Newsletter- 4.02.24 – Silver Hares Nordic

Newsletter- 12.08.24

Ski Day-Recap 12.07.24

Well gang our first Saturday this season is in the books, we saw a good 50+ skiers come out even though conditions were forecast to be icy which it certainly was not on the lower trails nor as far up as Powder Gulch chair on the upper trails. In fact the snow was awesome, smooth as butter and speedy. The conditions put slowpokes like me under the illusion that we were fast. Higher than Powder Gulch, it was definitely icy and to be avoided.

A huge shout out to the volunteer leaders that were present, we had great coverage for all the teams. Leaders adjusted their routes to take advantage of the great skiing available and stayed away from the icy trails past the Powder Gulch chair. No groups took the gondola up which was a wise decision according to leader John McHutchion and Silver Hare Mike Murphy who scouted that option , it was flat out scary, icy and lucky they did not take a bad fall coming down.

All the SilverStar trails were busy since Sovereign had closed to the public and this is a good time to remind everyone to be kind and safety conscious in overtaking and passing. Sadly we had a snowshoe walker on the common use trail of Bridle get hit. Fortunately no injury resulted though could have been much worse. We have 3 witnesses to the incident, I will follow up and talk to them all, the skier in question is thought to be a Silver Hare and may be known to one witness.

Silver Hares Dine & Donation

Our ” Leader Appreciation Dinner ” was attended by 81 Hares. Leaders were recognized for their contribution to the Silver Hares with “Certificates of Appreciation ” plus a couple other accolades for those leaders in attendance. Leaders unable to attend please visit the Village Ski Shop in the next week, before SS closes, there is a special envelope waiting for you behind the counter with your name on it.

Raffle prizes were generously donated by Brian James from the Village Ski Shop.

A highlight of the evening was SilverStar GM and Pwder parent company VP Herwig Demschar as well as Ian Jenkins SilverStar Programs /Marketing Director joining the fun. Herwig donned his Silver Hares Toque when he stepped up to address us all which was met with applause and cheers. He shared his support for the XC community and specifically how happy he was to see the Silver Hares establish themselves this season.

The major highlight of the evening, beyond getting a chance to recognize the Silver Hares leaders, was a donation in the name of Silver Hares of $5,000 dollars. Much to everyone’s delight and surprise Ian Jenkins announced Silver Star was matching to create a $10,000 donation. I am sure you are by now wondering where these funds were going to be directed towards. Drum roll here . We are helping to fund a new Nordic Program for Vernon’s High School Students. Our donation will be used to purchase about 50 sets of XC ski gear for the program’s use and guiding and instruction. This new Nordic program has been in discussion for some time with Paul Britton of Vernon School District 22, Ian Jenkins for SilverStar and myself on behalf of the Silver Hares.

The High School teens will be bussed up one day a week next season to discover xc skiing. Operational details of this program are being worked on now including developing instruction to ensure the most enjoyable outcomes.

Silver Hares Nordic Jackets

New for next season: Silver Hares Nordic jackets. I have been talking with Jackaroo, here is a picture of the jacket without color or design: ARENDAL custom nordic warm-up jacket by JAKROO

Our logo will be on the front, same on as on the Toques. The back of the jacket will sport a Skiing Silver Hare, perhaps skate and/or classic. The rough sketches for those are done and we hope to have final version by end of May. Once we have a mockup we will share with you all to see who is interested. Here are the sketches at this point:

Right now, purchase order price for 1 jacket wholesale is $270, retail would be upwards of $350. If we get to a purchase order of 50 jacket the cost is $135 each. The Silver Hares number over 250 skiers now so I think 50 jackets is doable. We will ask people ordering jackets for a donation beyond the projected cost of $135 in support of the new Nordic program, mentioned above, with no obligation. But. heck even hares not purchasing a jacket are welcome to donate to the kids.

A really special quality Jakroo is their sizing policy. They are excellent at getting it right and offer help along those lines. If they do get it wrong you have a couple options: first send it back for full credit on another sizing, second keep the jacket and get 50% discount on a new size version.

Retro and Vintage Dress-Up

With 16 Hares participating in Retro-wear day, an excellent first go! From feedback heard, many more Hares will join in next season. We’ll let the pictures do the talking. There was no official vote for best outfit but I am going to have to go with Dave Wild.

Summer Silver Hares Activities & Sightings

It would be great to stay connected through our website this summer. We encourage you all to send in pictures or stories form your travels and activities. Maybe even a picture here and there wearing your Silver Hares Toque at some interesting locations are activities.

Or join in on our rides. John Pavelich, a past level 1 PMBIA (Professional Mountain Bike Instructors Association) will start rides after S2S and will focus on safe easy rides that will progress as the group expands. The aim is fun with a workout!

Thank you for the wonderful season!

We may change the format of these long emails next season, don’t worry the content remains the same but you will have more ability to avoid having to read everything other than what interests you. Stay tuned.

Lastly, you will receive a Google Form (after the dust settles from our S2S duties) asking a few questions regarding this past season and going forward to the next. It will be short and sweet, honest. Please take a moment to help us make next year better.

Contact Silver Hares: xcskierpat@yahoo.com

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