Mardi Gras Weekend

My friends and I
all dressed up at Ice Bar

This past weekend was Mardi Gras and Winter Carnival and it is one of my favourite traditions at Holiday Valley. Holiday Valley begins to prepare weeks in advance for the festival with the construction of the infamous ice bar, snow sculpture, and decorating.  The festival kicks of Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Holiday Valley is a family resort and offers all kinds of activities for all ages.  My friends and family like many people who attend go all out and dress up. 

I love this weekend and this year was amazing. The weather was spectacular and perfect for skiing and a BBQ slope-side. As I arrived to Ellicottville late Friday I knew I better rest up because the weekend would be a busy. I woke on Saturday to less then desirable weather, but I wasn't going to let a little snow rain on my parade, and nor would Holiday Valley. We quickly gathered our ski clothes, packed out lunched, and grabbed our beads and were off to she ski hill.

This is a huge weekend for the resort so I recommend to anyone that plans to join us next year, arrive early! Parking fills up quickly and the walk to the lodge can get very long. We arrived early, saved our favourite table on the deck of Yodeler Lodge and went out to make some runs.

My friend Jillian and I

Skiing was fabulous and it's always nice to get out and make some runs with family and friends. By 12:30 we all decide that the hills are getting very busy and its time for a cold beer and a hot  dog. 
We head back to our table and check out the Ice Bar. 
Holiday Valley never ceases to amaze me. They put on an amazing weekend with music, face painting, games, dummy downhill, costume contest and parades down the hill. 

I recommend to all of you, if you're thinking about coming to Ellicottville be sure to check out their weekend events and join us next year for Mardi Gras.

See you on the slopes;
Joanna


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Skiing Withdrawl

Photo from Holiday Valley*

As I return from my reading week vacation in Florida I am left with that feeling that something is missing. Getting of the plane was not only shockingly frigid cold, but it also left me feeling at home. I love the sun, sand, and warm air but nothing beats a cold snowy day where you can hear the crunch of the snow beneath your boots.  This week I thought I'd share some insight into snow, and snowmaking. 
HolidayValley is setting the bar across the eastern ski resorts by investing $10 million in their snow making system.  This snowmaking system is an air/water system that consists of 475 tower guns, 50 ground guns, and 560 hydrants.

So what makes ideal snow making conditions? “According to Steve Crowley, Director of Mountain Operations and former head of Snowmaking, it is 18 degrees wet bulb with about a 10 to 15 mile per hour wind from the west and frozen ground.”* 

Photo from Holiday Valley*

For those of you not in the snowmaking business wet bulb temperature is the measurement of surrounding temperature that includes the cooling effect the humidity in the air allows for. The amount of water in the air affects the degree of evaporation. Dryer air leads to more cooling.

Holiday Valley is continuing to practice sustainable initiatives and this includes their snow making capabilities.  They take the water from their 64 million gallon Spruce Lake as well as their various ponds on their golf course. They also installed in 2013 put in HKD energy saving Tower Impulse guns that allow them to adjust for the weather. 

Now that my tan is starting to fade, I am excited to get back on the slopes this weekend and enjoy the last month of skiing. If you can make it out to your local ski hill don’t forget to consider the snow your skiing on.

Bundle up,
Joanna

Check out the video below of the Holiday Valley Snowmakers hard at work on a cold night.

*cited

•  http://www.holidayvalley.com/explore-our-mountain/snowmaking-at-holiday-valley#.UxXbWoI-PLg  
• http://instagram.com/holidayvalley