BRSC Fall Meeting Trip Report
October 28, 2023
So along with our Trip Captain, Mayhar Malekpour, I attended the fall Blue Ridge Ski Council (BRSC) meeting at Wintergreen, VA. The council secretary, Susie Pumphrey from the Pentagon Ski Club, plans to forward detailed minutes of the meeting later; however, as your club representative I wanted to present a brief synopsis of the happenings sooner.
The venue was held at the Wintergreen Inn and was well supported by over 30 representatives from 13/21 clubs. The main focus was rendering a decision on which Tour Operator(s) should be awarded the bid to support the 2025 Western Carnival (WC) and EuroFest trips as follows:
- WC @ Park City, UT (February 1-8, 2025), EPIC pass w/air to SLC.
- WinterFest (NE, Quebec) @ Mont-Tremblant Ski Resort w/Sugarloaf as a backup during the first week in March 2025 (tour operator TBD - perhaps Alpine Adventures) probably by bus as traveling this relatively short distance was preferred to more expensive air.
- EuroFest @ Chamonix, France (March 1-8 or 7-15, 2025), ICON pass w/air probably to Geneva, Switzerland and both pre & post trip excursions available to some cool places.
Excellent bid discussion and presentations were submitted by all tour operators; however, both winning bids went to the Group Travel Simplicity (GTS) - GOTZ formerly known as Winter Ski and Sport, Mike and Sheri Agnew, Proprietors (see winterskiandsport.com). Festivities also include a Welcome Party, mid-week Après Ski Event, and Farwell Dinner/Dance. It was felt they were just “Clued In” to our requirements.
Additionally, there was a 2026 decision to go to Banff, Alberta for the WC and also to Europe (location TBD) for EuroFest although conversation also supported Japan. Strong emphasis was placed on encouraging affiliated clubs to “stagger their schedule” thus avoiding duplication w/booked ‘25/’26 BRSC trips.
Looking at upcoming ‘24 trips, it was noted they have plenty of space for the Kitzbuhel, Austria (March 15-23, 2024) and have 28 skiers/boarders from seven (7) clubs signed up for the WinterFest (NE, USA) @ Sunday River, ME (March 3-8, 2024).
Ken Eng from Sports and Ski Club of Washington, DC (SCWDC), the newly minted Webmaster, indicated he’s done some trimming, revamping, and simplifying of the website. He was recognized by the Council VP and applauded by the attendees for countless, diligent hours spent in improving the ease of navigation. Check it out @ ski-council.com. Looks great!