Have you noticed all the helmets on the slopes lately? Visit the hills or peruse the rest of the BOYNE website and you’ll see them everywhere. Boyne Country Sports listed their Facebook topic of the week as “Helmet or No Helmet?”.  The responses were plenty and all but one (who was going for a laugh) were HELMET!

Not too long ago, even hats were considered too constricting.  People went sans hats, or wore little headbands so they could let their mullets and feathered do's fly free. 

Helmets were out of the question. They were heavy, limited your field of vision, made it tough to hear. Plus, they looked really dorky.  Not exactly a winning combination- unless you were getting shot out of a cannon.

So what changed?  Are we a new generation of sissies and dweebs with no hair pride?

Try one of these new lids on for yourself and it will quickly be clear that a lot has changed. Helmets are the way to go.

Like Wearing Nothing
The first thing you’ll notice is that there isn’t much to notice. Snow helmets are lightweight and have well-designed fitting systems that make it is easy to forget you’re wearing anything. Field of vision is completely unobstructed and you can hear clear as a bell.

Warm But Not Stuffy
Wind-tunnel design and improved venting systems give you a range of climate control options other than just “put it on/take it off”. Modern snow helmets cycle air through the helmet, keeping everything comfy and fresh. Open some vents and it’s cool as a bike helmet. Close them and everything is toasty warm.

Accessory Containment
Clips for goggle straps help keep the “most lost snow accessory” from disappearing as easily.  Some models come equipped with audio hookups built directly into the ear pads. Just plug in your MP3 and go.  For the seriously digital, blue tooth models eliminate wires.

Statement Maker
Now, looking in the mirror you’ll notice the palette of styles and colors makes helmets the newest fashion statement.  Black, white, pink, nuclear lime, patterned, brimmed, brimless, take your pick. It’s also the ultimate billboard for expressing individuality and personal freedom. Where better to put your favorite stickers?

A Growing Trend
The move to helmets is only going to grow. Some resorts are beginning to mandate helmets for all children in ski school programs.  (BOYNE doesn’t require them, but strongly encourages helmet use and rents them for $10/Day.) Lawmakers are increasingly proposing ski helmet bills. Fortunately, no ski helmet laws exist in the U.S. and for good reason.

Laws and policies may soon turn out to be moot points. Word is getting out that helmets are the most comfortable and sensible headwear option on the slopes.  Bigger still, helmets have assumed cool status. 

Ready for one of your own?  Visit any Boyne Country Sports location or hit SkiGolf.com today. If not, consider this a good stock tip from your friend at the shop.

-JJ

I've always said that BOYNE is in the memory business.  That’s ahead of being snow farmers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, shop keepers, golf professionals, etc.
Nothing proves that more than the thousands of pictures taken by our guests every year. They snap it all into focus so much more clearly than the most painstakenly planned professional marketing pics. Because of that we're throwing a little contest:

Have a great photo of your best times at Boyne Highlands and Boyne Mountain to share?  If so, enter it in our Facebook Grand Prize photo contest happening now through August 16 on the Boyne Highlands and Boyne Mountain fan pages!  Simply post your favorite vacation photo on the Wall of our fan pages and be entered to win.

While visiting our Facebook pages, let fans know what you enjoy most about vacationing at BOYNE and checkout our upcoming events, deals, photos and videos.

Not yet a fan?  It’s easy, visit www.facebook.com/BoyneHighlands or www.facebook.com/BoyneMountain and click the green “Sign Up” icon in the upper left corner and away you go.

-JJ

Welcome to the longest days of the year. There’s no better time to enjoy 36.
Is there anything better?  Maybe 54.  All this daylight makes it possible AND, if you’re hip to this little secret you just might have enough in the tank to go for it.

Secret, you say?

Yep.
 
Well, not really, but since so few people do this it seems like a secret.

The secret is shoes. 
A pair that fits great is good.  Two pair that fit great are better.
The second pair is the key to hitting round two and beyond feeling fresh and revived. After 18 holes, cool clean socks and fresh shoes are as invigorating as a shower.

You don’t have to break the bank. Boyne Country Sports has closeouts on high-end, fully waterproof models running from $49.99.  If you aren’t near a store, you can order men's or ladies' from our online partner SkiGolf.com. They’ll ship them to you for free.

So take care of those ponies. Your playing partners will find you annoyingly chipper when you tee up for the afternoon round- provided that they survive the olfactory assault when you change.

If you’re going for 54, just repeat the process, or put on your morning pair after they've had a chance to breathe for a few hours. The difference is pure magic.

-JJ

You ever look in the rear-view mirror of life and realize that the old you was a real dope?  I do all the time.

I just had another enlightenment that I want to share.
I used to rally buddies on nasty weather days or out of post-party funks with my trusty line
“Today is one of those days where you decide whether you are a ‘Skier’ or just somebody who skis.”

That macho b.s. was usually just the ticket to shake somebody out of the lazies.  

What’s bad is that I was really proud of this little ditty. It was (in my opinion) American rhetoric at it’s finest. The perfect call to action, it was a double-edged sword. It offered inspiration to define oneself heroically: “I am a SKIER” as well as label someone a dud: “just someone who skis”.

What a croc!  But what do you expect from somebody in a neon Nevica ski coat…with HOT PINK gloves?  Like I said, it hurts to look back.  And just so the hip snowboard types don’t scoff at another glam skier- Burton was cutting their teeth with neon stuff at the time too…really! Ouch. And don’t get me started on Oakley.

But unfortunate wardrobe choices aside, my philosophy was bankrupt.
If you ski once, twice or 75 days per season you are “A Skier”. (And for all my snowboarding friends, please feel free to insert “Rider” where appropriate.)

Nobody winds up on the top of a ski hill by accident. (If you have, I’d love to read your story in the comments section below.) Some days are sunnier than others and some days warmer.  On some days the snow is soft and fresh and others packed and firm. STILL:  Anybody who has made the commitment to get to the top of a hill, point the tips back down and stand the whole way is part of a special club.

That club DOES have an elite group.  All of you who manage the strategy and logistics required to get little ones on the hill- You are the “Mother of all skiers”.(Or father where applicable).

I am lucky to ride among you…even if I’m just a big-mouthed fashion victim.

-JJ

Yesterday's cold, cold and snow, snow has given way to sun, clouds and perfectly packed powder. The temps are still cold, but it feels 30 degrees warmer. Instead of sucking deep within the recesses of hoods and goggles on the lift I find myself eating up the sights and grinning at the blue sky. Ahhhhhh!

Tomorrow promises more of the same.  It's a holiday you know.  It looks like Mother Nature, Government Offices and Banks all agree it will be the perfect Monday to hit the slopes. 

-JJ

When the temps dip a little bit you see who really “wants it” out here.  It’s easy to read the weather report and pack it in straight away, but if you were out on the hills yesterday you would have met a bunch of happy souls who would cheerfully tell you how wrong that would be.  You’d also be looking at conditions that backed them up.

It's not that all of these people are tougher, smarter or more dimwitted than the stay-ins.  They just know the secret password.

Secret, you ask? 

Yup.  But it's not really a secret.  It's as plain as the cloth on their face.  And the word is BALACLAVA.

Wha?

Balaclava!

Sounds like that Greek pastry that looks so good next to my coffee on cold mornings. And this little number is just as sweet.  Basically it is a modernized and renamed version of that classic fashion statement people used to call the “snowmobile mask”.  Remember? It was the "IT Look" with the ninjas and bank robbers everywhere.

Today’s version  is made of micro fleece that breathes well and is thin enough to easily fit under helmets and zipped up collars. Boyne Country Sports has loads of these babies. They are sure to help you stretch a day and get a full lift-tickets worth.  At the end you’ll be sporting a warm smile that people will feel, even if they can’t see it.

-JJ

HEY! Stop blinking at the weather report looking for additional digits to appear. What you are seeing is the beginning of a little cold snap. Need I remind you that Cold is Good?

It might not be great if you live in the windswept plains or insist on donning a euro-Speedo, but at BOYNE cold means snow.
And snow (particularly this cold, dry fluffy stuff) is good...Really good.

Look at the weather map and you'll see a classic lake effect system in play.

Each day is listed with a chance of snow listed at 70% with at least 1-3 inches accumulation. When the weather turns this way the odds are 70% that it will be snowing at any given moment. Nothing crazy- just a light snow. The kind you see in a kid's snow globe.. But all that little stuff compounds.  Over a couple days it is a significant snow event. And if the wind kicks up things get silly. Accumulation on your knees during the lift ride kind of silly.

So throw on an extra layer and maybe even a balaclava and tell Mother Nature to BRING IT!

-JJ

Here's a little memory I thought I'd share in response to Cary's request.

Enjoy:

It's not exactly MY memory- other than the fact that I cut me teeth developing with Flash while making this little diddy. After hours of bumbling and fumbling I finally got it to work, but not before I knew every line and every crack of static by heart. You might have heard me doing my little impression of this bit in the Trophy Room...Sorry for that. 

-JJ