1983_04 Insight April 1983

              April 13. 198S -|fj
lo remain open all week through
e advised to rail first if they intend on
JEFF KKAtSK/lnaifhl
skipping class to go skiing. If there is enough Interest in Spring Skiing Sierra
Summit may extend their season by a few weeks.
Local resort set for  annual fever
ELISA DOUGLAS
Insight reporter
Imagine bright blue skies (no
clouds or rain), rays of sunshine, well-
groomed ski slopes and short lift lines.
Does this sound impossible — too
good to be true? Wdl skiers, it is not.
Located just 67 miles northeast of
Fresno at Huntington Lake, Sierra
Summit, formerly China Peak, is readying its slopes for spring and the ski
fever it brings.
Tbe 175 acres of skiing terrain
sports four chair lifts, two T-bars and
two rope tows. All of these lifts give
skiers access to 10 miles of runs. Approximately 10 percent of the runs are
for beginners, 30 percent are geared
for low intermediates, 40 percent of
the runs provide more advanced intermediate skiing and the remaining
20 percent are for experts only.
The/7,000 foot base-elevation
usually .supports a four-to-six foot
snow basisbut because of this year's
heavy snowfall, the base is 12 feet.
Due to the excess of snow, the resort
hopes to stay open for spring skiing
through April 10. With weather permitting and an abundance of skiers,
hopes of staying open longer look-very
good, said Pat Devaurs, customer
relations director of Sierra Summit.
"This year's spring skiing i° going to be great," said Devaurs. "You
will be able to ski everywhere over the
whole mountain, something we've
rarely ever done. We're experimen
ting a lot this year with the snow
because there is so much of it."
Spring skiing weather conditions
include warm sunny days and freezing nights. The top snow layer Is,
frozen at night and thawed by the sun
during the day. The best skiing time
starts during mid-morning after the
icy.crust Is softened by the sun and
skiers constantlyskiing on the snow.
Sierra Summit has machines that
break up the icy crust and allow for
earlier morning skiing. If weather
permits, the entire mountain is
groomed and prepared each night for
the next day of skiing.
- Lifts open at 9 a.m. mid-week and
8 a.m. on weekends. All lifts close at
4:30 p.m. to provide as late a skiing
day as possible.
The extended season has included
more events for skiers and guests of
Sierra Summit. Y-94 week was produced in cooperation with Y-94 radio
station. The week was filled with free
tickets, costume days and good
music. 'sSt. Patrick's Day was
celebrated with green beer, Irish stew
and a fiddler.
On March 21, Sierra Summit
hosted a Spring Fest that ran through
Easter week. Entertainment was provided by Fresno bands on the day
deck of the lodge, $1 hamburgers and
50-cent beers were part of the
festivities.
Although a great deal of emphasis
has been placed on tbe present, Sierra
Summit's management has already
begun planning for summer im-.
provements. A budget of $1.4 million
or more will be used for rock blasting,
tree clearing and bull-dozing of new
runs. Devaurs hopes that five new
runs will be completed by the next ski
season. A new chairlift that will extend the vertical footage to 1,700 feet
from 1,450 feet is planned for the
1984-85 ski season.
Since the takeover, the staff has
worked hard on improvements and
additions. Existing ski runs have been
cleared of trees and boulders which
were hazardous. A midway loading
and unloading ramp on Chair No. 1
allows for loading during early season
skiing, and unloading during foul
weather, or provides faster access to
other lifts and runs. A mid-mountain
food service and restroom facility was
built for skier convenience. Finally,
Chair No. 2 was split into two lifts.
This increased the total uphill skier-
per-hour capacity by 46 percent and
chair capacity by 85 percent.
Major remodeling has taken
place in the Sierra Summit Inn, the
main ticket booth has been expanded
for faster service, ski patrol facilities
have been doubled and lockers have
been relocated.
New programs include a ski
schooi-foavyoung skiers from three to
eight years old, a Rossignol Nordic
Touring Center provides lessons, rentals and tours for cross country
skiers, and Sierra Summit Accommodations, the ski area's own reser-
. yation service.
" Even with all of the amenities,
skiing is a very costly sport. Adult all-
day lift tickets at Sierra Summit are
$16.50, compared to the $20 tickets at
Mammoth Mt. Ski Area and $19 prices^
at Mount Reba at Bear Valley.
Both equipment and clothing for
this snowy sport can be staggering
and meals can cost a pretty penny
also.
Accommodations at Sierra Summit Inn start at $40. Condominiums
and bouse rentals start at $125 and up
for a weekend.
Although the expenses are considerable, many people bitten by the
"ski bug" think the fun and excitement outweight the cost facto?.
"Skiing provides me with exercise," said CSUF business major Nina
Angelillo. "I can get away from ail the
hassles and just relax."
According to Corinne Stroh, a
sophomore from Lodi, "I've skied
since I was four, I couldn't imagine
not skiing."
Reynold
Raps
By Jeff Reynolds
Sensory overload
Anyone viewing a sports event welcomes all the background he or she
can find on the contest, but somehow this past week I've had the feeling
that some television announcers are overdoing it in their coverage of major league baseball.
Every time I looked at the screen, messages were informing me that
one guy hit just. 133 during the seventh, dghth and ninth innings of games
in which he played.
And another told me one player hit .300 in spring training, but only
.178 during the first week of the season.
Now the first statistic implied that tbe fellow in question didn't come
through during the crucial final innings.
But it was an unfair implication simply because he might have hit
.400 in the first three innings, and in many cases it is not too improbable to
figure that he might have given his club a lead they never rehnquished.
And on the second one, it is also unfair to compare spring training
batting averages to the first week of the season. Spring training lasts a
lot longer than one week, and I'm sure the year George Brett almost hit
.400 he had some up and down weeks. After the first week of the season,
no one thought Brett would come closer to hitting .400 than anyone since
Ted Williams turned the trick in 1941.
But my real gripe is simply too many rather questionable statistics.
Can you imagine what could happen if this trend continues? TV announcers will fill your head with insignificant facts until you forget the
game you're watching.
For instance:
Hosvard ■ "Yes sir, Dandy Don, that tackle was made by dd Ira
Anderson, a veteran of 19 NFL campaigns. You know he holds the record
for most tackles by a 41-year-old Capricorn."
Dandy Don - "That's right Howard, at least you're in the area. Old
Ira is also the only 41-year-old to play in the NFL after graduating from
Texas Normal in 1981 — mid-semester."
Then:
Joe — "You know Tony, when I was playing for the Pirates, we had a
guy who never tied his shoes after the seventh inning in any of the 737
games he started which was a record for guys who shave with Gillettes
and part their hair on the left side."
Tony - "That's nothing Joe. When I played with Yogi, he once set a
record for destroying metal harmonicas — left-handed And he was the
only guy to do it while writing out a lineup card with his right hand."
And:
Lon - "Hey Joe, that was the 14th time in his career that Willie has
managed to go to a 3-2 count on his birthday with Charlie Fox in the
stands." ^
Joe — "That's nothing Lon. Ole Charlie is a record-holder of his own."
He's the only ex-Giants manager — and there are a lot of them — to make
out a lineup card that the umpires could read after spending two hours
with Horace Stoneham."
And so it goes, a world of nothing information to help you pass the
time on a Saturday morning.
The CSUF women's softball team had a pair of streaks snapped Sunday in the Libby-Matson Softball Tournament in Lodi. First, the sixth-
rated Bulldogs lost for the first time in 12 games, 2.-1, to the University of
Nevada-Reno, and second, the Bulldogs' string of 80 scoreless innings for
their opponents was also broken.
Included in both CSUF streaks is a pair of wins over eighth-ranked
California, the Bulldogs' biggest obstacle in the path to Reno dropped the
Bulldogs to 22-8 overall heading into this weekend's double-header
against Northridge State.
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