The Grays on Trays® blog

Grays at Play

2010-03-16T11:10:00.002-05:00

With winter winding down in much of the U.S., check out GraysAtPlay.com. It's not affiliated with GraysOnTrays, but it links here. It has info on golf, fishing, and other warm-weather pursuits.

Can you outrun a Zamboni?

2010-02-26T10:27:00.004-06:00

How fast do Winter Olympics athletes go?A writer for The Wall Street Journal took a radar gun to the Vancouver games and made some interesting discoveries:One of the women's bobsled team's reached 91 miles per hour (mph)Thomas Morgenstern went 59 mph in ski jumpingChristopher Del Bosco reached 54 mph in men's ski crossRomed Baumann reached 53 mph in men's giant slalomShani Davis reached 36 mph in

Community ski areas

2010-01-13T14:56:00.003-06:00

Sometimes the value of a ski area isn't measured in its terrain, but in the support it receives.The Ski Bowl at Mulligan's Hollow is in Grand Haven, Michigan, perhaps two miles from Lake Michigan. You won't confuse the ski bowl for Vail or Stowe or even the typical Midwestern ski area. At just seven acres, it's smaller than the parking lots at major destination resorts.Even a slow double chair

Riding Out the Old Year

2009-12-31T10:08:00.002-06:00

They're be a party on the mountain tonight, and perhaps some snowboarding, too.In New Hampshire, for example, Gunstock will offer skiing and riding until midnight, along with smores, jugglers, and music.In Minnesota, the wheels will be turning at Afton Alps until midnight.A number of Colorado resorts have events tonight, though most are of the non-skiing or riding variety. Beaver Creek, for

Sounds like snowboarding

2009-12-30T19:22:00.005-06:00

Whenever the topic of bad behavior by the part of snowboarders comes up, you may hear someone point out that it's an activity populated by young boys and teenaged boys, two groups not often thought of as models of politeness. In other words, the bad attitudes that some people see in snowboarding isn't unique to snowboarding, but instead lies in its largest demographic.Over the last few days I've

How many snowboarders? Some answers from the NSGA

2009-12-28T16:49:00.004-06:00

Periodically I get e-mail from people--usually middle-school students, it seems--looking for information on the number of people who snowboard. It's hard to get definitive answers. Much of the information is from surveys taken by trade associations. Since the associations want to offer their research as a membership benefit, they are sometimes cautious about distributing their findings free of

Women's snowboarding gear: More than pinking up

2009-12-28T13:00:00.000-06:00

In the ski world, Jeannie Thoren conducts clinics for women, as a representative of Dynastar. (I met Thoren a few years ago, and wrote a few words about my visit.) Would women benefit from gender-specific snowboards and bindings? Thoren (who has tried riding a time or two) said yes. I don't know enough about the design or physics of either bindings or boards to have an informed opinion.But one

How did you learn snowboarding?

2009-12-22T13:22:00.003-06:00

Some people take lessons, while others try it out on their own. How about you?How did you learn snowboarding?I taught myselfA friend taught meI took lessons from a ski school Free polls from Pollhost.comFeel free to leave a comment.

Sugar Bowl Offers 55+ Snowboarding Camps

2009-12-22T09:11:00.003-06:00

Sugar Bowl, a resort in the Lake Tahoe area, is offering a "Senior's All Mountain Alpine Ski Adventure." The camp, which comes in two-day and three-day versions, offers three hours of coaching and three hours of instruction each day. Video analysis is also available.Despite the use of the word "ski," snowboarders are welcome to join. The site doesn't say whether snowboarders will be grouped

"Old Man" Ross Powers Makes Olympic Run

2009-12-21T14:58:00.004-06:00

It's common for professional athletes to change their roles as they age. George Blanda was an NFL quarterback who became primarily a kicker. As a result, he played 26 years in a league where the average career is only 3.5 seasons. In Major League Baseball, the designated hitter position, to quote Tony Gwynn, "allows older players to play a few more years." Tennis players, for their part, can

How not to Use Social Media, Part 2

2009-12-15T19:20:00.004-06:00

Earlier today I noted that whoever is running the official Facebook fan page for Welch Village wasn't, to put it politely, using it well.I just looked at the page a few minutes and noticed a few other choice items. For example, on December 7, a fan asked "Any more runs open today???" The official reply was "What does the snow report on our website say?"I've been an Internet/e-mail user long

How Much Water Do You Need for Snow?

2009-12-15T10:55:00.003-06:00

Wouldn't you know it. Just after I criticize Welch Village for its surly attitude towards its (surly) Facebook fans, it comes out with an informative tidbit that gives us all a behind-the-scenes peek: "Snowmaking Science 101: Our fans might find this interesting. So far this winter, we have converted just over 35 million gallons of water into snow. That converts into just over 4 feet of snow

Ski Areas and Facebook Marketing

2009-12-15T10:24:00.004-06:00

Ski areas are starting to add Facebook, Twitter, and other social media tools to their marketing mix. Unfortunately, putting your name out there in the public sphere can also give members of the public--that is, your (would-be) customers--the opportunity to criticize you.So how's a ski area to respond? Somehow I don't think that Welch Village, Minnesota, has the right idea. Here's a notice from

Kids say the darndest things

2009-12-12T21:27:00.002-06:00

From one of my companions on the chair lift today:"Yeah, I got a late start on learning how to ski. This is my second season. I'm 14 now."

Ski Dancing in New Hampshire

2009-12-12T12:42:00.000-06:00

There are many ways of enjoying the snow--snowboarding (of course), cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, snowshoeing, dog-mushing and riding in one-horse open sleighs, tubing, engaging in a snowball fight or two, and ... dancing on skis.In March of 2007, I spent a few days at the Mount Washington Resort, in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. The adjacent ski area grooms the snow a lot and the

Expensive Living, by Design

2009-12-11T12:15:00.004-06:00

Life in a ski town can be expensive, with real estate being a prime component of the expense. Sometimes the topographical features of the area don't give much room suitable for development. In addition, skiing and snowboarding, being expensive activities on their own, tend to attract people with disposable income with which they can bid up housing prices. But the biggest reason for elevated

Who's Got the Snow?

2009-12-10T11:27:00.004-06:00

My local ski area received 8 inches of snow in a recent 24-hour period. Since it's in Minnesota, you might think, "well of course." But the Twin Cities aren't exactly the epicenter of snowfall. Though we have cold temperatures, there are no mountains or big lakes nearby to cause snow dumps.If you look at the historical data from NOAA, you may find a surprise here and there. For example, there's a

Strap It Up, Behind Your Back

2009-11-18T09:57:00.001-06:00

Wandering around a ski show sometimes presents you with the opportunity to see some new and different products. During one show, for example, I came across someone selling FastStrap carriers. They are, as the name suggests, straps (about the width of a very wide belt) that you can use to carry a snowboarad, surfboard, pair of skis, boots, and other sports-related equipment.They have glorified

Age has its benefits

2009-11-15T20:10:00.002-06:00

You don't have to be 60+ or even a member of AARP (where membership starts at age 50) to get a discount for age. Lookout Pass, on the Idaho/Montana border along I-90 in the Idaho panhandle, offers "Boomer Fridays." If you're over 40, you get a lift ticket on Fridays for $20, with a few exceptions for holidays.

The Benefits of Teaching Snowboarding

2009-11-15T19:30:00.002-06:00

For a few seasons--two or three, I forget which--I taught snowboarding. I'm not doing it now, but I was talking with a friend about it, and that conversation reminded me of the benefits of teaching.Instructors get a free season pass and some pay, though where I taught, the hourly rate was comparable to stocking shelves at a store, and since you got paid only if you actually had a lesson, the pay

The Life of a Lifty

2009-11-14T13:37:00.005-06:00

An important but often overlooked part of the ski scene is the lift attendant. One newspaper in southern Oregon describes the lives of lifties at Mt. Ashland.Some of the points the article makes aren't surprising. For example, the work is physical and sometimes mind-numbing. What I haven't thought much of, though, is that some lifties go out of the way to have a game face on for hours on end. "

63 Years of Snowmaking

2009-11-13T19:35:00.003-06:00

Today's the 63rd anniversary of the first example of man-mad snow outside the laboratory, an event which has provided many benefits to riders across the country.Flying over Mount Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts, GE research scientist Vincent Schaefer seeded a cloud to produce snow. Schaefer's interest in snowmaking originated, in part, in efforts during World War II to create fog to

Snowboard Kitsch in Alaska

2009-11-13T12:29:00.003-06:00

It's fairly common to see old pairs of skis in hotels and restaurants near or at ski areas,* and of course you may see them in lodges on the hill. But how often do you get to see old snowboards?The blog Alyeska Lift Crews has a photo of not just one, but six old Burton snowboards, plus one Snurfer. They're mounted on the wall in the Sitzmark, an establishment of some sort (lodge? restaurant?) at

Your personal playground in the snow

2009-11-10T20:15:00.006-06:00

It's good to be king of snowboarding. One of Shaun White's sponsors created a private playground for him near Silverton, Colorado, and dubbed it the Red Bull Project X.The web site for the project has a number of videos, including those of four breakthrough tricks that White worked on in the built-for-him halfpipe. For those who understand the lingo, they were 1) a front double cork ten, 2) a

Ski in Aspen, Stay Free*

2009-10-29T08:40:00.005-05:00

If you still have some disposable income, now's the time to take advantage of the recession, with companies offering up new deals.The Aspen Ski Co, for example, has teamed up with the local lodging establishments to entice you to visit during March with the "Kids Ski and Stay Free in March" promotion. There is, as you might expect, as asterisk. Here's how an article in the Aspen Times put it: "