Journalists from the West region of North America concluded our week in Utah with bluebird conditions at Deer Valley, but no fresh powder!!!

Our hosts at Powder Mountain, Snowbasin, Deer Valley, Lakeside Resort and the Zermatt Spa and Resort were as bummed as we were that NASJA-West did not experience "The Greatest Snow on Earth". Utah powder is legendary. We skied in glorious sunshine our final day at Deer Valley, but the rest of the week's conditions left much to be desired. Just bad timing.. with rain, fog, flat light, wind, anything but soft snow was our daily challenge. Still, a great time was had by all, and those experiences will be written, broadcast, photographed, and be available online for Snowsports enthusiasts to get a taste of one of the most appetizing ski areas in the World. The mountains of Park City and Snowbasin areas were displayed to the masses at the highly successful 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympic Games. Both the men's and women's downhills at Snowbasin displayed the competition on the hill via network television, but not the mountain and it's elegant yet casual lodges, the tremendous terrain and overall splendor of the area. Some of our daily experiences on the slopes are video bloged on this website. Our lodging resorts Lakeside Village near Snowbasin, and Zermatt Spa and Resort in Midway, Utah...just a short drive and Gondola ride to Deer Valley were our homes away from home for the week. Writers, photographers broadcasters, and internet editors will be producing stories from our Western Winter Summit in a media near you.

Our NASJA-West week skiing Snowbasin and staying at nearby Lakeside Resort ended today, but not the Western Winter Summit. We're now at Zermatt Spa.

Our North American Snowsports Journalist Association Western Winter Summit found no fresh snow the entire week. We skied in rain, fog, flat light on rock hard snow but still had a great time and accomplished quite a bit in our meetings. Today we bid farewell to Lakeside Village Resort and our hosts Darby and Shelly. The couple extended tremendous hospitality to our group, as did new GM at Snowbasin Kent Lyons and his talented staff of Steve, Mickell, Stew and many more. It was a bummer that snow conditions were far from typical late winter in Utah. The staff at Snowbasin desperately wanted to display their mountain with at least one day of fresh powder, but it was not to be. We still thoroughly enjoyed the week despite missing the legendary "Greatest Snow on Earth". Our NASJA-West road trip is now based in Midway, Utah at the Zermatt Spa and Resort. The 5 year old Swiss style lodging facility features 400 tastefully appointed rooms, but it's claim to fame is the Wellness Center and Spa. Every imaginable creature comfort is available at Zermatt. Tucked away in the Heber Valley, the resort offers more than any similar Spa and lodging option in Park City for about half the price. On the hour shuttle from Lakeside, our hostess Michelle Palmer..who is 8 months pregnant with her first child gave us a briefing and set the stage for a fantastic ending to NASJA-West's annual meeting.

Snowbasin finally getting fresh. Utah resort say's goodbye to NASJA-West, and hello to overdue perfect powder now falling

Unbelievable! As I write this last day blog following a week that featured rain, fog, death cookies, boilerplate, flat light, and other undesirable elements for skiers and riders, Snowbasin is now being blanketed with "The Greatest Snow on Earth"..Ski Utah's undisputed #1 winter attraction. The weather turned 3 hours ago. Already two inches of snow has accumulated on the back deck of our Lakeside Resort condo, about 2000 feet below Snowbasin's 6400' base. The goofy warm temperatures this week, have yielded to perfect ski weather. Just in time for our NASJA-West Winter Summit to conclude. About 25 journalists came to Snowbasin for our annual meeting, and to experience Utah powder. Instead, it was a week of spring skiing without the sunshine, but plenty of hard pack from early week rains..almost to the top at 9300 feet. All NASJA members enjoyed every minute (until Dan Giesin's injury-see previous blog) skiing on challenging surfaces, in flat light with poor visibility. Our guides Stew Marsh and Tate Henderson were awesome, and we all had a grand time, but everyone wanted the journalists to be writing and broadcasting about it's powder. Groomed runs were the only way to go all week. But that was then... now the endless runs of perfect powder will be enjoyed by others in the morning. Snowbasin is an epic mountain in fresh snow..and at this rate of falling flakes, morning powder hounds may be in shin deep! It's great to know Snowbasin will be back in it's glory after a week of conditions that can only be described as a total anomaly. When visibility allowed us to witness the splendors of the resort founded in 1940 with a pair of rope tows, we saw terrific terrain serviced by two high speed gondola's a couple of high speed quads, the Olympic Tram which access' the area above John Paul Lodge with jaw dropping views, and other people movers. With nearly 3000 skiable acres, 113 runs and a vertical drop of 2950 feet, Snowbasin also gets about 400 inches of snow per season. Home to the Men's and Women's 2002 Olympic Games downhill courses, the resort is a quick 33 mile drive from Downtown Salt Lake City. And did I mention the 3 elegant lodges are both spectacular and casual? Even the bathrooms are amazing. Fly Southwest from the Bay Area. Flights are cheap, and you can easily get a half day in on the slopes when flying out in the morning.

Dan Giesin of the San Francisco Chronicle is assisted by Ski Patrol after taking a face plant in flat light at Snowbasin.

Even the best of skiers can encounter issues on mellow terrain in flat light. Dan Giesin is one of NASJA-West's best skiers, but today, leading the way down off Strawberry Express, Giesin took a full on header. Following the markers in poor visibility, Dan was deposited face first on a cat track he did not see, despite following the bright orange direction guides. Skiing slow and under control, Giesen took the blow directly on his face. His goggles sliced a gash beneath his right eye that bled profusely. In less than 2 minutes after Dan's fall, Ski Patrolman Steve was on the scene administering aid. The S.F. Chronicle sports writer from Marin was able to ski down, despite being knocked out from the impact for a good 20 seconds. Upon reaching the bottom, Giesin's best buddy Curtis Fong took him to a nearby Ogden, Utah hospital where he was examined and released after the 4 stitch repair. Dennis Hall a writer from Crested Butte, Curtis, Mt. Hood photographer Brian Robb, and I were with Dan at the time of the accident. The tough as nails reporter will sport one hell of a shiner for a while. I've skied with Dan for almost 30 years, and have never seen him in an accident on the slopes. Just bad luck in flat light on rock hard snow during our final day at Snowbasin, where we never got to enjoy Utah's famous "Greatest Snow on Earth" during our entire weeklong visit. Still, our 25 active journalists will be writing, broadcasting and posting internet stories about the remarkable resort outside Ogden that features exquisite lodges, terrific runs, great terrain, and normally tremendous light dry Utah powder. Remarkably, as I write this account, virtually all ski resorts in the West are getting hammered with fresh snow. Our NASJA Western Winter Summit was at the perfect mountain...just not at the right time.

Spring has sprung at Snowbasin to the dismay of powder hounds, but honorary retired NASJA member "Snoshu" Thompson did what he could to entice snow.

We came to experience "The Greatest Snow on Earth" at the site of the Men's and Women's Downhill from the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, but alas, Snowbasin has been a spring skiing scene during our stay. The North American Snowsports Journalist Association for the west region is here to write, broadcast and post internet stories and video blogs focusing on the unique snow quality and quantity of Utah powder at Snowbasin this week, the slopes remain caked in a thick springlike surface...which would be fine for April, not February. Regardless, our 25 NASJA-West attendees are gathering stories about the other splendors of the area. Earl's lodge is an elegant yet casual headquarters at Snowbasin featuring among other things, the most comfortable bathrooms found anywhere. As a resort in the Sun Valley family, it figures to be the height of upscale comfort. The lift system is terrific, runs and terrain superb, and other aspects of the resort are top notch. If only Winter would return...before we have to depart this spectacular area this weekend

NASJA-West meeting an hour away. Prepping to get some business done, and define who we are and our role in the ski industry through journalism

The North American Snowsports Journalist Association is meeting for it's single major meeting in the West Region annually. This Winter Western Summit is staged with the kind assistance of Lakeside Resort Properties and Snowbasin Ski Resort. We meet tonight, but will experience the area all week. Challenging wet conditions made day one a rather wild experience. Especially when we were the lone riders up Strawberry Canyon quad and found zero visibility on top. We followed the neon orange then it cleared. We hope to have the famous "Greatest Snow on Earth" during our week's stay, but temps need to drop. It was 40 degrees on the hill today. A total anomaly. It never rains in February. In Utah! We'll see what tomorrow brings. We've got first tracks, but unless it gets cold it could be damp again. That being said, it is what it is, and everybody made the best on a terrific mountain. The Men's and Women's downhill races were staged in front of the exquisite lodges at the base of Needles gondola. 9/11 impacted the vision of Snowbasin, and Olympic coverage in 2002 did not emphasize the effort that went in to preparing the Hill and the entire resort for the games. We'll have more this week from one of Utah's superior mountains, as we enjoy Lakeside Resorts a short trip up to Snowbasin. Great setting from awesome condos. Gotta go, Randy's got dinner going and our meeting at the Clubhouse starts at 6pm sharp. We have Nathan Rafferty, President of Ski Utah joining us for his State of the ski state address at 7.

Snowbasin in Utah is the site for NASJA's Western Winter Summit. Day one was skied in damp foggy conditions. Stew Marsh fills us in.

The mountain was pretty much empty, as rain and fog distorted "The greatest snow on earth" on Monday, for our North American Snowsports Journalist Association annual event for the West Region on day one. Fortunately, we have the rest of the week for conditions to improve. It's very unusual to get damp heavy snow anywhere in Utah, much less in February, but today was anything but normal. Still, we explored the mountain despite dicey visibility thanks to Stew Marsh. Stew led Dan Geisen of the SF Chronicle, Curtis Fong "The guy from Tahoe" and myself on a 3 hour tour, making the most of less than favorable conditions.

Powder Mountain Adventure Pro and Guest Services director Paul De Long gives us a tour of the Utah ski resort, and Scott Striker of NASJA get a facial

It's always a treat to ski a mountain for the first time. Especially when that resort is the largest in the United States, and is still a virtual secret. Over 5500 acres of skiable terrain is inbounds and serviced by only 4 chairs and a couple of surface lifts. Our NASJA Western Winter Summit enjoyed day one of our weeklong experience at Powder Mountain, outside Ogden, Utah. The snow wasn't sensational on this day, as the slopes have been baked in sunshine recently which made for an inconsistent surface. We did find some powder, thanks to Paul De Long who not only heads guests services at Powder Mountain, but also is an adventure guide. Paul shared a little of the hill's history with us, and led the way for some cat skiing. On our final run, Scott Striker, a photographer member of the North American Snowsports Journalist Association takes a beautiful face plant. Tomorrow we head to Snowbasin, site of the 2002 Olympic Downhill, as we spend the week at Lakeside Resort...a terrific condo oasis on the way to Snowbasin.

Heading to Snowbasin. Will miss the "dew" at Northstar. NASJA-West meets in Utah, but the action is at Lake Tahoe.

I very seldom write these blogs in first person, but let's get personal. I'm heading to the site of the 2002 Olympic Downhill course at Snowbasin. I've never skied the mountain, but I'll be there Sunday following at day at Powder Mountain near Ogden. The weeklong visit is part of the NASJA-WestWinter Summit. As VP of programs for the North American Snowsport Journalist Association, my job is to create visits to resorts so our members can have it's annual meeting. Snowbasin reported 16 inches of powder last night. Wish I was on a plane tonight. Southwest is the way to go. 2 bags no charge. No hastle or fee for changes. They are not a sponsor on this site, but I endorse them.
The week will be spent with a lot of longtime Snowsports friends. Curtis Fong (The Guy from Tahoe) and Dan Geisen (San Francisco Chronicle) are on their annual road trip and scheduled their journey based on our WWS meeting. Ole Bob Goligowski (San Jose Mercury) and ski buddies like Claudia Carbone (Denver) and Carl Weatherly (Photo-Sun Valley) and John Naye (NASJA-West Pres.) It will be a grand time in the snow. Having never been to either Powder Mountain or Snowbasin, I'll post video blogs of each on "Jerry's Snowblog" at this site: www.12sportsonline.com.
Winter has returned and the entire west is blanketed with fresh. The pow was measured in feet this past week, and it's staying cold to preserve it's glory. NOW is the best time of the season to hit the slopes. Economics of the day are a hurtle for passionate skiers and riders from hitting the hills in a hurry, but airfair is cheap...gas is not $3. anymore...and hotels have vacancy signs.
If Utah wasn't on the ski agenda, I would be up to Northstar at Tahoe in a heartbeat. This weekend is the "Dew" tour stop with many of the incredbile X games athletes in the field. Our favorite Hannah Teter from Sierra at Tahoe will show her Olympic Gold medal form in the halfpipe.

John Wagnon, marketing manager at Heavenly has made his mark as the top master's cyclist in the state, was in Santa Cruz for Tour of Ca.

Very few people can get down a ski hill faster than John Wagnon, and nobody his age is a better cyclist. The Marketing director of Heavenly ski resort at South Lake Tahoe was on the podium in Santa Cruz to present Tour of California first stage winner Francisco Mancebo his new jersey following stage two on Monday. Visit Jerry's "Random Wonders" on this site for a complete review of today's action in from the Amgen Tour of California stage from Sausalito that ended in downtown Santa Cruz.

Congratulations to the Thompson family. 4 generations on the slopes together on President's day.

A FAMILY THAT SKIS TOGETHER...decade after decade after decade reaches a historic milestone

Celebrating 60 Years on Sierra Slopes....
Four Generations Skiing and Riding together at Mt. Rose is the Thompson family plan for Monday.

The ages span 75 years between the youngest and oldest of the family members planning to ski and snowboard together at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe on President’s Day. Norma Thompson’s wish for the 55th Anniversary of her marriage to Don “Snoshu” Thompson will be granted when four generations of the family hit the slopes together on Monday, February 16, 2009. The Thompsons have skied all over the world but Mt. Rose area has been their home resort since the late 1940’s.
“It means a lot to celebrate the bond that the winter recreation at Mt. Rose and Slide Mountain has provided our family for the past 60 years with three generations of our children”, Norma Thompson remarks.
The Thompson’s great grandson, Kaelem, age 5, represents the youngest of the four generations making turns on Presidents Day. Their granddaughter, (Kaelem’s mom) Kristine Keck, and daughter, Corrin (Keck), will join the line-up with their family members. Kaelem’s father, Kyle P. Frankland, is a former USASA snowboard couch so Kaelem has already started both skiing and ‘riding’. The youngest of the Thompson’s three daughters, Randi (Thompson) along with “Snoshu” and Norma complete the group.
“Snoshu” is the nickname of Don S. Thompson, the paternal leader of the group. He is an honorary lifetime member of the Western section of NASJA, the North American Snowsports Journalists Association, and a ski writer for over 40 years.
Don Thompson, who will celebrate his 80th birthday this year, sums up the event with this remark, “It’s probably just ‘in their blood’ to hit the slopes, but it’s a blessing to be able to share the experience as a family. I’m not aware of another sport in which four generations can participate at the same level of ability. Like they say, the family that plays together, stays together.”

Eastside Mountaineers visit Breckenridge on their annual adventure to Snow Country. 16 friends for life at Breckenridge, Colorado.

I had the honor of joining a tight group of friends for a week of skiing, laughing, eating and partying as we toasted the wonders of Breckenridge and the surrounding Colorado area. Some Mountaineers are still at Breck with wives and girlfriends occupying the ski-in/out 8 bedroom house, while many of us headed home after a full week of fun. Dave and Dusty shared duty in organizing the Colorado adventure, as we skied Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and Keystone...We dined like kings in our own kitchen, although on Wednesday night, the entire gang went out for the annual feast and planning session for next year's ski adventure. Due to editing issues, the above visual is simple and incomplete, but something is better than nada. I skied with Owen, next year's appointed commander when others were elsewhere. We explored the region behind the World highest high speed quad chair, Imperial Express.

David Larsen leads his fellow Eastside Mountaineers on a day trip to Beaver Creek. This years reunion on the slopes was headquartered at Breckenridge

Sixteen Eastside Mountaineers made their annual road trip. This year, the destination was Breckenridge, Colorado. The core group has been friends for over 30 years, and I was honored to join the crew for the first time. Last Thursday we headed down I-70 for a day at Beaver Creek, one of 6 resorts operated by Vail. The upscale resort with a $97. daily lift ticket (but deals are readily available with a little research) offers over 4000 vertical feet of skiing and riding, situated 10 minutes west of Vail. The movie above is incomplete and jagged as my computer editing program continues to play havoc, but it provides a taste of the hill.

A few views of Breckenridge, Colorado.

Breckenridge, Colorado is the most visited mountain resorts for skier and rider visits the past two years in America. Over 1.6 million sliders made turns on Peaks 10-9-8 and others for the past two seasons. The over 4000 Skiable acres of terrain was not blessed with any snowfall the week we visited, but there were still plenty of wide open runs, decent tree skiing despite the lack of fresh, but not a single powder day was to be had.
Editing issues are getting me down. I can't capture different segments from my dv camera, and edit them together. My windows movie maker program will not perform the project. My apologies for the disjointed and incomplete segment above.

Ryan Whaley of Breckenridge joins Colorado Ski Country instructor of the year Annie Black at Keystone to give media a tour.

Breckenridge Colorado has been the nations leading skier day mountain for the past two years. Over 1.6 million skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes at "Breck" last season. Skiing Keystone on Friday, we viewed the runs at Breckenridge with PR rep Ryan Whaley. It was Colorado media day at Keystone, and thanks to former NASJA President Claudia Carbone I got an invite and totally enjoyed my first ever visit to Keystone. The Vail Resorts operated mountain is one of 5 in Colorado, all within an hour drive of each other. The Vail resorts hosted media day began with an orientation breakfast, a tremendous lunch at 11,000 feet in the Alpenglow Stube, and of course some apres ski in Keystone Village following a day in the trees primarily, led by Annie Black, a 32 year veteran ski instructor at Keystone who was honored as ski instructor of the year in 2007.

Colorado ski instructor of the year Annie Black takes the media on an adventurous tour of her home mountain of Keystone Colorado.

Keystone Mountain Resort in Colorado is America's 3rd most visited ski area behind Vail and Breckenridge. All three are part of Vail Resorts operation which also includes Copper Mountain, Beaver Creek and Heavenly at South Lake Tahoe, Vail's only ski resort outside of Colorado. Invited media had the pleasure to ski and ride Keystone on Friday, and those of us who wanted the best challenge joined 2007 Colorado Ski country instructor of the year Annie Black. Annie has been lovin' life at Keystone for 32 years, and intends to teach skiers the art forever. We never got any fresh powder during our Colorado visit to Breckenridge, Beaver Creek and Keystone, but Annie still found us some stashes of great snow, and excellent tree runs on Colorado media day.