Top Five Fridays: November 10, 2023
Lead Image: Silverton Mountain, in all of its natural glory. Under new ownership, the experience remains unlikely to change. More on that below! Image: Silverton Mountain on Facebook
#1: As the FIS Season Gets Underway, a New Streaming Platform and Fantasy Ski-Esque Gaming App Have Been Launched:
A screengrab of the new FIS TV website.
Hello, and welcome to Top Five Fridays, the November 10, 2023 edition! This week we’ve got a pretty light roundup for you as we buckle down to get ready for the upcoming season. On that note, we’d like to quickly acknowledge that yes, big things are happening at tons of ski areas in the west, as more resorts in California, Utah, Colorado, and beyond continue to open for the season. But, let’s be honest, there’s only so many weeks in a row we can talk about ski resorts opening before both our eyes and your eyes completely glaze over. So consider it acknowledged - ski resorts are opening - and now let’s move on to some other exciting news!
The first entry in this “exciting news” column is the announcement that the FIS has launched an online streaming platform called FIS TV. The promise made in the press release is that this website will provide live streams for all live events that aren’t being broadcast in your country. In other words, if there’s an event happening in say, France, and there isn’t a network set to broadcast it in your country, then you’ll be able to catch it live on the FIS TV website. Additionally, the website will also host event highlights from previous events. Unfortunately, it’s a bit hard to tell how reliable it will be in terms of catching full replays. At the moment, replay coverage is spotty, with only the 2023 Junior World Champs for freeski and snowboarding having full replays available. Noting that a lot of FIS action happens overseas, where time zone changes make it tough to watch live here in America, having full replays would be a really nice addition to the package. Still, this is certainly a huge step in the right direction. If you’re interested in checking it out, a good opportunity to do so would be this afternoon and tomorrow, as the site should be broadcasting the Women’s slalom event in Levi. To give it a shot, click here.
In addition to this exciting news, we also want to just very briefly mention another cool program that the FIS has launched this year in an effort to increase fan engagement. If you’re living in the United States, chances are you’re well aware of the concept of Fantasy Football, and how it’s completely captivated legions of formerly casual football fans. As a result, TV ratings and interest in football are way up. Well, taking a page out of that book, the FIS has launched its Predictor Challenge app this year, which encourages fans to - you guessed it - predict the results of FIS World Cup alpine races. While it’s not identical in format to other fantasy sports, the premise it’s built on is similar: get fans involved by giving them some skin in the game. With FIS Predictor Challenge, players predict results for every FIS World Cup alpine race and earn points based on their accuracy. Players can compete both in leagues with friends, or against everyone else in the world who’s playing. For those competing at large, the FIS has plenty of prizes to give out throughout the season. All in all, while the app itself is pretty cool and we’ll sure lots of people will use it, our big takeaway here is more so that it’s refreshing to see the FIS make a strong push towards modern relevance by putting together programs like FIS TV and the Predictor Challenge app that encourage further fan engagement. If you’re interested in playing this season, you can check out the app right here.
#2: Think Has Shiffrin Already Broken Every Record There is to Break? Think Again. Here’s What She Has Left:
After a big, record setting season, is there anything left for Mikaela Shiffrin to achieve? As it turns out, yes. Yes there is. Image: Mikaela Shiffrin on Facebook
In other FIS World Cup racing news, we want to shift gears ever so slightly and preview the season ahead for one of (if not the) greatest of all time: Mikaela Shiffrin. As you likely know, Shiffrin went on a tear last season, accumulating not only medals, but also new world records. Amongst some of the records she broke reset (Mikeala’s preferred term) were some of the biggest imaginable, including one that many would say is the biggest one of all: the most World Cup wins. So, now that Mikaela has already achieved arguably the crowning jewel with plenty of time left in her career, what can she aim for next? Well as it turns out, the writers at SkiMag.com were wondering the same thing, and so they’ve put together a helpful article for us discussing some of the remaining unbroken records.
To be completely honest, we expected this list to be somewhat niche, with quirky and specific records like “most wins while wearing red boots,” but as it turns out, there are actually quite a few high level records that remain. Amongst the records on the list, some are more achievable than others, but in theory all are within reach for Mikaela. One of the more achievable and valuable records would be the most overall World Cup Titles, the award given to the skier with the most accumulated points at the end of each season. Currently, Shiffrin has five of these awards, just one less than Annemarie Moser-Pröll who has 6, and three less than Marcel Hirscher who has 8. Noting that Shiffrin has mentioned that winning this award is Shiffrin’s biggest goal each season, it puts Moser-Pröll’s record firmly in the crosshairs, while Hirscher’s is a bit more distant as it would take at least three more seasons to match. Still, this could be the year Shiffrin ties Moser Pröll, and if she were to surpass her record next year then she’d be just one behind the legendary Hirscher. It’s easy to see how Shiffrin could find motivation to become truly, indisputably the greatest of all time.
The other big record to keep an eye on this season is the most World Cup Podiums. Currently Shiffrin has 138 podiums to her name, while Ingemar Stenmark holds the record with 155. That’s a 17 podium difference to tie, and 18 podium difference to claim the title. Last season, Shiffrin was on 18 podiums. That means that if she can replicate her results from last year, not only will she reset this record, but it also likely means she’ll win another overall title, bringing her even with Moser-Pröll’s record. In other words, if you’re a casual ski racing fan who wants to sound smart at apres ski parties this year, talk about Shiffrin, and how her podium count is the most important metric to her 2023-2024 season. If you want to take it a step further, read this article from Ski Mag and learn all about every record that’s left for Shiffrin to break.
#3: New Multipass Alert: Welcome the Uphill New England Pass, the First Uphill Only Multipass:
Want to hit the backcountry but don't want to skin? Have a backyard snowpark setup and don't want to hike? The Zoa handheld rope tow might be right for you! Image: Uphill New England on Facebook
Alright, let’s change topics here and talk about something that’s very different from World Cup ski racing: uphill skiing. You know how we’re always going on and on about how cool and important it is for the ski industry to create ski environments that meet everyone’s needs? Well, this week we caught wind of yet another innovation that’s looking to do just that: the Uphill New England multi pass.
The Uphill New England Pass, which credits itself as being the first uphill focused multi-pass, is currently offering access to 12 mountains in its inaugural season, although we suspect more are on the way. The way that it works is that pass holders simply check in via the Uphill New England app whenever they’re touring at one of their partner resorts. In doing so, pass holders can avoid any potential uphill tickets and be sure that they’re playing by the rules.
To be sure, many of you are probably wondering why someone might pay for an uphill season pass as many resorts allow skiers and snowboarders to ascend under their own power for free. For us, the value of this pass seems to be the clarity that it brings to the process. In our region, and throughout New England, each resort seems to have their own unique policies when it comes to uphill travel. Some ski areas allow it without any charge at all. Others, like Bolton Valley, lumps it in with their backcountry trail networks and charges $17-$25 depending on the day of the week. With an array of policies and prices in place, it can be challenging to know which ski areas are ticketed, and which aren’t. Not to mention, if skinning a groomed trail is your preferred form of winter exercise, these individual lift tickets can add up quickly. With the Uphill New England pass, the entire process is simplified, with just one pass enabling access to over a dozen ski areas in New England. All in all, it’s a pretty cool idea, and we’re curious to see what this does for the industry. While it’s a modest start, it’s easy to see how resorts would be eager to buy into this concept as a means of simplifying their uphill access policies. To learn more about the Uphill New England Pass, or to secure one for yourself, check out their website.
#4: Under New Ownership, What Does the Future of Silverton Look Like? Not All That Different, as it Turns Out:
The new owners of Silverton don’t plan to change much, although upgrading the base facility to a more permanent structure is likely on the list. Image Silverton Mountain on Facebook
Finally, we’re rounding things out this week with a bit of an update to a story we brought you back at the end of September, when we shared news that Colorado’s unique Silverton Mountain had been sold to new owners. Knowing that Silverton’s fame is derived from its low-frills, backcountry centric experience, the knee jerk reaction from us as well as many others in the industry was immediate concern. In this day and age, new ownership almost always means development. We quickly learned though that this would not be the case at Silverton as the outgoing owners made a point of selling to people that they knew would carry on the Silverton legacy.
This week, we caught another article from Ski Mag that reinforces that notion as it explores the intentions of the new owners even further. Perhaps the biggest takeaway from this article is that new owners Andy Culp and Brock Strasbourger have done this before. To tell that story, let’s start by going back in time, to the early 2010’s, when the two met in Aspen. As it goes, the more the two got to know each other, the more they realized that Culp’s experience working with CMH Heli Skiing and Strasbourger’s experience in both the travel and e-commerce industries presented the perfect opportunity to create an online platform that would allow guests to book curated adventure experiences. In their eyes, their platform would aim to be a mashup of an Airbnb and Trip Advisor’s sightseeing experiences. In other words, they wanted to create a marketplace where businesses like CMH Heli Skiing could make their offering available, while guests could browse and book experiences and trips. The model was a hit, and it didn’t take long before every heli operation in British Columbia and Alaska got on board. Then, a few years later, the next evolution of their business partnership came about. Armed with a vast amount of accumulated knowledge, the pair decided to buy their own heli skiing operation.
The story of that purchase is ultimately the one that mirrors the Silverton acquisition, as it starts with Great Canadian Heli-Skiing hitting the market. When it did, a whole slew of suitors lined up to purchase the operation, with the sellers ultimately choosing Culp and Strasbourger for one big reason: they were the grassroots underdogs who seemed the most invested in preserving the operation’s way of life. They didn’t want to make dramatic changes- they simply wanted to learn how the organization ran, and do what they could to make it even better. In the years since purchasing the operation, that’s exactly what they’ve done.
Ultimately it’s that experience that’s carrying directly over to their efforts in Silverton. In addition to the backstory, the Ski Mag article also provides some insight into the new owners’ plans for the resort. As it turns out, not only will the new owners not be looking to develop the property, but for the moment they’re actually doing even less than the previous owners had planned. Remember our highlight from last February, when the resort announced plans to finally install their second lift? Well, for the time being, that plan’s been put on hold. Rather than shake things up with their arrival, Culp and Strasbourger are instead starting at a very basic level. In their first year, the two are planning on making the types of upgrades that no one can object to: employee housing, a more permanent structure to replace the base area tent, toilets that flush, and a place to buy burritos and coffee. Nothing crazy, just the essentials that even ski bums need to survive. All told, it looks like Silverton is in great hands with the new owners. To learn more about this story, check out the full report from Ski Mag.