End of our skiing?

From:  Mel Magree
To: oldmanwinter@spiritmt.com
End of our skiing?

Hello,

The rumors have been flying about reduced hours for skiing.  One couple reported that the web site said that Spirit Mt. won't open until 1:00 on most weekdays.  I tried to find it on my iPhone without success this morning.  After much hunting on my laptop I found the tentative hours.  Sadly, the tentative plans are as they said.

From http://www.spiritmt.com/ski-board

2014/2015 Tentative Hours of Operation


Monday - Thursday  1pm to 8pm
Friday & Saturday  9am to 9pm
Sunday  9am to 5pm
Holidays  9am to 9pm (12/21 - 01/01, Jan. 17-18, Feb. 14-15)
Holiday Mondays 9am to 8pm (Jan. 19, Feb. 16)

If this is the case, we will not be renewing our season passes.  We are morning skiers as many other seniors are.  We like the less crowded conditions at 9:00 and even 10:00.  Many of those I spoke to feel the same.

As I left Spirit Mt. this morning, I noticed that all the near parking was filled and people were parking in the lower lot.  How many of these people will come at 1:00 instead?

You have probably considered many of the ramifications of this later opening.

Besides those who are morning skiers, will you be getting as many school groups?  Will they want to ski for an hour-and-a-half before they have to get on the bus to return to school?  Those same buses and drivers are going to have to be on routes at school closing.

How many people that would come up from the cities for a day will come for an afternoon of skiing?  It will be easier for them to go to Afton Alps.

What are the ramifications for the hospitality industry in Duluth?  Spirit Mt. is a "breeder reactor".  It's existence creates business for the city of Duluth that is not on Spirit Mt's books.

I hope you can come to a definite schedule for next year before April 15th, our last day to get the discounted season tickets.

Two entries - better late than never

I've had two blog entries in my head since April, but I never found a round tuit to write them.  Even though they may not be timely, you might find them interesting.

An April Fool's joke

On 1 April my wife was standing in the kitchen after breakfast musing about something.  I said, "Your shoes are untied."  She looked down at her slip-ons and said, "Oh, that's a good one!"

Who am I to complain?

For years when it's not ski season, I've gone downtown for coffee, then to the library, and then maybe to lunch.

At first, I went to a coffee shop owned by some friends.  When they retired, I went to a coffee shop nearby instead.  Besides the good coffee, I appreciated the classical music from public radio.

Then government budget cuts hit the library and it was no longer open on Monday mornings.  So, I went to the fitness center instead.  Maybe afterward I would walk to the library.

This spring when the ski slope closed, I went back to the coffee shop.  Instead of classical music on public radio there was pop music on commercial radio.  I mentioned it to a barista; he said the owner changed the station because some of the regulars complained that the classical music put them to sleep.  They came to the coffee shop to wake up.

The pop music was not overly loud but the commercials were and set my teeth on edge.  I never went back.

Who am I to complain?  I went there once a week for nine months of the year.  The regulars were there every weekday twelve months a year.

I went to another nearby coffee shop twice but the coffee was so weak that I decided not to go back.

I could have gone to another coffee shop (locally owned) but it was farther from the bus stop and over a windy bridge.

So, I've stopped going downtown on a regular basis altogether.  Maybe I'm saving money but I miss dropping in on a few shopkeepers.  And I've stopped reading the variety of magazines at the library.

The real downside is I've stopped walking so much.  It has to be a nice day with no special errands for me to walk the mile to a local coffee shop twice a week.

"I took the [road] less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost