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Trip Kick-Off -- Our
 2007/2008 Trip Schedule

At Hooters (click here for directions), 1301 W. Butterfield Rd. Downers Grove (2 1/2 Blocks east of I-355 on the south side of Butterfield Road) - same place as our general meetings.

Hello Members (or potential members),

Its trip kick-off time again! There is still plenty of time for cook outs and summer fun to be had, but personally I think its never to too early to start thinking about the where and when my next winter adventure will be. For those who may not know the trip committee has been working hard all spring talking to tour operators, resort representatives, evaluating bids, and picking trip options that we feel offer something for every member. Our goal is to offer a list of trips that offer great value to our members. When we use the term “value” it takes on many meanings, value may mean a very economical vacation, it may mean offering a more exotic trip, or it might mean going to a place the club has not visited in the past. Hopefully by the time you read this you have already seen the list of trips we are offering this year either at the picnic or on the website. The hardest part of being trip chairman is always deciding which trips I will go on because they all look good to me!

I am really excited about the list this year (yeah I know, I say this every year but its true!) We are revisiting some club favorites we haven’t been too in a number of years, and have a trip to Japan that has had a number of people buzzing with interest already. Our man of December Dave Shute has done a real nice job this year finding a great package to start off our season with a 3 day trip to Winter Park Colorado which is always a safe bet for having good early season conditions.

After taking a year off for running a New Years trip we are back at it again with a great package to a resort that the club has never been too before. Everyone knows Utah has the greatest powder on earth, and by staying in the up and coming town of Ogden, we will be able to ski and ride both Powder Mountain and Snow Basin – each known for great snow and minimal crowds. I would also like to take this opportunity to introduce our trip leader and new member Chuck Webber (Way to go Chuck no better way to get involved than to jump right in running a trip!) Please say hi and remember that the early trips have very specific deadlines for signup's so if you are interested please sign up as soon as possible we hate canceling spots.

In lieu Europe this year the committee saw a great opportunity to visit Japan. One of my duties as trip chairperson is to attend travel seminars to talk to vendors and stay on top of the latest and greatest happenings in the ski travel world, and oh yeah it tends to allow for a couple discounted days of skiing as well ?. I attended the Mountain Travel Symposium in Whistler, BC this spring and was able to sit in on a presentation promoting Japan, and I have to say I was very impressed. Upon returning from the seminar I discussed this potential trip with others in the club who had gone previously and everyone I spoke to reiterated the same thought Japan was a wonderful trip both for the culture and the phenomenal skiing. Georgia Lange jumped at the opportunity to run this trip for us and is ready and waiting to answer all your questions, keep in mind we only have 42 spots for this trip and despite being a slightly more expensive trip than we expect the spots to sell quickly don’t miss your chance to ski/ride in the land of the rising sun.

Ex-club President Chris Nesypor just can’t get enough of Sanctuary so he has volunteered to head up a trip to one of the clubs most popular destinations over the years Steamboat, Colorado. With direct flights into/out of Steamboat this is a great get away for a long weekend. Some may look as this as a celebrity ski safari where you might be able to ski with Olympian Billy Kidd one day and then turn around in the lift line and find yourself riding up the mountain with Ex-President Nesypor, of course if it’s a Champaign powder day all bets are off.

One trip that just kinda slipped onto the schedule is Big Mountain Montana which is in the process of changing its name to Whitefish Mountain Resort. Big Mountain has been undergoing a number of changes over the past couple years and the name change is just one more part of the project as Whitefish Mountain Resort is positioning itself to become a more mainstream destination resort. Join Sanctuary as one of the first clubs to experience the new day lodge and lifts that have been put in over the summer. Again another duty of the trip chairperson is to go on so called "familiarization" or FAM trips for short to various resorts and evaluate the lodging, skiing, and dining options that a particular destination can offer our club. I was fortunate enough to be invited to Big Mountain this past February for a FAM trip run by Winter Ski and Sport. So I was able to see first hand a number of the changes being made. Normally we avoid Presidents Day weekend as it demands premium prices and draws large crowds to most of the major ski resorts. We were happy to receive a trip proposal to visit Big Mountain over Presidents day week for basically the same pricing as any other time during the season, and since Big Mountain is still off the radar for the masses, crowds are not expected to be a problem. Click here and you can see photos of my FAM trip from Big Mountain.

Just when you thought it can’t get any better and why would you need anything else to choose from we have two more major trips to finish off our 2008 season. Did you know that most resorts in the Rockies get their biggest snowfalls in the month of March? What a great time to get up and go to Breckenridge Colorado. In case you haven’t heard the Chicago Metropolitan Ski Council (CMSC) is planning their 2008 Chicago ski week in Breckenridge and while I am sure they run a good trip, historically Sanctuary has been able to offer our trips to our members for much more reasonable prices than most other clubs in Chicago and we expect our Breckenridge trip to give you a great bang for your buck this year. Top off a great destination like Breckenridge with two great trip leaders in Dan and Cathy Draayers and this is sure to be a trip not to miss.

In typical Sanctuary style we finish up our season with our annual Wing Break trip. Known for good spring skiing, parties, and did I mention parties the annual spring trip is always a blast and I am especially excited about this years destination Whistler, British Columbia. In case you hadn’t heard Whistler / Vancouver is hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics. As I mentioned earlier I was in Whistler this past April for the travel symposium and this town is already going full speed ahead for the Olympics. While I know some folks may have a concern over the weather in Whistler I would like to say that while the weather is always unpredictable, when I was there in mid April this past spring I had some of the best skiing conditions of the season. Whistler/Blackcomb typically keeps the upper mountain glaciers open for skiing well into June and often into July. Combine this great skiing with one of, if not the best party villages in North America and this spring trip has all the makings of one epic wing break for the Sanctuary history books. So get those passports dusted off and head to Whistler this spring with Jeff Sapinski and gang.

Parting comments
Now that you are all excited about next seasons trips, I have another topic I just wanted to mentioned to all those who might be interested. I have been trip chairperson for the past 3 seasons and while I enjoy it, my day job that supports my addiction for skiing is placing increasing demands on me that do not allow me to devote the amount of time to the club that this position deserves. I plan on resigning at the end of this season and would like to put the word out to anyone that might be interested in taking over the position for next year. There are some procedural items that need to be dealt with as this is a position appointed by the board, but if anyone is interested please contact me as soon as possible as I feel the best way to transition is to work with you over the next six months a little bit at a time rather just all at once in the spring. Like I mentioned above there are some perks and you get to learn a lot about the various resorts and meet a lot of different people from all over the country. I will warn you there is definitely some work involved but if you are interested in skiing and seeing the world then its not all that hard to put the time in. Perhaps your motivation is that you feel you can do a better job at planning trips than me, and I’ll be the first to admit I’m not perfect (ok so maybe I won’t admit it, but could accept it ? ) and I think it would be good for the club to have a different person in this position with a different perspective as we can all get into a rut. I know everybody out there is busier than ever with work and other activities, but I would like to challenge any of you who are reading this to give it some thought, after all the club is run by volunteers so that the group as a whole can benefit – take a moment and ask yourself how much have you benefited and what have you brought to the club in return? I would like to say its been a great ride, and I have had the opportunity to work with some great folks and trip leaders who have really eased the burden that comes with this job. Thanks to all and here’s to looking forward to sharing a lift ride, snorkeling through some pristine powder, and then embellishing at the all bar at the end of the day with good friends.

Scott Stecker
Sanctuary Trip Chairperson