When you think of California, you think of snow, right? Well, maybe not. But California actually has about 30 ski resorts, vacation places that cater to (is built for; is intended for) skiing (see photo).
There is a popular ski resort area only two hours from Los Angeles called Big Bear. I’ve skied there before. Okay, in my over 20 years in Los Angeles, I’ve skied there three times. But other Angelinos (people who live in Los Angeles) frequent (visit) this area a lot during the winter months for skiing, snowboarding (going over snow on one wide board), and other winter sports.
But in some years, the weather does not cooperate. According to a recent Los Angeles Times article, the 2011-12 ski season had the lowest national snowfall in 20 years, which caused many of the resorts to open later in the season or close early. During these less-than-perfect (flawed; not good) years, the temperatures don’t get cold enough and there isn’t enough precipitation (wet weather).
So what do you do if you own a ski resort in dry, warm, unpredictable (unreliable) California? Well, if nature won’t provide what you want, make it yourself.
More and more, ski resorts here are investing in (paying money now to earn more money in the future) snow-making systems, and those systems are more sophisticated (fancy and complex) than ever. You can even control your snow-making system using your computer or smartphone these days (now). And while snow making used to be a difficult, labor-intensive (using a lot of workers and time) process, it’s much less work nowadays.
So unless those of you who live in places with surplus (more than you need) snow can transport (move) some of it to California, many Californians will likely ski more and more on artificial (not real) snow. We here in Los Angeles are used to artificial things, so we probably won’t notice.
Are you enjoying snow where you live? Do you ski or participate in other winter sports? What do you think of artificial snow?
~ Lucy
Photo Credit: Wilmot-ski-racer-cmsc.jpg from Wikipedia
Dear Lucy, it never snows in my country. However, we have an amusement park called ‘Dream World” with artificial snow. I ever saw a terrible avalanche on TV, in this case, I think artificial snow seems to be safer. Anyway to be honest, I would like to create a snowman and play snow balls for once in my life. So I am looking forward to going somewhere full of snow with awesome icecap mountain soaring the nice blue sky. Could you recommend a particular one?
So, you are a sport girl dear Lucy?
How much sports did you play being a young girl?
Did you play tennis or boley beach?
Of course, you are for us a box of surprises day after day, dear teacher.
By my part being a young boy I use to go to the mountains, close near Madrid
but always afraid of skiing and broke a leg or an arm.
Only play with balls of snow, there was a lot of snow, and took lot of pictures of people
falling down the hill side or some times falling on the ground when they were skiing.
In fact my dear Cuca broke her hip skiing and was really bad for her as it was
necessary months to put everything in its site, two operations a lot of time with a plaster
cast. It was before a met her but she told me how bad it was for her.
So no, thank you, I am not going to skiing in all my life.
It has to be funny but dangerous, at least for me.
Bye dear Lucy, our box of surprises, how much we are going to know about you
dear friend?
Please, tell us more things about yourself…….see Jeff we all know all his life.
emiliano…..joking because he is healthy now……
Hi Lucy!
Yes, I love snow! We Norwegians are” born with skies on our feet”=) I recall a lot of funny skiing on our way to school as a child.. we have great mountains for skiing,
and lots of children participate in more or less kind of competitions..
Snowangels..!! Lying there, staring the stars..amazing..
I`d love to send you real snow=) Artificial snow.. I don`t like it..some ski resorts uses it here too, if the snow comes late, as a result we are having this wet “fog”
My favorite “sport” is “spark”(kicksled??).. a fantastic invention=)
Best regards
Sorry. more or less serious competitions..
Dear Øyvor Steinsheim, how lucky you are dear frind……I am so afraid of
snow sports….
As you say living in the freezing North you are born with skies on your
feet, ja, ja, thats good.
Now my daughter who is in Denmark, has to learn how to skii but sure
she is going to fell down on her buttocks several times.
Bye Øyvor
emilliano
Hello everyone, Skiers and not Skiers
Hope that Lucy protects her precious brain with an helmet while skiing. There are still lots of podcast in there to come..
This post makes me think about a saying we have got in Italy that goes like : Chi ha il pane non ha i denti e Chi ha i denti non ha il pane.
That came to my mind because I am living at the foot of the Swiss alps for 42 years and I have never skied in my life.
And there are tourist coming from hundreds if not thousands of miles for practice their favorite winter sports.
I am not sure there is the English for that saying. I am gonna try to translate it: Who has the teeth has not the bread and Who has the bread has not the teeth.
Did you guys get it?
Actually, it seems as though they are going to use artificial snow more and more even here.
I keep hearing that most of the glaciers on the Alps are shrinking. They have even covered part of it with white palstic sheet in order to retain this melting.
So far this year we got little snow. I am not sure how much they got up there.
For that we need to hear from someone living there.
Thanks
Hello guys!
I think this conversation is very interesting, because we can notice how we are all over the world, and despite the distance, we all have this similar interest, learn english.
Unfortunately, I don´t have too much to say about snow and winter sports. I born in a tropical country and in my city we don´t have even something like a “real winter”.
In christmas time, I always dream about a “white christmas”, with snow balls and a snow man… But, it´s impossible here in Brazil, lol.
Well, I think I have to get satisfied with all the beaches and the good weather the we have the entire year…
Hi guys,,, read you all talking about snow and skiing just make me feel jealous…:/ coz here in Indonesia, we just playing under the sun and rain…
Best love for you all..
Ferman
Dear Parviz ,
Referring to your comment on the previous post entery I must say:
It is sad that I hear you just go through motions at work. I mean , at your classes. Well, different region of the world follow different methods for educating yongesters. The fact is ,there is no telling what methods work best since people response differently to the ways of teaching . Some people absorb new Information better through reading,some , on the other hand,have a photographic memory. Back in my collegiate time ,I remember some of my classmates would learn new lessons through rewriting the PowerPoints or professors speeches at class. And , some ,like myself, just listen over and over.
The technique varies from one individual to another. But , I personally believe ,there must be a general teaching pattern , out line if you will, which is more conducive.
To me , the linguistic method that Jeff has come up _with which is a , in a way, a break through_work best.
His program covers almost all the method of studying existing out there. If you pick up new material better with reading, you got learning guid and the scripts. If , like me, u r more into listening ,well you have Jeff and Lucy’s talks. If you u tend to write ,well , blog is meant for you . write all u want, another words, writ it away.
But, I must say , memorizing highfalutin words are less likely to work ,you might as well take the Oxford Dictionory and commit it all to your memory still you can’t speak good English. You just will end up knowing a lot of words that you are most likely to forget within one year or so.
I feel you Parviz.
I am a part timer at the moment. I m having to part time jobs that are polar opposite by nature. One is customer service for the most part mostly on the phone. And , the other one is math-related at which I spend 8 hours a day sitting on a desk and crunching numbers and enter them in a book . It is se sort of book keeping that I m doing nut out of love or passion. I m doing it merely because it pays well. Other than that , I just go through motions in particular in the lob book job.
Yours
The thick :)))
Do u wanna hear sth irony
In Toronto ,which is getting brutally cold in Winter ,there are no ski resorts but one which is this small hills located two hours north of Toronto called “Blue mountain.” Man, I went there once , oh boy , way back in 2002 I guess. And , that was it. I never stepped foot there ever again. Man , it is nothing like a ski resort. There are a bunch of small hills that are ridiculously short. It takes you 5 minute to ski down the slop from top. And the waiting time for the lifter to go back up is a killer. You must wait at least 20 minutes in a frigid temperature to ride on the lifer back up to the top. And , what makes the matter worst is the constant wind. let me tell u , Some time the temperature drops to way below zero that the wind chill it makes it even feel way colder. Oh, it was brutal man, it was a bitter experience.
Pete
P.S.There is a beautiful Hotel there in a small village by the foot of the hill. There is this big pound outfront the hotel which is the best for Ice skating.
Ferman,
which of the great island (Borneo, Sumatra, Java) are you living on, or do you live in a
lithe one (thousands) as Bali?.
Bali?…..so incredible good place to live…..I know some people that have been over there
to their honey moon…..ja ja.
Mine was here in Spain, Gandia, Valencia…..there was other time when all spaniards were
less rich…..it is evidently we are going to be poor once again.
Bye,
emiliano
Emiliano,
actually, I lived on the small island named west Halmahera, it is part of the halmahera island. North Molucass.. I’m sure that your ancient ever been here some years ago for the clove..
Perhaps you people just know about Bali as the place to visit, but I convince that my place has many interesting spot as well…;) No doubt about that..
Oh I forgot something,, I’m a big fan of Spain national team in soccer…:)
ferman
Guys ,
It is all exciting !!’
You are talking about the places in the world that are all new to me. By that I mean , I never heard of them before.
It is cool that I see that my beloved eslpod has been growing on popularity across the world.
You know , there is one thing though, I wanna share hear that has recently scared the daylight out of me. Just recently ,i found it more challenging to hang on to new English materials. They slip away shortly after I learn them. It is not a good sign. Perhaps , my best days are behind me. I m getting old my friends.
Unless , 35 is the new 20 :)))
Hey, it just occurred to me. This blog talk we got going on here works , in a way , like a support group. See , sometimes we share our anxieties and worries here with our good friend on blog , And get feedback from them. See, Eslpod works in mysterious ways:))))
By for now
Hi Pete.
L.O.L. That experience at the Blue Mountain was funny. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Ferman, I am going to see your island…..nice to see the Globe and thinks there is a friend over there so far…..
Yes Champions World and Europe twice, no country did it before.
Ja,ja….despite I am not a soccer fan I like to be Champios….
Bye emiliano
Hi Adriana and Ferman,
your countries are beautiful of course despite there is not snow….ja, ja, but here now we have
– 2 º at the mornings………brrr….too cold.
Ferman, I have see your island already and yes, it is absolutely what you said “magic” forest
mountains and white sand on the beaches….
But there are also snakes like pitons either? have you see some of them? I have panic to these
kind of creatures…..
————
Adriana, sure you have a lot of things to tell us, go ahead, your English is good and your country
is so big…..I would like to know something more about the place your live and more writing
of all the new blogers like you dear.
Congratulations about next Olimpic Games, Madrid is also wanting to be allected….that is
incredible with the big crisis we are livin now……….where is the money for that?
Bye friends, emiliano
Dear Dan ,
I m glad that you find my little story amusing:)
But, I had the nightmare of a trip. Trust me , I did.
And , you know , the funny thing is still a lot of people go skying there every chance they get. Particularly , on weekends ,there is a bumper to bumper traffic on the Highway all the way up there.cars literally inche forward. I m telling you man , if one wanna start for blue mountain (air quoting 🙂 on weekends must leaves his /her place too early in the morning , at the break of dawn perhaps , if he/she wants to beat the traffic.
I didn’t know back then about the heavy terrific. as a result my friend I got caught in a gridlock for a good hour . Luckily , I was going there with my friends, and the road to the montain is mostly countryside.
Well , sometimes you learn your lesson the hard way.
hi, Lucy, How are you!
here in Shanghai, it rarely snowy for the reason of geographical location.
Even it did, the snowfall is too measly to offer area for skiing.
So, Ski is not a popular sports for Chinese, especial for people living in South of China.
dear friends! i don’t know where I can leave a message for you so i found here
i am glad to be here in eslpod .
i m from iran and i suggest u to come here!
thank you teacher, DR Jeff ,i learn a lot!
Hi bahar, I have read in the newspaper that there is a new medicine to treat multiple esclerosis
discovered in your country Iran.
Do you know anything about that?
Please make a search about it as I am very interesting about this subject.
First of all welcome to this Blog bahar, as always all new members are welcome to this
so good site, the best in fact, to learn and write in English.
Do you live in Teheran? or a big city of your country?
Please tell me about this new medicine that is proving in your country, it is a new
one that could change for better the life of a lot of people that sufers it.
Iran could be the best country to discover something like this, there is not
pharmaceutical multinationales that could do the worst to hide such a revolucianary
treatment in other occidentals countries as these companies were going to loss
thousands of millions dollars.
The information I have is this more or less:
————–
The new medicine vocalist MS Nut (nutrition) is made special oil which is supplied in the form of syrup.
The researchers Persians, Dr. Soheila Firuzi and supervising Dr. Rafi Ahmad Hoseini, have been working to prepare this medicine since two years and a half.
MS Nut without secondary solution was tested with patients multiple sclerosis 100 in which the special 65 treatment. Most of the patients if recovered completely, but did not reach the expected results in those forms with more advanced disease.
According to the information with treatment period, MS Nut lasts from six months
———
If you coud get some information about this subject it would be absolutely useful, thanks in advance
to yo bahar or which ever OTHER FRIEND from IRAN who read the Blog.
emiliano
Oh, I want see and feel the snow on my hands…, because in my country it’s too hard. Well, in South of Brazil sometimes in june or july the snow falls… Where I live it never will happen…
Congratulations!!!
Dear Emilliano!
Thanks a lot for your nice answer to me=)
I`m sure your daughter has such fun in Denmark=), learning cross country skiing=)
By the way, lots of Danish people are coming to ski resorts in Norway.
Yeah, I`m lucky.. save from the last two weeks, at my homeplace the temerature
is minus 30..I`m getting crazy!! I can`t go for a walk due to my asthma, so
guess if I long for ..say..4 minus=)
My best wishes..and thanks again!