Posts tagged skiing
Skiing the Fluid H20
012 months ago
by Eric Hoffman
in video
I’d read about this guy the other day and just stumbled upon a video of him “skiing” the Jaws surfbreak in Maui. I’m not much of a surfer, but isn’t it tough to ride a wave without being able to see it really? I mean, you have to turn your head all the way around to see what the wave is doing and that doesn’t seem too natural. Take a look and let me know what you think:
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Wonderful Weekend on the Slopes
01 year ago
by Eric Hoffman
in family
Even though I managed to swing by my desk at work both on Saturday and Sunday this past weekend, it was well worthwhile. On Saturday, I snuck in by myself and got in a bunch of great early season turns on freshly opened terrain that included several shots of days old, but still fun, powder.
Little k on Crescent Lift on the way up!
On Sunday, my wife was feeling a bit under the weather so I got to take our 3 1/2 year old up to the mountain for some skiing all by myself. A completely different experience from the day before but just as fun and even more rewarding. Who else has had some great times at skis or snowboard so far this season?
A great testimonial for skiing – from the Pope!
01 year ago
by Eric Hoffman
in article
As the 2010-2011 Winter Season drew near, Pope Benedict XVI, gave a rather ringing endorsement for the sport we love as he spoke to a group of ski instructors, saying that, “Your commitment as Ski instructors helps to stimulate some capabilities, such as consistency in pursuing goals, respect for rules, and tenacity in overcoming difficulties”. See this article that I found on the Vatican Radio website for more on what the Pope said about skiing and sport.
Certainly a nice way to start the season with such lofty words, all I can say is let’s head out and make some turns!
Photo credit: Flickr user Catholic Westminster
Skiing (or snowboarding) = Happiness
21 year ago
by Eric Hoffman
in article
There’s a recent article in the NY Times called, “But Will it Make you Happy?” which describes people who’ve cut way back on their consumption and focused on paying down their debt and living for experiences and not for material possessions. In buying a possession we get only a momentary “buzz” when we first use the item, but then over time we become acclimated to it and need to buy something else to get our fix. For this reason, the article postulates that experiences provide us more happiness in that they,
provide a bigger pop than things is that they can’t be absorbed in one gulp — it takes more time to adapt to them and engage with them than it does to put on a new leather jacket or turn on that shiny flat-screen TV.
A few year ago I read a lovely book called, “The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World
I wonder if ski resorts could do a better job of appealing to this side of our visitors in our marketing efforts? After all, a ski trip is definitely an experience that people will remember and yearn for well after they return home. There are many tools available to do such a thing ranging from social networks to more traditional CRM techniques. In the meantime, ask yourself this, what = happiness for you?
Photo credit: Flickr user Martina Rathgens
Work is fun and fun is working
02 years ago
by Eric Hoffman
in video
I attended the opening day of Media Post’s Email Insider Summit this past Monday and while I wish I had the time to attend the next two days, just getting to one day of this event made for a fantastic experience. The presentations ranged from actionable and insightful data to visions of where email marketing is heading to discussions of how the post-college generation uses media. But, part of the MPEIS is not just the information coming from the front of the room it is also connecting with other attendees and learning from those interactions – in addition to making great new connections. I managed to do some really good networking (in my preferred manner) and I’d like to share the video I made while doing it:
After getting home from this busy day and crashing onto our couch, I found myself asking, “is what you do fun and do you still have fun doing it?” Guess how I replied? I said, “YES!” What about you?
By the way, for a much better summary of what went on at the Email Insider Summit, with much more detail and insights, be sure to visit the Media Post Raw Blog.
Cat Skiing with Park City Powder Cats
62 years ago
by Eric Hoffman
in review
I skied with Park City Powder Cats about four or five years ago. I’ve been meaning to get back out again for some time now and today was finally the day! I was a bit leary as we drove out this morning, partly because it hadn’t snowed much for the past week and also because the day was starting out cloudy without any blue sky poking out anywhere. However, once we pulled into the cabin in the beautiful Thousand Peaks Ranch, that serves as the base camp for the Park City Powder Cats, I started to get a good vibe – helped along no doubt, by the views of the magnificent bowls that we’d soon be riding!
After a quick safety briefing from lead guide Johnny, some tasty muffins and a last minute shot of coffee, we clambered into our chariot for the day, ably driven by Jacon, along with our two guides Megan and Jason. Dropping into Giant Steps for our ‘warm up’ run, we all could sense that this would turn out to be a great day. The wind had been whipping along the ridge before we dropped in, but once we started making turns we enjoyed a healthy serving of a few inches of fresh Utah powder piled upon a nice and supportable base.
After this first run, our guides seemed to be happy with our riding abilities and we quickly moved into territory that was steeper and deeper. That along with a clearing sky made the day zoom past. By the time we were snacking on a few delicious cookies for desert and heading out to No Name Bowl for our last run, the clouds were again closing in, but with all the blue sky, powder – and some corn that we got to play in all day, it almost seemed a fitting close to have the skies darkening again.
As I sit on my couch relishing the great day, I wanted to jot down a couple of quick tips for anyone thinking of booking a cat skiing trip:
- If it hasn’t snowed for a few days prior to your trip, don’t worry. There is lots of terrain at snowcat operations. For instance, Park City Powder Cats has over 40,000 acres of terrain in the private ranch that they operate on. Since they only run a maximum of two cats per day with each cat making from 8-12 runs per day, their terrain can offer virgin powder runs for days and sometimes even weeks after a storm!
- Try to book with a group of friends if you can, because cat skiing is an experience that is best when shared.
- A day in a snowcat can usually beat a heli day (for a fraction of the cost). You can’t ground a snowcat due to weather – you realize that it’s cloudy when it snows?! The snowcat will often beat you down to the bottom of the run and since it’s only for your group, you can leave packs and other items in the cat for the ride back up. Plus, you can get about as much skiing and riding in with a snowcat as you can with a helicopter because your day usually lasts longer and is more uninterrupted.
- Snowcat trips are also not just for hardcore skier and riders, if you feel comfortable riding advanced terrain in a variety of conditions, you’ll have an absolutely fantastic time. Remember, there are no crowds on the slopes and no lift lines!
Finally, for some ‘eye candy’, I’ve embedded a slideshow with pix of our trip below:
Back on the slopes!
03 years ago
by Eric Hoffman
in article
Hooray – I got in two runs yesterday morning on our opening day at Park City Mountain Resort. They weren’t full length runs, as I was up with our videographer (great video by Erik Hutchins) and also had a camera and was taking some photos myself (BTW the guy on the right side of this photo has struck the same pose two years running). But it was great to get some sliding in and satisfy myself that the season is ‘officially’ on!
In truth, this has been a slow starting winter for us and much of the Rocky Mountain region. We’ve had unseasonably warm weather and little snow, which leads to a bit of a challenge for a resort marketer, particularly in today’s challenging economic times. At least with the resort open, we now have a positive and tangible message to start putting out, I just hope it snows (a lot) and soon – see you on the slopes!
Photo credit: Me, shot for Park City Mountain Resort
Skiing as clarity
13 years ago
by Eric Hoffman
in article
A few weeks ago, I read a blog post by Christopher S. Penn titled “Choking in Clarity”, that resonated with me. In his post, Chris describes being on the receiving end of a choke technique as a time for absolute clarity of focus. While I’ve never been one for martial arts (or choke techniques for that matter) his description of absolute clarity of focus led me to ponder if there were a time that I find myself entering into a similar plane of consciousness…
Well, a main reason that I work in the ski industry is that I love the experience of sliding down a mountain on two planks, to be precise, I telemark. And like many skiers or snowboarders, the best part of skiing for me, is riding down a mountain blanketed in large quantities of light, fluffy and untracked Utah powder (shameless plug inserted right there). The thing about skiing in powder is that the feelings are so intense that you do literally lose track of everything but the pure and wonderful moment that you are in. I can’t come close to breaking out the sensations individually, but it’s simply something that I crave. And when I’m skiing in that perfect thigh deep powder with snow billowing up to my sh*t eating grin, all the while giggling like my little girl, all I can think about is the next perfect turn to the next perfect turn to the next…and I experience my absolute clarity of focus.
By the way, I’m more than happy to let you keep your choke techniques Christopher, but boy I do love your description and idea of a moment of absolute focus. 
