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 

2014 Olympic Mania

Olympic mania has begun.  The 2014 games have begun in Sochi Russia and I Olympic mania has begun. The 2014 games have begun in Sochi Russia and I couldn’t be more excited. Again life gets in the way of me being able to camp out at home and watch the winter Olympic games. I could spend weeks talking about the Olympics, but I don’t want to get sidetracked from my main event and Canada’s Gold medal event, Freestyle skiing mogul competition. 
Freestyle skiing has been in the Olympics since 1992.  It once included moguls, aerials, and ballet. In 1994 ballet skiing was dropped from the Olympic games and moguls and aerials remained an olympic sport. 

 Canada's freestyle team was said to be the team to beat, and the critics were right.The Canadians placed first and second in both the men and women freestyle mogul event.  The women’s event was first and Canada had two sisters on the podium. Justine Dufour-Lapointe placed first and her sister Chloe Dufour-Lapointe came in right behind her in second.  Over in the men’s mogul event Alex Bilodeau defended his gold medal with fellow Canadian Mikael Kingsbury close behind in second.
I grew up in the moguls and have such a respect for these athletes.  The training they endure is not only intense but can also be very dangerous. Mogul skiing can also take a great toll on your body and these athletes have pushed through the pain to represent Canada in the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. I couldn't be more proud to be a Canadian and a mogul skier. 

Let the games continue. 

GO CANADA GO

-Joanna

Friday, Friday, Friday

Another Friday has arrived and I am itching to get out the door and on the road. 

My trusty Jetta Candy. I think she needs a car wash!

Before I start I should give you some background on where I ski.  My home mountain is in the small town of Ellicottville, NY called HolidayValley, which is, an hour and half from where I live and go to school. So when Friday finally rolls around I can’t wait to get out the door to brave Mother Nature and hit the road.  It is common for me to drive through whiteouts and sometimes I am forced to take the back roads because the main highways are closed due to weather conditions.  I am sure you all know the saying, "rain or shine" well mine has become "snow or shine". If I don't have any homework, group projects, or family chores I am out the door running on Friday afternoons. This week I am free to hit the road early.

The rush isn't to get there to ski Friday night, the rush is to get there to see all of my friends and family. We always cook an amazing dinners, drink some great wine and get to bed early, because tomorrow morning we separate the skiers from the lodgers. Its always a competition to who will be out the door first? Now I won't say I am always out the door first, it all depends on the night before, I won't lie, but I am out the door first 75% of the time.

This week I am not only rushing to get Ellicottville but I am also on my way to the airport to pick up my godmother, who is coming in from Chicago for a weekend of skiing. 
Well I better hit the road. I hope you all make time for the things you love.
-J

My name is Joanna, and I am a Skier.

My name is Joanna and I have an addiction, I am a skier.  I am told the first step is admitting you have problem.  I have been skiing since I was two years old, and there is nothing I love more in life then a sunny winter day with lots of snow.  This blog will highlight not only my passion for skiing and the lifestyle but also all the different kinds of skiing available. 

My dad and I at age 4 at Holiday Valley Resort (Ellicotville, NY)

First, I should explain how I became so consumed with this winter sport. It all started when I was two years old and my father strapped me to a pair of skis. It wasn’t long after that I knew I was hooked.  I went on to take lessons and join many different teams.  Downhill is the type of skiing I do now but I used to race, freestyle, free ride (halfpipe and park), and cross-country ski.  Skiing is such a complex sport; even after all these years I am nowhere near a master.

As you can tell I love skiing, but sadly I am forced to get a job and move out of my parent’s house. So this year I decided to go back to school to help meet these societal standards. I am currently enrolled at Niagara College in the Graduate Public Relations Program, and I think I’ve come up with the perfect future plan.  I will get a job at a ski resort doing PR…

Thanks for joining me on this adventure of trying to balance my obsession with real life.

Lets make some turns

– Joanna