November 2024 Newsletter
This is the time when we start to see all of the reminders that this time of the year focuses on being thankful. I don’t need a calendar to put me in that mood and feel it, in every part of my life, through out the entire year.
In very large part 2024 has been filled with all things SWC, and for that I am thankful. The constant call to volunteer can leave us feeling that we just don’t do enough, but any amount of time spent supporting SWC activities is time very well spent.
Members assisted with picnic set up, members attended the quarterly meetings to learn and to offer suggestions, members offered their time and equipment so others could learn to safely paddle, members attended a weekend to learn the details of hosting at the Clubhouse and filled the hosted weekend calendar, members volunteered to staff the table at the ADK Expos, members volunteer their time, tools, equipment and skill to maintain and improve our Clubhouse, the Schaefer’s volunteer to serve us breakfast every Thanksgiving morning at Christman’s Preserve (95 years and counting), the Board members volunteer in ways tot numerous to list, and the list goes on.
Whether you have volunteered a lot or a little time to volunteer with SWC, to you I say “Thank you.”
My best to all.
Karen Simmons
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SWC Booking Software Update
The new reservation software is continuing to generate positive feedback. Please take a look at the user guide on the booking page of the SWC website to see step by step instructions to enhance your experience.
An important reminder - you only need to list the people in your party staying in your room. You do not need to list your name in all 10 guest slots on the form! Thanks for your help in this, as our program checks to make sure that the number of guests in the room matches the count of the names on the booking.
See SWCWEB.ORG for more information
Join SWC in Steamboat, CO, March 8 thru March 15, 2025
We realize thinking about ski trips in summer is like celebrating Christmas in July, BUT SWC has negotiated a truly awesome ski package to share with members interested in skiing out west!
You might even run into Billy Kidd, Olympic skier. See this video here.
Kidd lives in Steamboat Springs, CO, and serves as director of skiing for Steamboat Ski & Resort Corporation. During ski season, skiers and snowboarders can join Kidd for a daily free, on-mountain clinic when he is in town, at 1 PM at the top of the Steamboat gondola. Those who "ski with Billy Kidd" down the Heavenly Daze intermediate run get ski tips, and learn about what it's like to ski in the Olympics.
The total package cost of $2474 includes
GROUP AIRFARE - Have you seen the individual ticket prices lately? This trip will fly from Albany into Hayden airport in Steamboat Springs in prime season!
7 NIGHTS LODGING at The Ranch, a premium condo complex. Prices here start at $736 per night if you were to rent a condo for yourself. Guests can enjoy an array of features including an outdoor heated pool, hot tubs, a fitness center, full kitchen and a private shuttle to the mountain.
Don't have an IKON Pass?
Steamboat Resort is an IKON mountain, but there are discounted options available through this package. Regular full price daily lift tickets for March 2025 are $300 per day.
The SWC package offers discounted day passes - you have an option for day ski passes at $134 per day!
4 days - $538
5 days - $672
6 days - $806
What about meals?
Meals are not included in the package but The Ranch condos do offer a full kitchen which can be used to prepare breakfast, pack a lunch, and if you prefer, have a home-cooked dinner. The group leader will arrange for folks to be able to stock groceries.
Want to protect your trip in case of emergency?
Reasonably priced trip insurance from Travelex can be conveniently purchased through our trip.
Please look at the details using this link, and reserve your spot today, this trip is already filling up! Questions? Email Rick and put Steamboat in the subject line.
First Host Training Weekend a Success By Ellen Bidell
Fourteen people attended SWC's first Host Training Weekend at the clubhouse in Waterbury. They got a behind the scenes tour of the house and learned all about planning for a hosted weekend. It wasn't all work though, attendees participated in activities throughout the area. From the weekly farmers' market in Montpelier to hiking to Sterling Pond, from hard cider tasting at Cold Hollow to bike riding on the Recreation Path, everyone got out and enjoyed the outdoors.
Of course the food was a major attraction, with Mark G. as the weekend chef. He prepared great dinners, and surprised us with a few unique appetizers, including stuffed clams, scallops, and veal lollipops. Denise traveled into Canada and came back with a variety of cheeses and fixings, including the machine to prepare authentic raclette (melted cheese, potatoes, sausage, cornichons and french bread).
The bottom line: everyone who attended is going to host a weekend at the clubhouse this season. Times to be confirmed and once confirmed will be posted to the website.
Early Ski Season Clinic - Ann Falvey/Sam Elias
New Year’s Eve - Elyse Loughlin
Early January Family Weekend - Aline and Jim Flaherty
Midweek Adventures mid January - Denise Hobson
Martin Luther King - Mike and Kris Bergold
Paint and Sip late January - Natalie and Larry Dellivineri
February Break - John and Ellen Bidell/Cindy and Richard Westhoff
Fat Tuesday - Bryant George
Wine and Cheese Tasting Early March - John and Ellen Bidell
St. Patrick’s Day - Bryant George
Last Hurrah/Raclette Party in April - Denise Hobson/Sam Elias
Also - times to be determined: Quilting - Cindy Westhoff Paella Weekend - Mark Grassechi
Check the website soon for details on these events.
SWC Networks with Members at the ADK Expo
Lots of members and new visitors connected with SWC at the 2024 Adirondack Sports Expo held at the Albany Capital Center on Nov 2 and 3. SWC was one of several ski clubs that attended the show.
Our booth shared the history of the club through an automated slide show featuring old movies and pictures. Volunteers who greeted the show participants discussed skiing this season, and plans for more gatherings. The 90 year history of SWC and the Clubhouse continue to generate interest at the show.
Thank you to these volunteers: Bill and Karen Simmons, Don and Brenda Streed, Carl Sanner, Denise Hobson, Marc and Sandy Wegener, Pete and Nancy Weykamp, John Gillivan and Donald Hoffman.
On Learning to SkiBy Dorie Valenti
I was not quite 10 years old, so I don't remember much about learning how to ski except for a few vivid memories, and these involved taking instruction from a man who did not speak English. A significant advantage of learning to ski from someone who did not speak English was that he could not depend on logical explanations for anything he was trying to teach. He had to show me.
My instructor was Austrian; he taught me the Austrian method, which apparently meant walking on our skis on flat ground, sliding one ski back, sliding the other ski back, sliding the other ski back, and again, over and over. It wasn't long before boredom encouraged me to learn to skate on skis, and the Austrian and I skated along. He would stop and perform a kick turn, and likewise, so would I, sort of, and we would return from whence we came. Now, mind you, back in the day, as in my day when I was a little sprout in the early 60s, skis were very long, and kick turns required finesse, coordination, grace, and athleticism, none of which I possessed. I can't remember how many days I spent on flat ground perfecting my skills, but I remember the day I got to climb. After all the flat ground workouts, sidestepping came quickly. The kick turn on the hill posed a slight challenge, but after many tumbles, I got it okay, and up we went.
The Austrian showed me how to snow plow. We went down at an angle, always on the traverse, and when we got to the side of the trail, we would stop, do a kick turn, and traverse to the other side. On one of our runs, he taught me the snowplow turn; all I had to do was touch my boot with both hands, and YES! A perfect turn. The stem christie followed, as did the herringbone. We would herringbone up and stem christie down, and then my father decided that I was ready, that I was prepared for a ticket!
My father bought me a ticket for the rope tow.
I grabbed the rope, and —are you kidding me?!
Herringboning up the mountain was more manageable than holding onto this rope, so I let go, but my mittens stayed with the rope. Bare-handed, I strapped on my poles, faced the summit, and herringboned up, racing to the top, racing my mittens stuck to the rope. Sadly, my mittens won that day. I watched them whip around the pulley machine. I watched them going down on the return, mangled and hanging on by threads, passing me on their way down as I climbed up. My mittens lapped me; this is true, but this is also true; this would be the only time my mittens would beat me to the summit because, from my vantage point at the top of the rope tow, I saw the J-bar springing into action. If I played my cards right, yes, if I played my cards right, I knew my dad would buy me a J-bar ticket.
Our current Fall weather is providing many mild days for hiking or any outdoor activity of choice. November brings us an annual tradition of the Mohawk Valley Hiking Club. This year will be the 95th time that the hike thru Christman Preserve to the falls will be celebrated, with a pancake breakfast served by Jim, Kim, Michael and Mikayla Schaefer at the leanto.
Pancakes, sausage, maple syrup, coffee, hot chocolate and a warm fire will be waiting for every outdoor enthusiast who arrives from 8:30-10:00 on Thanksgiving morning. Parking is located on Schoharie Turnpike where the Christman Preserve trailhead is located. Breakfast will be served regardless of the weather.
Bill Simmons