW FOR THIS YEAR! – Earn Captain Points to receive a Captain’s Gift.  CAPTAIN POINTS CAPTAIN INFORMATION

Ski Challenge is always looking for new sponsors and advertisers.  If you are looking for a unique way to promote your goods or business, become a Ski Challenge Sponsor!

Ski Challenge sponsors benefit by being exposed to a great target market of like minded people.

Some of the basic benefits that sponsors get are:

• Ads in all printed and e-mail newsletters (provided by sponsor)
• Logo with link on all e-news sent out by Ski Challenge
• Listed on Ski Challenge Brochures
• Name on General Sponsor Page of website with link to your website
• Mention at League awards ceremony
• Mention for door prize give away at each week in leagues sponsored
• Allowed to distribute any literature at league events

Higher level sponsors get:

• Logo to appear on website league pages
• Logo to appear on league results posted on website
• Sponsor events and news promoted on Ski Challenge Facebook Page
• Logo on t-shirts (120+ per league)
• Logo on Bibs (120+ per league)
• Logo on Team Photos
• Logo on Running orders inside and outside and on website for all leagues sponsored
• Logo on indoor League banner for all leagues sponsored
• Logo displayed on banner(s) at Championships at Giants Ridge
• Logo in Newsletter under league standings
• Logo on Ski Challenge Vehicle and Trailer (pending vehicle sponsorship – no logos on vehicle if no vehicle sponsor)
• Logo on table toppers  and running orders for all leagues sponsored
• Logo on weekly result pages at hill, shops and website – for all leagues sponsored
• Outdoor banner hung up weekly (banner provided by you) – for all leagues sponsored

We offer five different levels of sponsorship.  Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Contributing sponsor levels.

Contact Barb at Ski Challenge at [email protected] or 952-894-9220 for more information.

Unfortunately, Buck Hill has decided to cancel our Friday night and Saturday morning leagues for the 2019 season. Friday nights have been cancelled due to the lack of meeting space for our check in and awards. Black Diamond wants to rent out the event center on Friday nights if possible and the Hutch is being used by the ski school. Saturday mornings, Black Diamond wants to rent out the event center and Buck Hill does not want a race on the hill on Saturdays.

Please consider joining our NEW Friday DAY league at Buck Hill. This league will be considered an All Age League and also a BONUS league. This means you get two runs in each course. Race time is 1 pm, with inspection at 12:30 pm. The event should wrap up by 3 pm.

Also, if you are a family or kid who enjoyed our Friday night league, please consider our Sunday PM league. This is an all age league that is also a bonus league. It starts at 5:15 pm. Course inspection at 4:45. We are usually all wrapped up by 7 pm.

We are disappointed that this has happened, but want to give everyone the heads up and options that are available.

We are contemplating and working with the Buck Hill race department to have some kind of practice/gate nights with timing on the four Friday nights in January. This is in the early planning stages and we will let everyone know if it will happen.

We had another successful Championships Weekend at Giants Ridge March 2-4.  The weather was fabulous and the conditions were awesome!  We had a total of 511 racer starts during the three days.  The Ski Challenge OPEN Team Race was held on Friday.  Divisional Team Racing was held on Saturday and Sunday.  And, the “King & Queen of the Hel” race was held on Saturday afternoon.  Scroll down to see more about each race.

Ski Challenge Friday OPEN Team Race on Innsbruck

“NoWax” team was the winner out of 17 teams again for the fourth year in a row!  The team included Scott Malmsten, Ken McAdam, Kristina Ammon, Pat Hiller,  Doug Nordmeyer, and Terry Lutz.  We had 96 participants in the race.  An awards ceremony was held Friday night at the new chalet next to the Burnt Onion Bar.

To see all results click here:

• OVERALL RESULTS
• TEAM RESULTS

TEAM RACING

Team racing took place on Saturday and Sunday of the Championships Weekend.  Divisions 2, 4 and 6 were on Saturday and Divisions 1, 3 and 5 were on Sunday.

Winning Teams: ALL RESULTS

Division 1:

1. RE/WAX – Buck Hill Wednesday DAY
2. Bud Bunch – Wild Mountain Sunday DAY
3. Shotskis – Wild Mountain Sunday DAY

Division 2:

1. RUdoneW/that? – Buck Hill Friday
2. The Karma Terrain – Buck Hill Wednesday DAY
3. The Gate Commandos – Buck Hill Sunday AM

Division 3:

1. Musskis – Buck Hill Monday
2. Buhler Blizzard – Buck Hill Sunday AM
3. The Naski Boyz – Buck Hill Wednesday PM

Division 4:

1.  The High Lifers – Buck Hill Thursday
2.  Jesters – Buck Hill Wednesday PM
3. The Cruzin Wild Bunch – Wild Mountain Sunday DAY

Division 5:

1. Bucket Boys – Buck Hill Sunday PM
2. Sitting Ducks – Buck Hill Wednesday PM
3. Rail Riders – Buck Hill Saturday

Division 6

1. The Rookies – Buck Hill Thursday
2. Ancient Ninjas – Buck Hill Thursday
3. Rock it Dawgs – Buck Hill Saturday

To see all results CLICK HERE

KING & QUEEN OF THE HEL RACE

This was the second year of the King and Queen of the Hel Race.  This race was open to all Ski Challenge members and non Ski Challenge members and is held on Helsinki.  We had 54 participants.  If you were a Ski Challenge member, we took your “rated Handicap” going into the race and compared what your earned handicap was in the race.  We then determined a % improvement (or un-improvement).  We crowned a King and a Queen of the Hel based on the best % of improvement.  We also gave prizes to the fastest racers in various age groups.

An awards ceremony was held on Saturday night in the new Chalet next to the Burnt Onion Bar.  Anika Hager was crowned Queen of the Hel.  Eddie Overholt was crowned King (for the second year in a row).  To see all the results for this race follow these links:

• OVERALL RESULTS BY %
• AGE GROUP RESULTS
• OVERALL BY HANDICAP EARNED

PHOTOS

To see photos from the weekend you can find links on our website here: PHOTOS.  Or you can find the photos on our facebook page here:  PHOTOS

Thanks to everyone for a great season!  It takes a lot of people, places, and moving parts to make everything work!  Mother Nature finally agreed with us this year by giving us Winter!  The conditions were good and the temps rarely went above 32 or below 0!  The on hill crews and Ski Challenge staff at Buck Hill and Wild Mountain worked hard to bring everyone a quality program for all abilities and race levels.

2017-18 By the Numbers

For the 2017 Preseason season we ended up with 218 racers starts.  We tried something different this past preseason by cutting back to two weeks of racing.  This avoided having to cancel the first week due to lack of winter weather and snow cover.  Cancelling the first week has been a trend for the last few years.  Starting the second week in December gave the ski areas time to get a good base and be ready for racing.  Unfortunately, we were unable to have a Wild Mountain preseason league.  There just was not enough participation to warrant the Ski Challenge Team format.  Wild Mountain did offer practice gates each Wednesday night in December for Ski Challenge racers.  Hopefully we can try again to have a pre-season league at Wild in December of 2018.

The total number of racer starts for our regular, seven week league series was 6,615.  This was number was up about 1% from the year before.

Ski Challenge helped put on the Padraig’s Place Ski Race benefit at Buck Hill on Saturday, February 10.  A total of 82 racers participated.

Giants Ridge hosted our end of the year Championships.  We had 361 racer starts in our Team Events.  96 participated in the Friday Ski Challenge Open race and 54 racers competed in the King & Queen of the Hel race.

Overall, the Ski Challenge submitted 7,276 results into NASTAR during the 2017-18 seasons.

What is Padraig’s Place?

Padraig’s Place is an adaptive ski program at Buck Hill.  It’s a local, non-profit organization that has come together with Buck Hill Ski and Snowboard School to provide a fun experience for skiers and snowboarders with both physical and cognitive disabilities.  Padraig’s Place provides an opportunity to experience winter fun in a safe, family friendly atmosphere. They are focused on having fun and giving all guests the opportunity to enjoy winter recreation.   Padraig’s Place tailors their lessons to suit the individual needs, creating the best memories again and again.

How Padraig’s Place began

Padraig is a young man from the Twin Cities whose family loves to ski.  A number of people believed that because of Padraig’s disabilities that he would not tolerate ski equipment or enjoy skiing.  His family believed he could and this year Padraig begins his 9th season of skiing.  For us “this is a family activity.  We couldn’t imagine not sharing the sport we love with both of our children, despite the challenges that we might face,” says Brian and Eileen Foley, founders of Padraig’s Place.  The success in getting Padraig on the snow was in large part due to the support and encouragement that the Foley’s received from the  Buck Hill Ski School.  They are thrilled to now be able to share this great winter activity with other families through the collaborative efforts of Padraig’s Place, a non-profit organization, and Buck Hill Ski and Snowboard Area.

Ski Race Benefit

Padraig’s Place is hosting the 10th Annual Ski Race Benefit on Saturday, Feb 10, 2018 at Buck Hill Ski Area of Burnsville, MN. Skiers and non-skiers are welcome to join in for a fun evening of ski racing along with a chance to honor Padraig’s Place’s participants, donors and supporters.

A Special Après Ski Party will follow with awards, special recognition, and a presentation on Padraig’s Place. This is a fun evening to give support to Adaptive Skiing at Buck Hill.

Go to padraigsplace.org/Ski-Race-Benefit or the Ski Challenge Website for more information.

Ski Challenge welcomes Walser Nissan as the new Vehicle Sponsor for our Buck Hill Leagues for the 2018 season!  Located just minutes from Buck Hill north on Buck Hill Road in Burnsville, Walser Nissan offers our Buck Hill racers a convenient location to shop for a vehicle.

When you stop by Walser Nissan Burnsville in Burnsville, you are treated to a new way of car-buying. The sales team is determined to pair you with the perfect new Nissan, or help you to browse the selection of used and Certified Pre-Owned Nissan models. Thanks to Walser’s Best Price upfront, you can spend less time haggling and more time test-driving the new or used sedan, SUV, truck or minivan that’s best suited for you.

If you’d like to keep your Nissan running well for years to come, stop by the Burnsville Nissan service center for routine maintenance like oil changes, brake inspections and other types of service. If you require more serious Nissan repairs, their factory-trained technicians can take care of that, too. They stock a variety of OEM Nissan parts to ensure that repairs to your vehicle are made in a timely manner. Walser Nissan is also well-equipped to service models of other makes, so you can be confident visiting us no matter what you drive.

Look for the Ski Challenge Nissan Rogue parked at Buck Hill (and at Wild Mountain) throughout the season!

For anyone interested in scoping out the new training facility, we will offer an Open House on Saturday 12/23 from 9:30am – 12ish.  Feel free to swing over and get a feel for the new location and new environment.

Also, on December 23rd we will have a Christmas Challenge posted on the white board.  Athletes will compete to finish the challenge in the fastest time.  Prizes will be given out to fastest times in each category.

NOTE:  You do not need to do the workout to attend the open house!

Saturday December 23rd
9:30am-12:00
1353 Larc Industrial Blvd, Burnsville, MN 55337

Whats happening?

After four years of growth Primal Power is moving facilities! The new facility is located less than one mile away at “The Cages” Facility. They have partnered with Northstar Baseball Club and will be leading the club’s sports performance and training program called Northstar Performance. This move will bring Primal Power a bigger space, a larger, more updated weight room, a more private atmosphere, and greater community outreach. The move is effective January 1, 2018. Primal Power is working diligently to make this transition as smooth as possible. For the near future prices and session times will be the same, as well as the online scheduling and payment. And of course, Jeff Meland will still be personally coaching every session! Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

Jeff Meland
Phone: 763-516-2823
Email: [email protected]