Free Lift Tickets

Holy Cow, Sunday River in Maine was open for skiing yesterday, Halloween.

Two Free Lift Tickets!
Jackson’s Ski Outlet in Easton, Mass. (www.jacksonsskioutlet.com) is offering two free lift tickets to Sunday River (valid until Christmas) to the first Ski Mail New England reader to ski in New England and report their findings back to me within 24 hours. Stay tuned for more free stuff. (And if you stop by Jackson’s please mention this newsletter.)

Here is a list of scheduled opening days:
Vermont: Jay 11/23, Okemo 11/17, Smuggler’s 11/23, Sugarbush 11/22
Maine: Sugarloaf 11/9, Sunday River 11/9
New Hampshire: Waterville Valley 11/17

Make a Fortune Skiing
Ok, that’s a lie. But you can make enough to pay for your equipment (especially since it will be discounted) by becoming a ski instructor. And best of all, you’ll become a better skier. Anyone in the Boston area who is interested should go to the Blue Hills Job Fair Nov. 24 (10am – 2 pm) or Nov. 27 (6 pm – 8 pm). (www.ski-bluehills.com) You don’t have to be a great skier, and you’ll get free weekly ski clinics from master ski instructors throughout the season for free. I’ve been teaching at Blue Hills for a few seasons now and find it’s a lot of fun. Instructors at Blue Hills range in age from 15-70+.

Here Comes the Snow
It’s officially November, the first month of the ski season in New England. To get ready, here are some tips from Jesus Vazquez, a Level III instructor:

“I like to recreate the moves and tactics we use in skiing when practicing other sports. Sports such as mountain biking give you similar skills as skiing and keep your aerobic and anaerobic systems working in preparation for ski season. Your visual skills are at the same time worked out.”

“Running in the woods is another sport that keeps your reflexes sharp and your engine going.”

“Lifting weights also will help reduce the risk of injury by strengthening your thighs, shoulders, abs and arms. It will also aid your coordination and will reduce the burning sensation we have when holding and edge, skiing bumps, etc.”

Get Your Kids Ready
One of the many benefits of skiing is that it gives you something to do with your kids once they reach their teens. (Here’s a tip, don’t take them out West until they’re 15-16 and they’ll really be psyched about going on vacation with you.)

Here are some more tips from master instructor Dick Paret, who you’ll find teaching kids at both Blue Hills and Killington:

“Start with checking out the equipment. Make sure the boots fit right and if too small do not buy new ones too big 'to try and get two seasons out of them'.”

“Check the skis (between sternum to chin height for the length), tune up with binding check. Very important for everyone to have a yearly certification of their ski bindings.”

“Encourage bike riding, skate boarding and rollerblading, swimming helps build endurance and flexibility. Take a hike with the family in the woods and hills of your favorite ski area now before the snow falls. See how different it looks, great fun and great exercise.”

Ski Clubs
And for those of you interested in discount ski trips and making new friends, Rich Higgins of Easton recommends joining a ski club. Rich has been to St. Anton in Austria with the Cape Cod Ski Club and had a great time. www.capecodskiclub.com He also recommends checking out the Boston Ski and Sports Club, which has a wider variety of trips, although he hasn’t been on any of those, yet. He’s seriously interested in their trip this year to Engelberg, Switzerland, this season. www.bssc.com

Hope to see you out there, and don’t forget to report back.