Volume 9 - Is spring season the start or the end? DISCUSS THIS FEATURE HERE 23rd April 2003 Page 1 of 2 (page 2 here)

Wow, has it ever been an exciting white season! In my humble opinion, there’s enough ongoing drama at a winter resort each white season to keep even soap opera hounds happy - only now am I beginning to have the opportunity to reflect on all that has happened over the past six months. As I begin once again to take every other Sunday off (at time of writing) for the first time since autumn of last year, my mobile phone is quieter, temperatures warmer, snow is softer, and the days are longer. What is happening?
  

Now that time has passed, I can confess that at the start of this white season (in December of 2002) I was worried about snow, the economy and Iraq (at the time all were possible forms of turbulence for the white season). The season up until now has been respectable, if not outstanding, for snow. The economy, both domestic and international, has seen better days. Unfortunately there was also the war in Iraq to contend with as well and the “CNN effect” it wrought. While outside the scope of this column, current events have altered the flight path this season for ARAI, to the extent that we had to cancel an international event that was to be held in honor of the late Prince Takamado.
  

How do people handle air turbulence? On an airplane, each passenger seems to have a variety of ways (good and bad). At a snow resort however, the answer to dealing with resort-based turbulence - whatever it may be - is to go skiing or boarding! It really is incredibly therapeutic, no matter what your winter blahs are made of. I had the fortune to hit the slopes twice about three weeks apart recently (the first time was during the peak season and then again during the spring). The two outings, in addition to being great fun, provided further insight into how quickly Mother Nature can change conditions on a mountain. Read on to find out how those two ventures panned out…

   
You can just imagine what it is like working at a snow resort. On days when all of the elements are cooperating during the white season, as you approach the mountain in the morning (if your job does not happen to be on the actual mountain), it is very easy to think to yourself - I would really like to get out on those slopes today… Well, in the middle of March the opportunity arose, I jumped on it and had a blast! The first stop of course was the top of the quad chair to the peak where I was looking to take some snaps for this column. Before I knew it, I was photographing two of our guides – one with special 4 track poles – along with a 4 track skier and his partner (see photo immediately above this paragraph).

The snow that day was great, and it was the perfect opportunity to check out the conditional zones that ARAI offers to guests. What are conditional zones? The mountain at ARAI is quite unique from a topographical perspective, and so is divided into four distinctive areas:

On-course - groomed/leveled areas:
Slopes that have been groomed and leveled so are suitable and relatively safe for skiing and boarding;

On-course - not groomed or leveled areas:
Such areas may present natural hazards and thus are opened depending on the weather and snow conditions of the day;

Conditional zones:
Four “off-piste” zones encompassing 55 hectares located on the upper regions of the mountain. These areas are opened when there is both a sufficient amount of snow and it is determined to be safe to do so on the day. When opened, guests enter at their own risk and natural obstacles are either marked or unmarked; &

Entry Prohibited Zones:
Looking at a slope from the above is deceiving. Though it may look OK from the top, actually there may be active cracks, rivers etc. present making the zone hazardous. Signs on the mountain clearly demonstrate which zones prohibit entry.

  
Conditional zones are usually quite a bit more work than groomed runs; However, when the snow is half decent, I discovered that they can be quite a bit of fun and of course offer wide open and relatively empty terrain for letting loose. To be honest, I decided that I had to show Dick the conditional zones that day because he was wearing a crash helmet, so in my opinion he was prepared for some challenging courses. Fortunately, the action that day miraculously did not include me tumbling out of control down some of those conditional zones like you see those unfortunate ski racers on television doing from time to time.  Nevertheless, Dick with his clearly superior skiing ability led the way that day once we were on the runs that I had guided him to. My hat is off to this gentleman, and it was a pleasure and a privilege to meet and ski with him.