Ski West Mountain
The official blog of Ski West Mountain. Your source of the latest information regarding mountain updates, snow reports, upcoming events, and much more!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Farewell Winter
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Better Late Than Never!
Sunday, February 26, 2012
March Madness
West Mountain - circa 1970 |
Monday, February 20, 2012
Presidents' Weekend & Upcoming Events
Ski West Mountain had an extremely fun filled Presidents’ Weekend and we hope you did too! Our annual Fire on the Mountain celebration was a huge success last Friday. The lodge was packed with people dancing the night away to live music from The Audiostars, The Switch, and Rich Ortiz which was accompanied by a beautiful torchlight parade down the mountain. The following night was also a hit with our first snowmobile event of the season. Riders had access to a designated trail and were ecstatic to finally get their sleds on the snow. But no worries, the mountain was groomed immediately afterwards and the snow is in good condition! Our snowmobile series will continue this Saturday 2/25 with our 2nd family friendly Snowmobile Night Under The Lights and on 3/10 with Uphill Drag Races. Looking into March, we will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with our Diggin’ For Gold event on 3/17 where people will be able to dig through a huge mound of snow in search of prizes such as lift tickets, a helicopter ride, limo ride, restaurant gift certificates, season passes to the Great Escape, & much more! You can always check our website, Facebook, Twitter, and blog for more information on upcoming events. Lastly, don’t forget that our tubing park is open everyday this week for the school break (2/20 - 2/24) from 10am - 9pm. We hope to see you soon!
Monday, February 13, 2012
POV Skiing: How Technology is Revolutionizing The Ski Experience
Remember when the only way to capture your skiing adventures was by taking a mental snapshot and through reliving those legendary moments with friends over a few drinks at the bar? Telling the same stories year after year, only each time that jump you hit gets 10x bigger and better? Well those days are no longer. Thanks to technology we can relive those moments not only in our minds, but also scene for scene all with the click of a button. Whether it's carving up the mountain, catching huge air, finding a secret powder stash, shredding some glades, or one of your pals taking a fall; you can now capture it all on camera.
It first began in the 2000s when digital cameras and camera phones put the power of photography into the hands of the masses and pockets of skiers across the world. Now a decade later technology has outdone itself once again and brought us tiny, waterproof, windproof, shock proof, mountable cameras that are designed for capturing those moments that once only lived in our memories. It's become commonplace to see people on the mountain with these cameras strapped to their helmets, boots, skis, poles, and many other creative locations. Every day thousands of photos and videos are uploaded from skiers and boarders across the globe who want to share their snowy adventures with the rest of world.
GoPro Hero HD 2 |
Before taking to the slopes I created my own makeshift ski pole mount and it has worked out absolutely wonderfully! The pole mount provides a lot of versatility in filming and allows for fluent angle changes and the ability to capture views that would otherwise be hard to capture. What really surprised me was the stability provided by the pole mount, which I believe was greatly due to the way I attached the mount to my pole. I found this video pretty helpful for making my ski pole mount How To Make A Pole Mount For Self Filming. If you have a similar type of camera and have only used it as a helmet cam I highly recommend playing with different angles and mounts in order to really capture your mountain experience, and I promise you'll be as happy as I was.
3) Instead of trying to capture an image using the single photo button or burst, it's easier to snag a STILL IMAGE from the video rather than try to push the button at the absolute perfect time. The quality won't be as great but it was still be pretty darn good and you won't be frustrated when you miss the perfect shot.
4) HAVE FUN. Don't get too caught up in filming that it takes away from the real reason you're on the slopes. Remember, you spent at least an hour getting ready for the day, driving to the mountain, and putting on all this ridiculous winter gear for these reasons; to have fun and enjoy the exhilarating sport of skiing and the beauty of being in nature.
If you have any tips, suggestions, thoughts, pictures, or videos of your own, please feel free to share them in a comment on this page, or on Facebook, or Twitter...we're always listening and love checking out cool media.
For now, here's a small selection of some of the pictures I've taken so far this season. All of the photos are still shots from video and none have been edited or retouched. Enjoy!
~ Erika Nash
Bluebird days are the BEST! |
Snowmaking. The only thing that got us through this extremely sad Winter |
Love my Stocklis, especially when they're in the air |
Messing around with the pole mount and having fun of course |
Pole Mount Angle...not the best skiing in this shot but it represents the angle I was talking about |
An end to a great day...always remember to have fun! |
~ Erika Nash
Mountain Update ~ 2/13
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Given up on Winter? We Haven't!
2/14 - ST. VALENTINE'S FEAST
Bring your sweetheart to The Westside Grille this Valentine's Day for a romantic dinner with carefully selected entrees & hand made desserts. Seating is booking quickly so please call 518.793.6606 Ext. 308 to reserve your table.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Special Olympics 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Mountain Update 1/23- Fresh Snow and More Trails!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Mountain Update & Forecast
Although Mother Nature has been keeping the snow all to herself we’ve had another successful week here at West Mountain! Our snowmakers have been making snow whenever possible to keep our skiers and riders happy despite the unseasonable temperatures. It was great to see many familiar faces back on the hill for the start of our weekly lesson program last weekend and we were also happy to host Goldstock’s Demo Day. We currently have 4 trails, 4 lifts, and 4 lanes of our tubing park in operation with machine groomed packed powder surface conditions and a base depth of 16-28 inches. We will continue to make snow weather permitting and hope to open more terrain as soon as possible including the terrain park in its new location on the Banister. There is a chance of snow all weekend long so do a snow dance, wear your pajamas inside out and backwards, or do whatever it is you do to conjure up a good old fashioned snow storm!