April's Newsletter (click here)

This was an unusual ski season for Gelandesprung and for the resorts in the Rocky Mountain range. We planned our January trip to Telluride over a year ago.  The strike by Telluride ski patrol caused us to cancel the contract a few days before our departure date. It was a good decision. Although the strike ended two days prior to our planned arrival, the mountain was not fully open the week that we would have been skiing.

The Trip committee considered all options. First, we decided to go to an Epic pass resort so that our trippers would be able to use the passes that they purchased.  As we considered Epic sites, we ran into the problem of not being able to find lodging in the Summit County areas or other areas that we considered. The exception was Telluride, the week of March 21 to 28.  That, combined with the fact that a survey of people that signed up for the January trip indicated they would prefer Telluride.

We had 30 people on our trip to Telluride. The heat and drought affected ski resorts throughout the U.S.  Rocky Mountains. We had 122 runs open on the Sunday after arrival. By the end of skiing on Saturday, we were down to 42 runs open. In spite of these conditions, I never heard a significant complaint. Everyone I talked to was making the best of the situation and enjoying the hell out of the runs that were available.  We had a blast, mostly skiing until 1:00 to 3:00 depending on personal choice.

With Telluride behind us, we will be working on our trips for next year. Our plan is to have two western trips.  One will be our week-long trip to Whitefish Montana, early in March. Many of our members will choose to ride the train to enjoy the scenery and a lower travel cost. The other trip will be shorter, starting about February 6 or 7.  The shorter trip will have lower costs and will require less time away from work. We are evaluating a trip to Ogden Utah but it will be a couple of months or more before the details of the location, etc. are set.

We also need to reconsider our Midwest trips. Bussing cost is very high. We would like your ideas for the type of Midwest trips you would consider going on. We will look into driving on your own to resorts along with other travel options besides a bus.

Our Spring Banquet/annual meeting will be a good time for you share your ideas with us.  Now is the time to sign up. The date is April 10.  We ask that you have your signup from the newsletter sent to us by April 3. If you are a little behind, check in with Pia Heldt at Social@Gelandesprung.org

We will also have our elections for Treasurer and Vice President. There will be an opening since Scot Wederquist will be leaving the Board. Scot has been very helpful helping us manage corporate considerations for our club. Please consider helping your ski club. It is a good opportunity for you to influence our decisions and to help the club choose activities and trips that our members will appreciate.

Wishing you all the best this spring,

Tom Piette