We’re just days away from the start of our next NAASF Ski Week in Winter Park, CO. I don’t know of the last time a NAASF event was held in WP. I’m looking forward to revisiting the resort. The forecast is calling for a little bit of snow mid-week. And rumor has it that a weather system might bring some good snowfall amounts while we’re there!
Here’s an “off piste” itinerary for the week…I’ll update the daily racing and training itinerary on our website, WhatsApp community and Facebook page each morning.
*Sunday, 1630- ? – Super Bowl watch party- Hideaway Park Brewery (limited space available)
if you are turned away, call me. We’ll have room for you at our condo watch party.
*Monday, 1800 to 2300 – Welcome Party – West Portal/Derailer Bar
*Tuesday, 1000 to 1600 – Fireball Fun Race – Lower Parkway
I’m not sure what this is about. But, it might involve Fireball…so, I figure that it’s gonna be fun.
*Tuesday, 1830-2000 Team Dinner Hernando’s Pizza Pub. It’s on US40 towards Fraser. 20 minutes on the bus. But, we’ll have several cars we can load up. Let’s coordinate via our WhatsApp community to get everyone there and back. Check out their photo gallery. This place looks fun. Bring your dollar bills to sign and leave on the walls. Shout out to Cayla Newkirk for her wonderful work securing this venue!
*Wednesday, 1800 to 2300 – Theme “Tiki Night” party – West Portal/Derailer Bar
*Thursday, ?-? – The Tuck Party – Utah Junction “C-Lot” parking lot. Located next to Challenger ski lift. Beer and hot dogs all afternoon.
I call these a “condo clean out party” We’ll also accept “parking lot pot luck” Bring all of your leftover sharable food. It’s fun, laughs and camaraderie in the great outdoors…aka…tailgating.
A quick review; Palisades, Lake Tahoe
We enjoyed 4 sun filled days with beautiful views of Lake Tahoe. Some highlights of the week are;
Two new “Member Emeritus” coins were awarded to Paul Madsen and Roger Brutto who were officially inducted upon their retirement from Southwest Airlines. I’ll just point out that Roger is also our first recipient that is not a pilot. He’s a fellow AMT like myself… Or, at least he’s a retired AMT now. Congratulations to Paul and Roger. Enjoy your well earned retirement!
We had a few racers in Palisades, Danny Caccia was our lone podium finisher with his third place finish in the men’s snowboard race. Newcomer Andrew Brown grabbed a respectable 12th place with Kevin O’Brien getting 20th. Roger and yours truly were further down the list.
We had a whopping two women on the race hill for us, Renee Sandell finished 11th in the B slalom and a 9th place finish in the B giant slalom. Newcomer Terisa Estacio braved the course for her first time ever and grabbed a 24thn place finish!
A few more guys were out in the icy race course… Another Member Emeritus recipient Bruce Powers was our lone A racer finishing 12th in the slalom and 16th in the GS. In the B slalom we saw Fritz Moyer get 8th, Tony Arcoleo 35th and Fred Landau 39th. Then in the B GS these 3 finished 10th, 30th and 38, respectively.
In the Newcomer’s Race, Brandon Hansen grabbed a respectable 4th place finish. Dick Trumbo took 13th, Terisa Estacio 24th with the Brain’s (Wooley and Handy) finishing 26th and 30th.
In the overall points standings… we’re pretty much done for the season. In each discipline we’re near a mathematically impossible deficit. We’re currently 5th in the NAASF Cup, 5th also in our efforts to retain Shredder’s Cup. And a distant 7th for the Bob Powers Cup…
…did I mention that there will be a Fireball Fun Race in Winter Park? That’s how “glass half full” I am!!
We had a great time in Palisades! Nearly 40 of us joined in the 260+ in attendance. Lots of familiar faces with several first time attendees, we sure hope you enjoyed yourselves. And we really want you to come back!
The 2026 No-Brainer at Brighton, Utah.
Skiing and snowboarding like we like it…no plans, no itinerary and no registration fees! We’ll be at my favorite resort February 22nd through the 25th. We’ll actually find a few group activities. We tailgated in sub-zero temps last year..it was the karaoke that kept us warm, along with spiked apple cider and grilled cheese sandwiches.
Join us for a day or two. We might still have room in our Brighton Chalet for one or two more.
The 65th World Airlines Ski Championships, Kitzbuhel, Austria
There’s over 50 of us signed up to conquer the Hahnenkamm. You still have time to join us. You should see our Team costumes!! Email me for more info!
Telluride Ski Week
Yeah…it’s cancelled. It was literally the week following Kitzbuhel. Many of us will still be touring Europe during that week. But, it wasn’t just the bad timing. It was also the inability of the mountain to accommodate our requests for a condensed racing schedule. This involved more scheduling conflicts with Telluride’s closing week festivities. Another major factor was a change of ownership at the Telluride Conference Center, where our evening events were to take place. The new ownership was reluctant to adjust their cost. So, we decided to cut our losses before actually losing anything. Telluride isn’t gone forever. We’ll try again with the help of our local friends in T-Ride.
Be sure to check our website for new info. As always, feel free to send me any questions. I’ll see you in Winter Park!