December 12, 2011 - 12:25 AM
Holiday Valley is scheduled to open for skiing and riding Wednesday, with enough snow made to open the Mardi Gras and Yodeler quad lifts serving Mardi Gras, Yodeler and the Candy Cane loop.
The School Haus area might also be opened. Snow is being made on Cindy's Run and Sunrise and they and other slopes will soon be ready, the resort said in a press release. Hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. with lift tickets costing $40 for adults and $30 for juniors for 8 hours.
Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placed is open for skiing top to bottom. Log on to www.whitefacelakeplacid.com for early-season deals.
Speaking of Lake Placid, check out this video to see how Matt Alheim, watching a hockey game between Union and RPI, came away with a Chevy without having to make a down payment. His shot from center ice had to pass through a barrier with a hole only a half-inch wider than the puck. Local organizers are calling this the second Miracle on Ice.
-- Fletcher Doyle
The Chris Zider Snowboarding Binding Design Challenge put up $20,000 in prize money to encourage people to design a snowboard binding that would release, freeing someone who has fallen into deep snow. It has announced the four finalists.
"We're trying to save some lives, and hoping snowboarding companies and manufacturers will pick up on these ideas and help the inventors commercialize them," Bob Zider, whose son, Chris, fell into a tree well and suffocated, said in a press release. "We need input from engineers and boarders. The key criteria are technically solid design, and a device young, deep-powder boarders would buy (at less than $100)."
The finalists propose bindings that would release when the boarder is upside down for 30 or 60 seconds, would be separated from the board by a small explosive device triggered remotely by the boarder, or would be release by a foot lever similar to those found on skis.
You can check out and vote on the bindings at the challenge's facebook page.
-- Fletcher Doyle
