Peak Trail Count, Insolent Cars, and Waffles.

There are certain euphemisms that mountains use when talking about weather. Gale-force winds are "breezy". Rain is "premature snow". And freezing temperatures are "brisk" or "nippy". But the end of this week has been plain, unpolished cold. It perhaps hasn't been the sort of world-ending, catastrophic cold that some people have been suggesting--though it has been uncomfortable if you weren't wearing proper layers. But let's be careful not to turn this in to the winter version of summer's "Shark Week", where, for about seven slow news days, it seems like everyone who goes in to the ocean is getting eaten by sharks. It's January. It's Vermont. A few days like this is how we pay our dues for those glorious three weeks of summer.

In this issue:
~ Holiday Weekend Projections
~ Dining Deals: Waffles
~ Return of Night Riders
~ Contest: Winners and Trivia

Weekend Projections
We're versatile creatures. We can adjust to cold or hot weather, and invent hi-tech synthetic fabrics to get us through even the most extreme blasts. But it'd be nice if it warmed up soon, right? And it will. I mean, it kind of has to. We seem to have hit the low-temperature nadir before dawn Friday, and Saturday should be a touch more comfortable, with tropical highs approaching 6F. But brace yourself: on Sunday, we should be out of the single digits, with temps cresting around 13F. Get out those Bermuda shorts. Along with this arctic reprieve, we're seeing the possibility of some snowfall Saturday, with odds improving for measurable snow Sunday. Heading in to the week, daytime highs will stay in the mid-teens, and there seems to be an omnipresent chance for more snow showers. So, the worst is behind us. I'm already reminiscing. Remember that time it was too cold for night skiing? That was awesome.

The big news isn't the soon-to-warm weather. It's the terrain. After a bit of a mechanical delay, the Timberline lift is now spinning, and made its season debut at 10am Friday morning. I think what finally fixed the thing was my strategy of smirking at it and shouting the occasional sarcastic comment. "Oh, you're doing a great job, Timberline Lift. People are really psyched about it." I can't say what the scientific purpose of that was, but apparently it got results. With Timberline running, we've been able to open up almost all of that terrain-the lone hold-out is Upper Tattle Tale, on which we're about to fire the snow guns. Long-time Bolton-istas will appreciate the historical significance of that: no one can remember the last time that run has benefited from man-made snow. Our snowmakers have gone mad with power. When Wilderness joins the fun Saturday, we will finally be offering all 6 of our lifts and almost 100% of our trails open for skiing and riding. It's so...symmetrical. Snow surfaces remain very nice, with machine-groomed packed powder predominant. Conditions are good out there, so bundle up and get in some bonus turns courtesy of this long weekend. To get the daily Snow Report e-mailed to you each morning, sign up here.

Dining Deals: Waffles
You know, we're getting closer and closer to turning this newsletter in to legal currency. We give out free lift tickets for answering trivia, we let you know about new lodging deals, and we send you prizes if you send us photos. This thing has value. The next step, I guess, is to start printing it out and exchanging it for goods and services. I'm working on it.

For now, we'll have to settle for advance notices on special offers. Like this one: until January 31st, the Waffle Cabin beside our Base Lodge is offering one of...whatever it is they make...for $2. I want to say it's "jean shorts", but I'll check. Wait, it's waffles. Get yourself a waffle for $2. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but those waffles are thick, delicious, and smell like happiness. Here's an equation that explains it better: U + $2(W) = J. "U" is you, "W" is waffles, and "J" is joy multiplied by the mass of the Sun. They're good waffles.

The Return of Night Riders
I can't believe this is coming back. I mean, I appreciate the old series for its low-budget goofiness and Hasselhoff's unbridled Bavarian masculinity, but I feel like its time has passed (also: do not google "Hasselhoff" unless you're prepared for some things you can't un-see). I mean, we kind of have talking cars now. It's called OnStar, and it's not that amazing. Sure, KITT can drive itself and deploy all sorts of rudimentary evasive devices, like oil slicks, or smoke, or...actually those are the only two. But did it have satellite radio? No. Did it have GPS? Barely. Did it argue with you? All the time. I think we're better off without a new Knight Rider.

Okay...having taken another look at this event memo, I realize my mistake. In fact, I'm supposed to tell you that Bolton will be hosting the 2009 Night Rider series every Wednesday evening starting January 21st. Apologies. The nature of the competition changes every week-sometimes it's a rail jam (like January 21st), sometimes it's slopestyle (like January 28th), sometimes it's whatever else we dream up (like "Flaming Snowboard Jousting", which will absolutely not be a Night Rider event). You can track the series on our event calendar, or check out the details of this Wednesday's Night Riders competition, here.

Contest: Winners and Trivia
Well, I've learned that people like trivia. Last week's question was a bit trickier than our first round (which basically means the answer was not on Wikipedia), but many of you puzzled it out. "Wizard Way" is the new trail name, and of the correct responses, Alex Friend was arbitrarily chosen the winner. Alex's winnings: a free lift ticket. Enjoy. This week's question: "What is Bolton Valley's Base Lodge elevation, within 50-feet?" Send in the correct answer as determined by myself and my team of expert surveyors, and I'll send one of you a lift ticket suitable for framing or bronzing.

And I'll remind you all, again, about that ongoing "Photo-of-the-Day Contest", wherein you send me interesting/horrifying pictures, and I send you a free lift ticket if your stuff makes it on to the website. There's been a rising wave of web-worthy photos coming in, and I've put some up in our Photo Gallery to acknowledge you snow paparazzi. Be aware: the more photos you send in, the fewer I have to go out and get myself, and the harder it becomes to explain my mid-day disappearances. Classic butterfly effect. The end result: I have to invent new reasons to go skiing and there are freak tornadoes in Nova Scotia. Ripples, people. Anyway, the details are on this page, and, as always, submissions can be sent to me at jthibault@boltonvalley.com.

That's all this week. I'm not going to do a word count, but I'll assume the newsletter is bloated as always. The important thing to remember is this: that arctic cold won't last forever. And when it does finally lift, anything above single digits will feel like the Bahamas. When we hit 15F, I'll be out tanning on the Base Lodge deck, reading whatever Oprah tells me to read. So look forward to that, enjoy your holiday weekend, and have fun playing in some snow.

Justin