Downhill Race To Save Winter

vintage-ski During a recent conversation with a fellow skier, I mentioned my dire concern that climate change has derailed winter. Last year, my internal snow globe geared up as the temps dropped -- skis tuned, fluffed up the down and kept the backpack ready to go at the first dusting.

No snow.

Same routine this year.

Snow!

But in my neck of the woods, the Catskill Mountains saw ski conditions that were just horrible. The mountain terrain for much of the season was mostly man-made snow cover on a thin natural base. This equates to dangerous ski conditions. The mountains were dotted with ice chunks the size of small cars. Bare spots with exposed rocks were interspersed among grassy craters. In February, local ski areas started closing during the week.

My friend said, “What’s a few degrees here and there? I’m not retiring the skis yet. You'll see, winter will come back with a vengeance next year.”

Save Winter

Skiers, snowboarders and the ski industry depend on powdery frozen water, but snow sport enthusiasts all over the world can no longer expect a long “freestyle” winter's ride.

According to a survey taken by the National Ski Areas Association, last year’s warm weather and low snowfall dropped visitors to ski resorts by almost 16%, the sharpest decline in more than 30 years. At least 11 of the nation’s 486 resorts went out of business. The survey concluded that “long-term  climate change” was a factor.

Protect Our Winter was formed to save winter:

"Protect Our Winters mission is “to engage and mobilize the winter sports community to lead the fight against climate change. Our focus is on educational initiatives, activism and the support of community-based projects.”

I asked Protect Our Winter Executive Director, Chris Steinkamp what's up with the weather, and why it is so urgent to curb climate change now:

"I always say that what’s outside our window is weather, not climate. To accurately assess climate change, you need to look at the long term trends. The last decade was the warmest on record for example, and 2012 was the warmest on record in the US. Experts also say that with climate change will come some extreme weather in form of floods, tornados and snowstorms. As the weather warms  though, that snow will be rain. Be glad that its snowing today, but take a long look at the problem."

Are winter sports headed for a chilly crash landing? Please read my interview with Chris HERE and find out what you can do to help protect winter.

Photo: Vintage ski poster

Stay Fit (video)

In my last post, I rode the New York Times yoga wave, which is now drowned out by opposing sides duking it out. Of course, I'm not anti-yoga. As my kids can attest to when we were skiing a few weeks ago, I'm just a lot more cautious with my body as I get older.

Did you know I won a Nastar ski race the year I turned 50? It was my first (and only) official wind in your face, slippery, downhill ski race. At the time, I was in pretty good physical shape. I won a gold medal and never had to don any spandex. Yay!

Fessing up...a friend told me there were no women over 50 that had entered the race that day and I would get a huge handicap if I signed up. I've never been so scared in my life. But I did finish the race (without falling and killing myself), and I cherish my little gold pin.

I thought I would never be in racing shape (ha!) again until I saw this video on the Lines Of Beauty blog. The video of a 95 year old ballet dancer, shot on Fire Island, captures the secret and beauty of staying fit.

My friend Maia from julia warr on Vimeo.

Photo: Vintage Ski Poster

DIY Eco-Gifts For The Skier/Snowboarder On your Holiday List

Around here, "'Tis the season" also means, it's time to hit the slopes. We just love winter sports and we all ski and snowboard. What we don't love is the pricey equipment, and an industry that generally gets a thumbs down for eco-friendliness.

Ski, snowboard and skateboarding paraphernalia tends to be highly technical, but damaged skis, snowboards and skateboards make great materials for DIY projects.

When my son was a teenager, skateboards ruled. We created this skateboard bench from a skateboard that he didn't want to toss. The board had seen a fine street life, but it was ready for retirement. With a few screws and four hairpin legs, we upcycled the skateboard into a bench. This is a picture of the underside of the bench (Jimi Hendrix always rules).

Green Mountain Ski Furniture recycles old skis and snowboards into ski furniture in the same manner we did with the skateboard. They provide DIY kits to make chairs, benches, tables, and racks from your old discarded skis or snowboards.

Note about the main image: That is me skiing at Whistler. I have no idea how I made it down that mountain. I went around the turn and I was petrified - it was so steep. Photo: Recycled Skis