Powder Hounds Ski Trivia Game Podcast

Powder Hounds Ski Trivia Podcast Episode 51 - Windham Mountain Club Pivots (December 28, 2023)

I kicked off my winter season at Windham Mountain Club in New York. Windham aka “The Club,” for this episode’s purposes at least, is undergoing a transformation to a semi-private model and I had to check it out before my Ikon Base Pass is no longer an accepted form of entry. Additionally, I have begun my season in the Catskills each of the past three seasons, so that’s a fun little tradition to keep. I really like diners apparently. This episode covers mountain stats, the not-quite-a-trend-but-close shift to semi-private models across ski county, the before and after the October 2023 rebrand and redevelopment announcement, with some ski puns, word play and laughter mixed in. Eight trivia questions bring us home, with an unanswered question, whether a terrain park should be considered a trail on a trail map. Ikon pass or not, ski “the Club” this season, Powder Hounds!

3:23: History of Windham

6:35: Mountain Profile

10:06: Why Windham

14:47: About Windham before October 2023

22:31: About Windham after October 2023

28:58: Trivia Questions

Powder Hounds Ski Trivia Podcast Episode 50 - Sarah Wojcik, All Mountain Mamas (November 16, 2023)

My guest is Sarah Wojcik, the founder and editor All Mountain Mamas, which seeks to share her – and her fella mamas - passion of skiing and snowboarding with families across North America. All Mountain Mamas will celebrate its 10th anniversary in January! [Be on the lookout for 10 free lift tickets, well, maybe] Sarah was previously the Director of Marketing and Communications for Ski Vermont and is currently the Associate Editor of SAM Magazine (Ski Area Management). Sarah talks a super interesting origin story, cutting her teeth ski patrolling in the Poconos, “majoring” in skiing in college, patrolling at Bolton Valley and Sugarbush as well as most sought-after content on All Mountain Mamas, the future of skiing in the northeast, the best deals in northeast skiing [FOURS], comeback kids, best food(s) in VT, a potential petition drive to resurrect a lost stoke-filled magazine and much more. Sarah even throws a curveball trivia question at me! My only regret, is not spending more time at Jay Peak, especially posing an important question; State side or Tram side?!

Segment Times:

4:01 - Lightning Round

13:45 - All Mountain Mamas

21:00 - Second Lightning Round

24:06 - Ski Vermont

30:39 - Ski Area Management (SAM)

32:10 - Pop Quiz – Sarah’s gem of a trivia question (& rough edit add)

36:16 – State of Skiing

43:01 - Trivia Questions

Powder Hounds Ski Trivia Podcast Episode 49 - 2023-2024 Northeast Ski Season Preview (October 25, 2023)

The 4th Annual Northeast Ski Season Preview episode covers hopefully everything you need to reset the stoke - opening dates, new lifts, terrain expansion, weather predictions, ski swaps, entertainment and discount lift ticket promotions and more! Also, my Race to Open bracket challenge adds a heck of a lot of optimism to the pre-season. Finally, 8 trivia questions were inspired from the 8 states in our re-loaded Northeast Region. Have fun, Powder Hounds! 

Segments

5:23 Stage Setting

7:10 Weather Predictions

11:20 Entertainment & Gear

12:25 Passes (northeast applicable)

22:27 Promotional Lift Ticket Deals

24:33 Lift, Base Area and Terrain Expansions

41:26 Opening Dates

42:25 Race to Open Picks

48:52 Trivia Questions

56:49 Close

Powder Hounds Ski Trivia Podcast Episode 48 - Try Smaller Ski Area Saturday (June 30, 2023)

And then there were three, maybe 2, or possibly just 1…While a few ski areas are still open (Mammoth, Palisades Tahoe and maybe Beartooth Basin), the 2022-2023 winter season has effectively ended. Another record-breaking ski season in the books, with over 64 million+ skier visits according to NSAA. The Northeast also saw increases in season-over-season skier visits. This end of season reflection builds off a holiday shopping idea already engrained in most of our brains. Call it what you will, I call it Smaller Ski Area Saturday, while corny sure, could help smaller ski areas thrive amidst fierce competition (and limited marketing budgets) for customers, unpredictable weather, workforce challenges, and increasing costs. Smaller ski areas tend to be off-the-radar, passionately loved by the local community and ripe with character. We can help them by skiing there more often. And meeting up at a smaller ski area provides a great solution (affordable, not crowded, unique) for Ikon and Epic passholder friends who can finally ski together!? Either way, all the best this off-season, Powder Hounds!

:20 - Welcome

4:40 - Episode Intro

5:48 - Smaller Ski Area Saturday

17:20 - Close

Powder Hounds Ski Trivia Podcast Episode 47 - 10 Observations from the 2022-2023 Ski Season (May 16, 2023)

As we head into the offseason – beach season for many – it is time to kickoff a mini episode series. Think run times of 15 minutes or so. Main topic only. Light, if any editing. This mini episode features 10 Observations from this past winter season. The 2022-2023 winter season was a rollercoaster, at least on the East. A teaser of an early season start, with a warm and rainy Christmas holiday week, followed by weeks (if not months) of freeze-thaw cycles, until the snow gods pummeled us with feet of snow in March on back to back (to back?) weeks that extended the season into late April. Across ski country USA, record setting snowfall, participation, prices and crowds?! My observations are not at all earth shattering, just solid information you may find helpful to enhance your future winter seasons. Oh yeah, Mammoth Mountain in CA has over 900 inches of snow, so maybe spend your summer vacation skiing in this hemisphere!

1:52 - Intro

3:38 - 10 Observations

15:50 - Close

Powder Hounds Ski Trivia Podcast Episode 46 - 3rd Annual Mogul Madness Bracket Challenge (April 25, 2023)

The 3rd Annual Mogul Madness Bracket Challenge is back! The 10-ski area bracket winner will ALSO serve as the group ski trip location for next winter season (or, at least offer a compelling option!). Four members of the New England Powder Hounds ski family - Kate, Mary, Mike and Tim - join me to talk the PRESENT ski season featuring the Three Valleys in France, PAST ski trips to iconic ski areas and of course, decide the FUTURE (next) group ski trip. Oh, and there’s a little twist to the bracket challenge – it is masked – meaning, ski areas will only be revealed when they are eliminated. Objective (ski area stats) and subjective information (signature run; apres ski noteworthy options) will be used to decide the match-ups. Not surprisingly with bracket games, one of our favored ski areas gets an early exit, but then reappears later in the episode! Try to keep up, lots of bouncing around in this 3rd Annual Mogul Madness!

3:54 - Guest Intros – Meet Kate, Mary, Mike & Tim

13:08 – Episode Overview: Past, Present & Future

13:48 – Top 4 Highlights of the Three Valleys, France

18:03 – Game 1: The Past (Name that Ski Area)

22:58 – Game 2: The Present (Three Valleys in 4)

31:57 – Game 3: The Future (Masked Bracket Challenge)

57:20 – Final Jeff-Pardy

Powder Hounds Ski Trivia Podcast Episode 45 - Matthew Zabransky of MidwestSkiers.com Challenges Us to Travel More & Visit ’New to You’ Ski Areas (March 22, 2023)

As tradition dictates, our March episode has a touch of “Madness” baked into it. I am joined by the instantly likable Matthew Zabransky, an accomplished filmmaker and photographer as well as the creator of MidwestSkiers.com. Matthew will get you fired up for spring skiing, being an ambassador of the sport and encouraging you to visit different ski areas on your next powder seeking travels.

We cover a ton of ground; Matthew’s love for skiing, the three main zones of Midwest skiing, the critical role of Snow Trails in Mansfield Ohio and medical school residency “roulette”, literal Champagne Powder (not just Steamboat’s trademark powder), Thank a Snowmaker Tour; Race to [and stay] Open Bracketology (with a little Trollhaugen inspiration?!), Pursuit of Soul II: Midwest Independence, the health of the Midwest ski industry (spoiler alert, it’s healthy!), regional passes and promotions, Midwest ski area noteworthy projects and updates, Midwest ski history, with three completely “maddening” trivia games mixed-in! Make sure to check out Bent Paddle Brewing Company in Duluth, Minnesota, Midwest Ski Areas Association, & MidwestSkiers.com Resort Guide.

Bottom-line, include a Midwest stop on your next ski trip!

5:03 - About Matthew Zabransky

9:04 – Ski the Midwest

16:23 - MidwestSkiers.com

24:40 - Terrain Park Summit & Project

28:48 - Thank a Snowmaker Tour

32:18 - Race to Open Bracket Challenge 

36:00 - Pursuit of Soul II – Midwest Independence

43:10 - MidwestSkiers.com Resort Guide Map

47:00 - Trivia Game 1: Midwest Ski Area Facts

52:25 – Midwest Ski Area News

1:03:00 – Trivia Game 2: Name That Ski Area

1:12:00 - Midwest Ski History

1:16:45 – Game 3: The Race to Stay Open

1:25:49 - Last Chair

Powder Hounds Ski Trivia Podcast Episode 44 - Fresh [though Princeless] Belleayre NY (February 10, 2023)

Belleayre Ski Area, one of four ski areas in the Catskills, and one of three Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) operations, is a must stop for a low-key, uncrowded, yet first class experience. I caught Belleayre in late December, before the holiday crunch, when it was one of only a handful of ski areas with almost 100% terrain open (171 acres). And if you plan ahead, an adult lift ticket will only cost you $54 (plus the one-time $5 for the RFID card)! A NYSkiBlog post featured a deep dive on the ski area’s history, evolution under ORDA, and recent investments which led to some fun trivia questions. The Tips Up segment recommended the aforementioned NYSkiBlog post (read), an old Catskill Digest podcast conversation on outdoor advocacy (listen) and a homemade GoPro video skiing the mountain from top to bottom (watch). The trivia questions covered ORDA; early ski area history, and of course, trail map trivia!

Segments:

2:55 - Tips Up

7:55 - Early History

10:33 - Mountain Profile

13:30 - A Few Observations

15:12 - Trivia Questions

Powder Hounds Ski Trivia Podcast Episode 43 - Happy 30th Aspen Extreme! (January 13, 2023)

Aspen Extreme, the American drama film inspired by writer-director Patrick Hasburgh’s early ski days, turns 30-years-old on January 23, 2023! Apparently 30 is the pearl anniversary?! Released in January 1993, this ski film re-directed the trend of slap stick comedy ski movies of the 1980s and early 1990s. Sure, the story is familiar, two friends head west in search of a better life and lots of distractions get in the way of them achieving their dreams. A well-worn path, for sure, but the amazing ski sequences (frozen waterfall?!), throwback gear and likable characters and familiar settings make the movie a cult classic for many skiers. Fun fact, the movie is viewed annually every November at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen. In 2021, Ski Magazine published a reflective interview with writer-director, in which Patrick Hasburgh shared lesser known facts about the making of the movie. The most profound; he had an entirely different movie in mind! Beware the cutting room floor. Enjoy 30* trivia questions to mark the 30^th anniversary!

4:12: About Aspen Extreme

5:07: Critical Acclaim

11:56: Staying Power

14:31: Teaser Riddle Revealed

16:14: Trivia Category #1 – Aspen Extreme 101

23:27: Trivia Category #2 – Numbers

26:08: Trivia Category #3 – Ski Magazines

28:53: Trivia Category #4 – The Powder 8

32:55: Last Chair

Sources:

• Ski Magazine
• IMDB
• Rotten Tomatoes
• TVTrops.org
• Wikipedia
• Seattle Times
• New York Times
• Los Angles Times

*Ok, ok, sticklers; there are 27 questions among the four trivia categories, but buried in the episode are 3 others. Listen again to find them!

Powder Hounds Ski Trivia Podcast Episode 42 - Amazing Multi-Mountain Pass You Missed & Race to Open Closure (December 2, 2022)

Ski season is well underway across the country, with the East finally getting into the fun thanks to a short, 48-hour cold spell window in mid-November. Fifteen ski areas opened before Thanksgiving, the most since 2019 (and two ski areas opened on Turkey Day). Last episode focused on the race to open in the East, reviewing the historical opening dates and projected openings this November and picking a winner. Let’s just say, there were some surprises. The Tips Up segment includes (listen rec); a thoughtful conversation on climate policy between Adam Jaber, Out of Bounds and Mario Molina of Protect Our Winters; (watch rec) a short video by Beau Miles to inspire you to be more productive; and similar idea-Procrastinator's Punishment; (read rec) my article published by Ski, reminding folks you can still chase powder at an affordable price in-season. The trivia games gave a nod to Ski’s humorous article highlighting scathing comments to their best ski resorts ranking via their reader poll; LL Bean discount ski days like at Black Mountain for the awesome price of $15 per lift ticket; Ski New Hampshire’s deep inventory of lift ticket discounts; and the best for last, No Boundaries Pass, the amazingly affordable, multi-mountain lift ticket product you don’t know about.

Segments:

3:06 - Tips Up

8:32 - Race to Open Closure

13:45 - Trivia Game 1

17:46 - Trivia Game 2

26:58 - Special Episode Preview

Sources:

New England Ski Journal, No Boundaries, Out of Bounds Media, Semi-rad.com, Ski New Hampshire, Ski Mag, Ski Central.com, NBC, various ski area websites