Family Matters

Sunday another beautiful day on the slopes......and a LOT of families having a great time........big snow coming today and tomorrow........great conditions Wed, Thur, Fri, Sat, Sun...........gee, I don't know when the great conditions will stop......certainly not this week......and did you see the weekend temps?

.......thanks for these two pics Darci.......

....here are a couple of many pics I took Sunday.......

........if you have some favorite pics you have taken at Seven Oaks, email them to us and I will get them on the blog for all to see...........

Wow to yesterday for two reasons.....

First it was an awesome day........enjoyed by a lot of you........snow is still great.......more in the forecast for next week........something like Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.......

....but Second and the best is Mike Schminke surprising his children who were riding (routine event) at Seven Oaks last night as he arrived home for a two week leave (non routine event) from Afganistan.....which is awesome, awesome, awesome.........Thanks Mike and all the other service men and women for doing what you do........which makes it possible for us to do what we do...........and thanks to your family too.......

....and it was just a couple years ago Mike surprised his family at Seven Oaks.....including his wife that time.....when he got home from Iraq.........

......took several pics yesterday and will share with you over the next three days........

......some of the pics we post are serving the purpose of proof to wives that their husbands were in deed skiing at Seven Oaks while they were at dance competitions.........funny.......

I was wrong - today is 100% too!

Yesterday 100% Today 98%

Yesterday was probably the absolute most perfect day to be on the slopes that we have had so far this season........I give it a 100 out of a possible 100........sunshine, temp, snow, wind all taken into consideration.......

......based on that scientific calculation, I would give today a 98 out of 100........only because the sun is not quite as blue and the temps are going to be a little less than yesterday.......but the snow will again be incredible........and it groomed great last night............

.....also pleased to report that when using my snow calculator, with new batteries, that the snow loss on the trails was between .001 and .002 yesterday whereas the snow loss in the parking lot was .481 to .677

....so there you have it.........all the reasons to be a little disgruntled that you missed yesterday but every reason to not miss today........

some quick pics from late yesterday

Today's Recipe

Ingredients

• Slopes are open from 10am to 9 pm
• Sunshine
• 35 degrees
• Plenty of snow

Add you to the mix for several hours and you will have a batch of FUN......

see you on the slopes........

Rail Yard Changed Today

First with regard to the Rail Yard changes, the entrance to the Park from Abbys Alley has been moved..........further up hill........above tower 4 of the chairlift.........which will let us put more features in that are all accessible from this entrance........

.....and we added the battleship plus..........see pics......

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open at 4 today..........ten dollar lift tickets.........weather is warmer today than all of last week......awesome........

Sunday....nothing but blue sky, sun and pics

Quick Pic

......took a few new pics shortly after opening..........so we could share with you.......

Left most of the trails this morning with yesterdays snow..........but did groom School Yard, Abby's Alley and Central Park............IT IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY HERE TODAY....

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....one more time.............if you want a Late Nite scheduled this year, you are gonna have to let us know.........got two yes comments but takes more than two........

Quick Comment and Quick Question

Quick comment........today is the first of five consecutive fridays that we will be open from 10 am to 9 pm for ski and snowboard........tubing will remain open from 4 to 9 pm........tell you friends......especially those that don't have school one of these fridays.........got just under two inches of snow this morning.......we will NOT groom it out today........but will groom tonight.......

Quick question......how many of you want us to schedule a Late Nite this winter......we will put at least one on the calendar if we hear from enough of you...........you have to let us know and would be best if you would comment back to us on the blog..........let your voice be heard........

Finished a busy Monday MLK day and shortly after started grooming as the temps were slowly then quickly dropping as the cold front arrived. Got an inch or less last night so we did not groom Drop Zone, Elwoods and did not groom all of Central Park or Kenzies.......left some fluffy for tonight.......

.....cold but sun is shining bright today.......wind is pretty minimal too.........and......bonus.....more snow tonight even though it sounds like most of it will be further south than what was originally predicted........giving Missouri about four inches instead of us......

....some more random pics... is it follow the leader in Abbys Alley or just a chance shot?

my nephew and his wife...............Gabby and her Sis.......

...wanted to share a bit of this email that came in yesterday.....very cool.........

"I brought my church kids out for the Sunday Park Pass on Jan 16. The kids were super excited when I told them about it eralier this winter and couldn't wait fot he trip. The chance to try all three events was a huge appeal and the price was definitely right.

I knew other groups would be coming for the evening too and was pleasantly surprised at how smooth and quick the check in and payment process was. The rental shop was busy but we got geared up and out the door easily. I have been to Seven Oaks in the past and I really think the new flow of the rental shop really helps!.........in fact all the staff were pretty fantastic.

One of my students, James, is blind and our instructors, Danny B, spent lots of time with him on the bunny hill and helped him learn to ski! It was awesome and made my heart so happy to see James grinning and doing it on his own! Danny even took him on Abbys Alley three times. What a cool memory for him.......and me!

Also one of the tubing hill attendants, Ian, was especially nice and helpful to me, all my kids and he kept an eye out for James when he got to the bottom. Thanks so much!"

WOW.......

Gabby

......before I get to ramblin too much , I had better one more time mention that Seven Oaks is open today from 10 am to 6 pm for MLK...........got about one inch of snow so far during the night........after we groomed.........

......and I will mention that those of you without season passes will be interested in our special deal for this coming Friday.........January 21.......which is the first of five Fridays we will have extended hours this season.........more on that tomorrow.......

.....but now about Gabby...........Gabby sent us several pics taken Saturday when she was up from Ankeny spending the day on the snow with her hubby Adam (my nephew) and her sis Ashli..........thanks for sharing Gabby........

...a shot of fam on Willet's Way...

....a couple views of Abby's Alley..........from the top looking down.......

........and from near the bottom looking up........

.....and a series showing Gabby.........whom I am interested in hiring as a ski instructor........

....oh, geez........just remembered.......her name is Abby.......not Gabby.......which is why she enjoys Abby's Alley so much.........LOL

It is Sunday and I love this picture....

......not much wind today......little warmer than yesterday.........snow continues to be great.....several arriving early this morning to get on the slopes at 11...........we will be open tomorrow .......Monday, MLK day from 10 to 6.....

...got a really nice email yesterday from a recent visitor from Ankeny.....paying compliments to Austin in the sales office, ski instructors Bob and Hannah and all the tubing staff ..........thanks Kelly for the kind words........we post those for all employees to see and it makes their day..........mine too........

Water, Rain, Snowman, Otto

You might have been hearing on the news about the water mains that broke in Boone a couple days ago that forced water users of that system to implement a boil your water order ..........but.......good news.......Seven Oaks is on the Ogden water system so we avoided all that hassle...........whew.....

.....was told that the DSM area saw some freezing rain yesterday afternoon.........understand it was brief but caused some headaches........we only had snow from the same system......light flurries then big flakes for a while.........we avoided that hassle too........

......had Tater playing guitar and singing in the lodge last night........he does a really good job.......

.....got a pic here that demonstrates the artistic abilities of one of our lifties........Mr Snowman (who is only about 8 inches tall) will be on site to welcome you at the Cyclone Chairlift...........til it gets warm one day........

.....some of you know him as Otto......the bus driver.........some of you know him as Chairlift Tony.....and others it is just Tony......our friend...........well, he went thru his surgery in DSM and is now HOME....recovering.........great news........

.....did you know we have a team member with the last name Frost and another team member with the last name Snow.......true.........very fitting that they are at Seven Oaks helping with all our winter sports.........now we need to find someone with the name River or Kayak to work here this summer........

.......snow groomed so great last night..........got a little bit of a late start due to a mechanical issue with one of the groomers........but Kris and Frost got it repaired and we were able to groom last night instead of this morning.........wrapped it up at 12:30 and still got a full nights sleep........the snow was so powder soft that the tiller box was more than full all the time..........and you know that is going to leave sweet cordouroy........

......forecast still has some snow for Monday and Tuesday..........already had some flurries this morning too.........one more time I want to remind you we are open Monday for MLK day.........from 10 am to 6 pm.........

.....one of my granddaughters had her tonsils removed Thursday.....welcome to the world of ice cream, popcicles, juice......etc.......oh she wants to come to Seven Oaks sooooooo bad........but she must stay in where it is warm and keep relatively quiet........what is relatively quiet for a four year old?......

......lots of groups here the next couple of days so I reckon I should get off the computer and do something constructive.........eat........

.....see you on the slopes......

Quick update and Billy Kidd.......

......yep.........the conditions Wednesday night and Thursday night were awesome.......and a lot of you came to enjoy it........ powder is not an every day occurance so it was nice to see everyone enjoy it..........and it was nice to get the thanks we got for not grooming all the trails......leaving the powder.........

.....today we had school groups here from Coon Rapids and from Fort Dodge.........weather and snow were both great........tonight should also be terrific..........

.....I wasn't around much after we opened Wednesday and wasn't here at all on Thursday so I didn't get to hear much about the changes made to Willet's Way and the Rail Yard.......hope it is liked.......and we will make more changes as we progress along .......

....wanted to remind you that we are open Monday, January 17 for MLK Holiday......10 to 6........that is in addition to our normal hours today, Saturday and Sunday........

.....next time you are in the lodge check out the skis that were mounted on our wall with a plaque that tells a little about them........they were made special for Billy Kidd in his pursuit of Gold in the 1966 World Championship..........as it turns out these 227 cm skiis were not used by Billy due to a leg injury he sustained so he gave them to a partner of his at the time, Gary Kingham who did race with them..........I can't imagine trying to turn those bad boys........ Gary is now a local in our area, skis here........said they performed best for turning at about 60 mph......he thought the skis deserved more visibility than what they were getting at his house..........thanks for sharing them with Seven Oaks......

......more snow in the forecast which is a good thing........right?.....see you on the slopes.......

Two Pics

Hope you can see from these that we really groomed nothing but the center and we also decided to NOT groom Central Park so it is all natural........

.....I gotta believe conditions tonight will be as good as it gets...........

Powder and Patrol

Had a couple of questions regarding our grooming status for tonight..........well here is what has happened and what will happen before we open tonight. During the heaviest snowfall Monday night we did groom the centers of the trails but did leave plenty of powder along both sides of the trails. We are going to groom again today with the same objective. We will leave plenty of powder along both sides of the trails but will groom the centers.........and we will groom all of the School Yard.......

.......plus some of the features on Willet's Way and the Rail Yard are being changed right now......



It was a nice snow wasn't it........about 8 or maybe 9 inches of fresh snow.......and flurries today......then there is more snow chance in the forecast too..........



Here are a couple of pics from last Sunday morning's Ski Patrol refresher...........plus our lifties training with them.........we have such a great group of Patrolers and another great group of Lifties this year....

.....each photo captures about one half of the group that was training last Sunday........some on the Cyclone lift while the rest were training on the Valley View lift.........




.....remember the NSP.......National Ski Patrol is made up of volunteers.......so be sure to thank them for doing what they do when you see them.........at any resort..........



.....we now have 28 Patolers at Seven Oaks.........wow.........


thanks for the pics Kelli.............we open at 4 pm today for skiing and snowboarding........and it is TEN DOLLAR lift ticket night.......

Winter Wonderland

.....the past 36 hours have transformed most of Iowa into a Winter Wonderland.........I know that's the case at Seven Oaks...........somewhere between 8" and 9" of fallen snow is now on the trails and in the woods.......and there are still some light flurries falling this morning...........beautiful.......

........we will be closed today Tuesday 1-11-11 ........as usual.......but open tomorrow night at 4 pm for skiing and snowboarding............remember tubing is closed on Wednesdays.........

.........Wednesday is another $10 lift ticket night.........will be absolutely perfect conditions for the next several days at Seven Oaks..........and if you live in Ames you should consider the free shuttle between Ames and Seven Oaks tomorrow night..........two pick up points and two different pick up times...........free to anyone that wants a ride..........

......we have a private company Christmas Party in the lodge tonight........with tubing for just them........

......here are some pics from Sunday afternoon..........just before sunset..........

.......we always have lots of kids on Sunday as so many are taking advantage of our kids 8 and under ski free with paying adult.......bogo.........

.....a couple of riders coming down Kenzies Korner.........

.....having fun........you bet........especially when Frost says he is going to take a pic to be posted on the blog.........

.....the view today is much different than on Sunday.........a lot more snow........

if you have a favorite pic that you have taken, email it to us and we will use it for all to see............hope to see you Wednesday night........

Happy Birthday!

Another birthday party today for this group..........lots of fun........lots of energy...........went tubing, skiing and had some pizza..........oh to be eight again!

thanks for choosing Seven Oaks and thanks for sharing your pic with us.........

......it's about 3:30 pm and we have been getting light flurries for about one hour.........come on snow!

Did you see the snow prediction?

If you like to ski or snowboard, you gotta love the forecast for Sunday night thru Tuesday giving us as much as 7" of snow coming straight down.........sweet......should make for great ......Great conditions Wednesday night............

.......groomed last night........got done a midnight......groomed up really sweet.........

........had our first team breakfast this morning........with ski patrol as well.........fed about 70 and everyone had an appetite........probably Joel and my cooking ! .......ha........

.....also had the chair evac drills this morning for all the patrol and the lifties.........went well.......hope we continue never using the skills.........I will get some pics on as soon as I receive them.........

.....also will get some pics for today as soon as we have a minute to get some taken........

......keep doing your snow dance and I'll be in touch with more later..........

Saturday........Pictures Only......

What an absolute gorgeous day.........SUNSHINE.......snow in the forecast.......enjoy the pics