Snow sports: It's time to have a blast
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There will be a "snow blast" in more ways than one at Hidden Valley this weekend.
The resort's yellow TechnoAlpin snowmaking machines will be going full blast overnight when temperatures permit to add to its average base of 32 inches.
Also going full blast will be the Fourth Annual Family SnowBlast sponsored by KDKA and Pittsburgh's CW. Although geared to the younger set, there are a variety of activities that can be enjoyed by older kids, their parents and grandparents.
The information desk, on the enclosed, carpeted bridge that links the Base Lodge and the Clock Tower restaurant, will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
It also will share that space with SnowBlast exhibitors on both days.
Pittsburgh Today covered the opening of the free event Thursday morning and Jon Burnett , broadcasting from the deck outside the Base Lodge, noted the amount of snow on the slopes in the background.
Events today include:
• The Family FunZone which benefits the Family Life Fund of Children's Hospital, will be open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Avalanche Room. It also will be there from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
• Snow-rafting down the Thunderbird slope from 1-3 p.m. with Wilderness Voyageurs, a commercial rafting company based in Ohiopyle. It also will be held at the same time Sunday.
• "The Price is Right" with morning co-anchor Rick Dayton begins at 2:30 p.m. in the SouthRidge Room. Participants will be selected from the audience.
• J&D Waterproofing will host a Frozen T-shirt Game in the Plaza at noon, and the first person who can untie a frozen T-shirt will win a prize. How about a gift certificate for a manicurist to repair broken fingernails? J&D also will sponsor a coloring contest at 4 p.m. in the lodge.
• Morning co-anchor Jennifer Antkowiak will be at the On-Cor/Redi-Serve bonfire at the Snowtubing Park from 5-7 p.m. Snowtubers must have a snowtubing ticket. Then it will be back to the main area at 7 p.m. for a serpentine Torchlight Parade down the Cobra slope.
The Sunday schedule:
• A Treasure Hunt at 11 a.m. hosted by the Pittsburgh CW's "environmentally correct" Green Team on the deck of the Base Lodge. Participants will have to dig through a "pile of snow to find the treasure."
• Reporter Ross Guidotti will emcee AAA Travel's Family Cruise Obstacle Course at noon outside the lodge. Participants will be required to "take a cruise through [the resort's] destination-themed obstacle course."
• The Pittsburgh CW Green team will host a Family Feud competition at 2 p.m. in the SouthRidge Room. Players will be selected from the audience.
In addition to all the Family SnowBlast activities, guests will be able to observe members of the Snow Angels program improve their ski and snowboard skills. The two-day program, which begins today, is designed for women 18 and older. The $165 cost includes lift tickets, four hours of instruction each day by an all-female group of instructors, lunch each day, a cocktail mixer and a dinner. It is an ideal program for women who have "plateaued" and have not been able to take their skiing/snowboarding skills to the next level.
Contact: www.hiddenvalleyresort.com , 1-814-443-8000.
If the weather cooperates, the Friends of Ohiopyle State Park and the Sprout Fund will have its annual Winterfest from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Sugarloaf sledding area. Contact: 724-329-8591.
First Published January 28, 2012 12:00 am
