Sun and Ski Sports, Up to 50% off July 4th Sale

Summer sales for bikes and outdoor gear are in full swing as the July 4th holiday approaches. Sun and Ski Sports with stores in 7 states as well as a robust online store are promoting up to 50% through the holiday. Be sure to see all the great cycling deals and more.

Boreal Mountain Reopening for Summer Weekend

Late snows in the west have resulted in various areas re opening for weekends this summer. The latest is Boreal Mountain Resort who announced they will reopen for a weekend of skiing and riding July 10-11, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. The area’s Castle Peak Quad will service a variety of park features. Lift tickets will cost $20. More details will be available shortly, according to the resort. Enjoy the summer skiing and pleasure of riding the lifts in July. 

Bike to Work Day a Boulder Celebration of Bikes and Cycling

Bike to work day will finds thousands of enthusiasts leaving their cars at home to "Bike to work", here in Boulder on Wednesday June 23, 2010. Part of a month long celebration and awareness, this cycling crazed city will have 40 plus breakfast stations manned for participants walking or riding to work in the AM between 7 and 9, available at locations around Boulder.

Sue Prant, the director of Walk & Bike Month, encourages and invites all participants to be counted and register at www.communitycycles.org, that also includes the location of breakfast stations.

Another highlight part of the day is the Bike Shorts Film Fest stating at 5:30 p.m. at Old Main at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Activity begins at Old Main with an ice cream social and music. Movie viewers will move inside the Old Main for the Bike Shorts films.

Admission is $6, with all proceeds benefits Community Cycles' Youth Earn-A-Bike program.

Antique Ski Lift Chairs from Butternut Basin

Antique chairlift chairs now available for collectors from Ski Butternut

Retired 48 to 50+ year old chairlift’s double chairs now available to

skiing enthusiasts and collectors alike.

For those interested in having a unique piece of skiing nostalgia to adorn their

home or garden, Ski Butternut is offering three different styles of antique chairlift

chairs for sale. Price is $200 per chair. Guests can pickup their chairs at Ski

Butternut - 380State Road, Great Barrington, Massachusetts 01230.

There are three chairlift style chairs to choose from (use link to view picture).

Borvig or Carlavaro or maybe a Mueller.

There are a total of 85 chairs; 2 Mueller, 23 Borvig and 60 Carlavaro. These

chairs vary in design and construction. Some used wooden slats for seats and

backs, while others used metal or a more durable composite. These old double

chairlift chairs are all truly remarkable pieces of skiing history. Antique chairlift

chairs are quickly disappearing. Each lift chair is being sold as is. Chairs must be

picked up at Ski Butternut. To secure a chair one must first call the Ski Butternut

main office 413.528.2000 x111. Please have your credit card ready. Full

payment will reserve a chair for pickup. Pickup can be accommodated from 10

a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, or at the same times over the weekend

of August 1st and 2nd. Cash sales will also be accepted, but we are unable to

hold a chair in your name until payment has been secured. Personal checks will

not be accepted. All chairs are sold on a first-come first-served basis.

All Lift chairs can fit in a standard truck bed. Customers have also strapped

chairs down onto the top of their vehicles for transport. Please bring

appropriate tie down cords, or other means so you can firmly attach the chair

to your vehicle. Chairs measure approximately 42” wide by 98” tall by 28” deep

and weigh 35 to 45 pounds. The Carlavaro chairs have been disassembled into

three pieces (a hanger, hoop and basket) making them easier to transport for

those without access to a truck. These chairs can be reassembled using a

screwdriver and wrench.

There are only 2 Mueller center pole style chairlift double chairs remaining. This

lift was manufactured in 1961 by Mueller (a Swiss company that still

manufactures chairlifts today). The lift was powered by a 65 HP motor and was

originally installed at Mount Cathalia in Ellenville, NY, before being purchased

and relocated to Ski Butternut (known then as Butternut Basin). Channing

Murdock and the Butternut Basin Lift Maintenance crew sweated through all

aspects of the installation of the foreign made lift components to get it ready for

the coming winters’ guests. This Mueller lift carried many an aspiring novice to

the top of the Cruiser ski slope at Ski Butternut until it was decommissioned in

2004. Ski Butternut replaced this aging lift with a quad chairlift prior to the winter

of 2005.

There are 60 Carlavaro chairlift chairs available which were originally installed on

the ski slopes at the Dartmouth Ski Way in NH. Channing purchased these chairs

from them in 1992. These Italian made chairs served as backup chairs for the

original summit double chair and for our beloved Paddy’s beginner chairlift, also

a Carlavaro, which through great care is still in operation at the resort today.

Channing Murdock also purchased 23 Borvig chairs along with the other lift

components and a 15 horsepower drive unit from another mountain. These

components were installed at the mountain as the Scooter lift in 1969. The

Scooter lift, in tandem with the Paddy’s chairlift, serviced the areas numerous

beginner clients. Today a series of four Sun Kid carpet lifts in conjunction with the

Paddy’s chairlift better serve the continual mix of beginners, of which a high

percentage of these are children through young teens. Guests, just learning to

ski today, desire a less intimidating, confidence building, yet fun transportation

link to the various starting points for lessons on the Scooter learning slope. This

series of new carpets deliver the right mix for our guests today.

Keen interest has been expressed in acquiring a chair by many Ski Butternut

loyal guests, instructors, patrollers as well as a number of the local ski shops.

Purchasers have told me they desire to incorporate these unique and limited

pieces of skiing history into their backyard, garden, game room or storefront.

Many want to restore these historical treasures so as to preserve the memories

they have had on the slopes of our beloved mountain. 

Have some fun, be creative and once you are done please send me pictures of your new special treasure. Email your pictures to: Marketing@SkiButternut.com along with a description telling us what

makes it special for you.

Half Price Mountain Bike Lift ticket at Plattekill Mountain Bike Park

Plattekill Mountain Bike Park has geared up for another spring, summer and fall of the best lift served mountain biking in the New York metro area and Catskill region. Once again Plattekill Mountain Bike Park will offer Mountain Sports Club members half price lift tickets for lift serviced mountain biking.

Join now and save on every visit to the mountains. Summer special now available, annual membership now only $9.95, save $20 for a full year premium membership. Use it once it's paid for, Use it often and Save hundreds! To redeem special offer - enter ebird10 in promotion code box when upgrading to premium status. You can always call us to order over the phone and to speak to a live person Monday - Friday 8 am - 4 PM Mountain time at 303.554.6555.

Kirkwood Skiing and Snowboarding July 4th

Kirkwood Mountain Resort announced that they will open for skiing and snowboarding on July 4 weekend this summer 2010. Continued snow and cool temperatures have worked to make this an option. Front page of their web site says it all for the big weekend.

"Get on board for a huge weekend full of skiing, riding, mountain biking, barbeques and MORE during the 4th of July holiday! Chairs 1 and 2 will open for skiing/riding/mountain bike access on Friday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Then, on Sunday, check out the action in the Avalanche Cup - a race designed for skiers and snowboarders in Thunder Saddle starting at 9:30am! Chair 6 will also turn for skiing/riding, and scenic chair rides on Sunday from 10am to 2pm."

Colorado Ski Country USA Adds Free Lessons to Passport Program

It was interesting to see and welcome at that for Colorado Ski Country USA (CSCUSA) trade group to announce major new feature to its 5th grade passport program: one free/complimentary ski lesson, including rental equipment, for 5th grade passport holders who are new to the sport.

With entry level classes down nationwide it is key for resorts to encourage new participants. The lessons will be provided during the month of January as part of January Learn-to-Ski-and-Snowboard Month. Parents of 5th graders signed up for the Colorado Ski Country Passport will be provided with information about the opportunity for their child to learn to ski and can choose from among Colorado Ski Country USA member resorts. Details are posted online and in the coupons books distributed with the program.

Next year will mark the 15th season of Colorado Ski Country USA’s 5th Grade Passport program, which provides three days of free skiing at each participating CSCUSA member resort. Through its history, the program has helped nearly 200,000 kids ski or snowboard.

The original objective of the 5th grade passport was to give every kid who grows up in Colorado the opportunity to learn to ski or ride. Adding this new component to the 5th grade program will help make sure that it fulfills this original promise. Expect other state groups to follow this lead.