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Top News Stories
In Memoriam: Legendary Ski Instructor Nic Fiore
Nic Fiore arrived in Yosemite Valley on a snowy night in 1947. In the following 57 years, Nic taught some 137,500 people how to ski at Badger Pass. He retired in 2004, after teaching skiing for more than 60 years.
Fiore, who died recently in Fresno at age 89, is believed to have taught more people to ski than any other ski instructor in North America. Thousands of baby boomers were introduced to skiing at dry land ski schools conducted by him during the 1950s and ‘60s, and he became a Yosemite institution not only in winter. He also managed the Glacier Point Hotel, Big Trees Lodge, Hotel Wawona and Yosemite Lodge, and in 1966, began directing Yosemite High Sierra Camps, often walking from five to 25 miles a day between camps.
In 1965, Nic Fiore authored the ski technique guide, "So You Want to Ski" and, in 1967, he was selected by the French government to represent the United States at its prestigious French National Ski Instructor's academy in Chamonix. Fiore subsequently coordinated similar exchanges in the U.S. to improve American ski instruction techniques.
For many years, Nic Fiore served as executive director of the Professional Ski Instructors of America/Western Division and became the only person to receive both the Northern California and Nevada Ski Media Association and the Southern California Association of Ski Writers awards for outstanding contributions to the sport of skiing. Fiore is the only ski instructor ever to have been inducted into the California Tourism Hall of Fame and the California Outdoor Hall of Fame. He was also nominated three times to the U.S. National Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame.
A memorial service in Nic Fiore's honor is planned at Yosemite's Badger Pass ski area in autumn. His family has asked that contributions be made in his memory to The Yosemite Fund (yosemitefund.org) and the Air Warrior Courage Foundation (airwarriorcourage.org).
Bernie Weichsel Named Board Chair
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame and Museum recently announced a new board chairman, Bernard Weichsel of Wayland,Massachusetts.
Weichsel, long time Corporate Member of NASJA and founder of BEWI Productions, has an extensive background in winter sport promotions, activities and events. Â
Serving on the board of directors since 2000, our good friend Bernie takes over the chairmanship from David Holli of Ishpeming, Michigan, who served as chairman since 2004.
Congratulations Bernie!!
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Announces
New Chief Marketing Officer
Courtesy of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
TETON VILLAGE, Wyoming - Jackson Hole Mountain Resort (JHMR) announced the appointment of Chip Carey (long time friend and past member of ESWA and NASJA) as chief marketing officer responsible for sales management, product development, marketing communications and market research. Carey will lead this effort under the direction of JHMR President, Jerry Blann.
Carey will join JHMR from his current brand consulting business in Park City, UT which he has operated since leaving American Skiing Company in 2007, where he was senior vice president of marketing and sales.
"Chip has worked in the ski industry for nearly four decades and is an established leader with unprecedented experience. With over 25 years at Sugarloaf/USA, ME, six years as VP Marketing and Sales for The Canyons Resort, Park City, UT which coincided with the Salt Lake Olympics and four years with ASC, he has developed and guided many successful sales, marketing and public relations campaigns. His diverse skill set includes establishing Sugarloaf as a major resort destination despite its remote location, building and launching new brands such as The Canyons and driving record revenues and skier visits for ASC's family of eight resorts. We look forward to drawing upon this, as we continue to position Jackson Hole as a unique, year round destination resort," stated Jerry Blann, JHMR President.
Carey commented, "I am excited to join the team at Jackson Hole. They share the same passion for the sport of skiing as I do. It is an honor to be able to work with one of the strongest brands in the ski industry and the recent launch of the new aerial tram continues to strengthen its legendary reputation. While Jackson Hole has successfully developed a globally recognized brand, we will need to spearhead our use of technology to communicate with and engage new and returning guests in a highly competitive marketplace. I am committed to staying ahead of the trends to enable us to tailor appropriate products for our guests and deliver the desired skier visit and revenue results."
Chip and his wife Nancy have spent their married life in and around ski resorts. Their passion for the sport was instilled on their three (now) grown children, two of whom now work as a nationally-recognized ski coach and as owner of a nationally-franchised ski rental business. With nearly 70 ski days under his belt during this past winter, Chip and his "skiing family" look forward to moving to Jackson Hole and becoming an active member of the community.
Tribute to Evelyn Fischer
It was Evelyn Fischer's wit and charm that lured me into NASJA back in 1996. From the moment we met, I knew she not only loved skiing, snow and her lifelong boyfriend Bert, but she was deeply proud to be from the Midwest, home to the "Breeders & Feeders" of our sport.
As secretary/treasurer Ev was the "Mother Hen" of our Midwest NASJA chapter: nurturing newcomers as well as
keeping track of all the accomplishments of our veteran members. She and Bert never missed a regional or national NASJA meeting even though it meant thousands of miles traveling by car from their Bay Village, Ohio, home to Northern Michigan, the Upper Peninsula, or even as far as Mammoth Mountain, California. Bad weather never stopped them.
It was in Mammoth that my husband Ron and I first 'tasted' the Fischer hospitality. Bert and Ev didn't travel lightly. Whether they were up for a weekend or gone for a month, their car was loaded, and not just with Bert's ski gear. But we gladly helped them load and unload because somewhere in that pile was their portable bar. Wherever they went, they made apres-ski fun and often when you met up with this full-of-life couple you were invited to cocktail hour to learn a new ski song.
I never followed Ev down the slopes. By the time we met she called herself a "bionic" woman with an artificial knee and shoulder. "The only thing still real on me is my boobs," she would say, "And that's where most women start," she would add prompting a laugh. Her stories had a zing and she never missed a punch line.
Even in a wheelchair, Ev brought energy to a room. That glow and the woman who spread it to everyone she met, will be truly missed. But Bert, Erik, Clark and Mark, take comfort knowing she won't be forgotten.
Lutsen Summary
The crowd may have been smaller than usual but the fun was big time at the NASJA annual meeting March 18 through 22 at Lutsen MN.
Lutsen's Mr Everything Jim Vick was in change of the program which included ice climbing and snowshoe cantilevering and snowmobiling and print making. There was some great food at local restaurants and a fascinating evening at the North House Folk School in nearby Grand Marias where people come from all over the world to follow the..(Click here for more)
THE SNOW SPORTS INDUSTRY SAYS GOODBYE TO A LEGEND- ANDREA MEAD LAWRENCE
MAMMOTH, Ca. (March 31, 2009)- SIA and The International Skiing History Association (ISHA) joins the rest of the skiing world in mourning the passing of one of the sports superstars, Andrea Mead Lawrence, who passed away last night after a long battle with cancer. She was surrounded by family and friends.
Mead Lawrence's generous spirit and sense of sportsmanship developed through her intimate love for the mountains where she was born in Rutland VT. At age 14 "Andy" Mead was the youngest athlete ever to be chosen for the 1948 U. S. Women's Olympic Alpine Ski Team ('48, '52, '56), and she garnered numerous awards in national and international championships from 1948 - 1952, including the 1948 Austrian National Championships, and the 1950 U. S. National Championships in Sun Valley, Idaho. NASJA awarded her the Lifetime Achievement honor in 2002.
Mead Lawrence's transcendent moment came while winning two gold medals (Slalom and Giant Slalom) at the 1952 Winter Olympics, in a come-from-behind performance Olympic historian Bud Greenspan called, "The greatest attempt at immortality in the Olympic Games."
Mead-Lawrence is recognized one of the best women skiers in the world, who captivated an entire nation, and was a celebrity in her time. Her story of personal challenge and triumph is enriched by a philosophical worldview: mountains are sacred, and skiing is an art. She is an archetype of the pure amateur athlete, competing only for the love of the sport, to "make beautiful runs" through the gates.
Mead Lawrence's quiet intensity and love of the mountains infused a political career culminating in the formation of the Andrea Lawrence Institute for Mountains and Rivers in 2003, a non-profit organization that oversees environmental conservation and responsible land use in the Eastern Sierras and Mono Lake region of California.
Coincidently, ISHA is in Mammoth holding a Board of Directors meeting and its members will be viewing an advance screening of The Andrea Mead Lawrence Story - a film directed by Allison Pobrislo (Prance.com).
According to Barry Stone, Chairman of ISHA, "Andy was instrumental in helping raise large sums of money for the U.S. Olympic Committee. I was the Northeast chairman for the USOC Andrea came to several of our events lending her personality and style to the cause. I was lucky enough to forerun a dual slalom ski race against Andy and the results shall remain confidential'.
Mead-Lawrence was an incredible and courageous woman. Her remarkable athletic feats shaped the future of women's skiing. She is truly a legend that will be missed and never forgotten.
2008 Award Winners Announced
The North American Snowsports Journalists Association (NASJA) honored three notable persons who have made significant contributions to winter sports endeavors and also bestowed their Harold S. Hirsch Awards in the fields of snow sports writing and photography for 2008. The awards, this year presented at Lutsen Mountains Resort on Lake Superior in Minnesota, were revealed at a banquet on March 21, 2009, that was the climax of the organization's annual meeting.
The Carson White-Golden Quill Award, named after the group's first president, honors an individual who has made a significant contribution to snowsports in North America. For 2009, the honor went to Art Bowles, who in 1981, as general manager of Breckenridge Ski Area in Colorado, spearheaded the installation of the world's first high-speed detachable quad chair. The easy-loading chair cut lift-lines and transit times drastically, changing the sport of skiing forever.
NASJA's 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring a lifetime of snowsports-related innovation, competition, design and other endeavors, was presented to Peter Ingvoldstad of Smugglers Notch, Vermont, who revolutionized ski instruction, especially for children, and pioneered new and innovative techniques and structures for families, children and adults.
Tom Kelly, chief communications officer for the United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) was the recipient of the 2009 Bob Gillen Memorial Award. This award, named in honor of a former Ski Magazine editor and marketing wizard of Crested Butte and Sugarbush ski resorts, honors an individual who exemplifies the highest standards of professionalism in public relations and media communications. Mr. Kelly has been at his USSA post for over 20 years, contributing significantly to public relations and communications in most every U.S. skiing and riding competition.
The Harold S. Hirsch Awards, named after the ski clothing pioneer-creator of the White Stag Company, honors the best writers in the snowsports journalism fields of magazines, newspapers, columns and internet and for winter sports photography and TV broadcasting. The awards were underwritten by prize grants from the Head Ski Corp., inventor of the metal and plastic-laminate ski, and Sport Obermeyer, the ski clothing manufacturers.
In Magazine Writing, Chris Solomon of Seattle, freelance writing for Ski, Skiing and the New York Times Magazines, captured the Hirsch trophy and a pair of Head skis for his 2008 stories. This is his 4th Hirsch Award in four years.
Martin Griff of Trenton, New Jersey, president of the Eastern Ski Writers Association of NASJA and now 3-time Hirsch winner, took home the Columnshonors for 2008 for work appearing in the Trenton Times.
Tops in Newspaper Writing for 2008 was freelancer Cindy Hirschfeld of Basalt, Colorado, writing for the New York Times and local outlets. She is also a previous Hirsch recipient.
Internet Writing honors for 2008 went to Glendale, California's Tony Crocker, appearing on FirstTracksOnline. He also uses his actuarial expertise to monitor snow history at North American resorts.
In the category of Snowsports Photography, Karl Weatherly of Ketchum, Idaho took top honors with attributes the judges describe as a "strong sense of place and light, powerful composition, no distracting details and it makes you want to be there!" Karl's photos appear on the Getty Images and Corbis websites and in major outdoor sports publications.
The final Hirsch Award, Snowsports TV Broadcasting, judged every 3 years, was presented to world-traveling videographer and writer Jimmy Petterson for his "Raiders of the Lost Snow", a 6-part series first shown on Finnish television. He was assisted in the production by Ari Heinila.
Getting Ready for NASJA 2010
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| NASJA-West president John Naye and Director of Marketing for Brundage, April Russell, after a morning in which she lead some of the NASJA Board through run after run of untracked powder stashes. |
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| Dax Schieffer from Big Sky Resort, Corporate Representative to NASJA, cutting it up in the back country at Tamarack (during the January Interim Board Meeting), site of next year's NASJA Conference. Photo by Dino Vournas |
