16 January 2017 — Happy Birthday to Dr. King, albeit a day after the historic date…so let’s start with a couple good causes…first up The National Winter Activity Center in Vernon NJ is seeking township approval for some improvements at the nonprofit educational ski facility. If you weren’t aware, this is at the former Hidden Valley ski resort. Part of the plan includes nordic trails on top of the hill, and expanding the classic base lodge to accommodate more kids. Schone Malliet, who heads the NWAC, sez it is “a sacred place for kids” to learn to ski and develop appreciation for the outdoors. The foundation coordinates their efforts with schools, churches, Boys & Girls Clubs, Scouting and other organizations to provide reduced-cost skiing and lessons. Last season the NWAC provided skiing for some 800 youths, and they hope to double that number, which is a good thing…on a much smaller scale, Schroon Lake Ski Tow in New York state provides free skiing for a bunch of local kids who otherwise have very few activity options during the winter. Problem is they’re dependent on natural snow, so some folks are spearheading an effort to bootstrap snowmaking. They’ve got the water, just needs some heads and a diesel powered compressor. If you can help, drop an e-mail to info@skibum.net and I’ll pass it along. The local economy is a mixed bag to be sure, so the efforts are well worth supporting…and to update question I left off with last week, what happens to Liftopia tix holders when Mad River Glen VT or other operations with limited snowmaking have to unexpectedly bang it up mid season? Well Liftopia is a bit cryptic about this, but seems if you dig deep enough they do make good in these cases, as long as the ski area is in agreement. And so this past weekend we got assurances from MRG that any Liftopia tix would be refunded, which is a good thing. Always want to support the throwback areas. Now we just need some snow in the Greens…A-Team updates me with the photo above from Keystone CO yesterday, as you can see blue skies have replaced the storm clouds and the conditions are nothing short of fantastic; up the road at Arapahoe Basin they’ve opened up the East Wall. This has to be one of the earliest I can recall for that patch of nasty terrain. Look close at the photo and you’ll see Breckenridge in the distance. If you pointed this camera a little to the right you’d see Copper, and left you’d see the Montezuma Bowl at the aforementioned Basin. Thanks for the pic…quite a weekend on the World Cup scene, we’ll recap that tomorrow morning…back to Keystone, Summit County Sheriff’s Office has joined forces with Metro Denver Crime Stoppers seeking witnesses to a reckless snowboarder/skier collision that occurred Monday, January 2, 2017 at approximately 3 p.m. on the Haywood trail. What is known is the boarder hit a woman from behind — remember skier/boarder in front has the right of way, just like in cars — and the skier enjoyed extensive surgery with 13 screws in her body as a result. The victim claims that the boarder simply said “It was just an accident, dude, there was nothing I could do about it,” and then rushed away. Uh, sorry dude, this is a crime — just like in cars. “An unidentified snowboarder reportedly collided with the victim and left the scene without providing name and contact information,” stated a release by Crime Stoppers. “Based upon the reported information this would be a violation of the Skier Safety Act law which required all skiers/boarders involved in a collision stop, exchange information and summon aid.” The boarder is described as 5-foot-9, 160 pounds, wearing a black and red Ruroc Inferno full-face helmet and light brown pants. Witnesses should contact Detective Scott Wagner at (970) 423-8913 or if you know the “dude” and wish to remain anonymous you may call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at (720) 913-7867…thoughts and prayers are with an unidentified 35-year-old man who skied into a tree yesterday at Brighton Resort UT; he was flown to Intermountain Medical Center “in very critical condition” according to local police…