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Afton Alps
Afton Alps is a ski area, which hosts a collection of ski and snowboard trails, located along the St. Croix River in the northeast corner of Denmark Township, Washington County, south of Afton, Minnesota in the United States. There are nearly skiable at Afton Alps. The ski hill has of vertical drop. The Alps utilizes an extensive snowmaking system for maintaining the slopes during the winter months. There are a total of 36 trails with 17 chairlifts, two conveyor lifts, and a double-sided rope tow in the Landing Zone Terrain Park. There are five chalets, including the Meadows Chalet, the Highlands Chalet, the Alpine Chalet, Landing Zone (also has a Yurt) and the Alps Chalet (Main Chalet). Afton Alps' winter season runs mid-November through mid-March. On December 6, 2012 it was announced that Afton Alps has been sold to Vail Resorts of Colorado. Activities The following are activities included at Afton Alps: * Alpine skiing * Night skiing * Snowboarding Snowboarding i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denmark Township, Washington County, Minnesota
Denmark Township is a township in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,348 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Basswood Grove is located within Denmark Township. Denmark Township was organized in 1858. Recreation Afton Alps Ski Area and Afton State Park are located within the township. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , of which is land and (5.95%) is water. County 21 serves as a main route in the township. The ghost town of Point Douglas is located within the township. The township contains one property listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 1852 District No. 34 School. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 1,348 people, 481 households, and 404 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 503 housing units at an average density of 17.6/sq mi (6.8/km2). The racial makeup of the township was 98.22% White, 0.1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buildings And Structures In Washington County, Minnesota
A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout history for a wide number of factors, from building materials available, to weather conditions, land prices, ground conditions, specific uses, prestige, and aesthetic reasons. To better understand the term ''building'' compare the list of nonbuilding structures. Buildings serve several societal needs – primarily as shelter from weather, security, living space, privacy, to store belongings, and to comfortably live and work. A building as a shelter represents a physical division of the human habitat (a place of comfort and safety) and the ''outside'' (a place that at times may be harsh and harmful). Ever since the first cave paintings, buildings have also become objects or canvasses of much artis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ski Areas And Resorts In Minnesota
A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins (originally made of seal fur, but now made of synthetic materials) can be attached at the base of the ski. Originally intended as an aid to travel over snow, they are now mainly used recreationally in the sport of skiing. Etymology and usage The word ''ski'' comes from the Old Norse word which means "cleft wood", "stick of wood" or "ski". In Old Norse common phrases describing skiing were ''fara á skíðum'' (to travel, move fast on skis), ''renna'' (to move swiftly) and ''skríða á skíðum'' (to stride on skis). In modern Norwegian the word ''ski'' has largely retained the Old Norse meaning in words for split firewood, wood building materials (such as bargeboards) and roundpole fence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Night Skiing
Night skiing is the sport of skiing or snowboarding after sundown, offered at many ski resorts and mountains. There are usually floodlights – including LED lamps – along the piste which allow for better visibility. It typically begins after a resort's skiing-day ends (sunset), and ends between 8:00 PM and 10:30 PM. Night skiing offers a few last runs for busy skiers who don't have time to ski during daylight hours. Trails at night are normally not as busy as during the day, but there are usually fewer runs available. The trails also tend to be icier than during the day, due to melting and refreezing. While the invention of night skiing is often credited to Webb Moffet in 1945 who used to own Snoqualmie Summit Ski Area near Seattle, Washington, night skiing actually originated with Clare Bousquet at Bousquet Ski Area in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1936 thanks to a local partnership with General Electric. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alpine Skiing
Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel bindings, unlike other types of skiing ( cross-country, Telemark, or ski jumping), which use skis with free-heel bindings. Whether for recreation or for sport, it is typically practiced at ski resorts, which provide such services as ski lifts, artificial snow making, snow grooming, restaurants, and ski patrol. "Off-piste" skiers—those skiing outside ski area boundaries—may employ snowmobiles, helicopters or snowcats to deliver them to the top of a slope. Back-country skiers may use specialized equipment with a free-heel mode, including 'sticky' skins on the bottoms of the skis to stop them sliding backwards during an ascent, then locking the heel and removing the skins for their descent. Alpine skiing has been an event at the Winter Olympic Games since 1936. A competition corresponding to modern slalom was introduced in Oslo in 1886. Participants and venues ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chalet
A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-supported eaves set at right angles to the front of the house. Definition and origin The term ''chalet'' comes from the Arpitan-speaking part of Switzerland and the French Savoy region, and originally referred to the hut of a herder. It was often embedded in the ground for the sake of temperature buffering. Many chalets in the European Alps were originally used as seasonal farms for dairy cattle, which would be brought up from the lowland pastures during the summer months. The herders would live in the chalet and make butter and cheese in order to preserve the milk produced. These products would then be taken, with the cattle, back to the low valleys before the onset of the alpine winter. The chalets would remain locked and unused during t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chairlifts
An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They are the primary onhill transport at most ski areas (in such cases referred to as 'ski lifts'), but are also found at amusement parks, various tourist attractions, and increasingly in urban transport. Depending on carrier size and loading efficiency, a passenger ropeway can move up to 4000 people per hour, and the fastest lifts achieve operating speeds of up to or . The two-person double chair, which for many years was the workhorse of the ski industry, can move roughly 1200 people per hour at rope speeds of up to . The four person detachable chairlift ("high-speed quad") can transport 2400 people per hour with an average rope speed of . Some bi and tri cable elevated ropeways and reversible tramways achieve much greater operating speeds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snow Cannon
Snowmaking is the production of snow by forcing water and pressurized air through a "snow gun", also known as a "snow cannon". Snowmaking is mainly used at ski resorts to supplement natural snow. This allows ski resorts to improve the reliability of their snow cover and to extend their ski seasons from late autumn to early spring. Indoor ski slopes use snowmaking. They can generally do so year-round as they have climate-controlled environments. The use of snowmaking machines has become more common as changing weather patterns and the popularity of indoor ski resorts create a demand for snow beyond that which is provided by nature. Snowmaking machines have addressed the shortage in the supply of snow; however, there are significant environmental costs associated with the artificial production of snow. According to the European Environment Agency, the length of snow seasons in the northern hemisphere has decreased by five days each decade since the 1970s, thus increasing the deman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Snowboarding
Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic Games. Snowboarding was developed in the United States, inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing, and skiing. It became popular around the globe, and was introduced as a Winter Olympic Sport at Nagano in 1998 and featured in the Winter Paralympics at Sochi in 2014. , its popularity (as measured by equipment sales) in the United States peaked in 2007 and has been in a decline since. History The first snowboards were developed in 1965 when Sherman Poppen, an engineer in Muskegon, Michigan, invented a toy for his daughters by fastening two skis together and attaching a rope to one end so he would have some control as they stood on the board and glided downhill. Dubbed the "snurfer" (combining snow and surfer) by his wife Nancy, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vail Resorts
Vail Resorts, Inc. is an American mountain resort company headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. The company is divided into three divisions. The mountain segment owns and operates 40 mountain resorts in four countries, Vail Resorts Hospitality owns or manages hotels, lodging, condominiums and golf courses, and the Vail Resorts Development Company oversees property development and real estate holdings. History Vail Resorts was founded as Vail Associates Ltd. by Pete Seibert and Earl Eaton in the early 1960s. Eaton, a lifelong resident, led Siebert (a former WWII 10th Mountain Division ski trooper) to the area in March 1957. They both became ski patrol guides at Aspen, Colorado, when they shared their dream of finding the "next great ski mountain." Siebert set off to secure financing and Eaton engineered the early lifts. Their Vail ski resort opened in 1962. George N. Gillett Jr. purchased Vail Associates in 1985. Vail Associates changed its name to Vail Resorts and went public in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International Ski Federation (FIS). History Skiing has a history of almost five millennia. Although modern skiing has evolved from beginnings in Scandinavia, it may have been practiced more than 100 centuries ago in what is now China, according to an interpretation of ancient paintings. However, this continues to be debated. The word "ski" comes from the Old Norse word "skíð" which means to "split piece of wood or firewood". Asymmetrical skis were used in northern Finland and Sweden until at least the late 19th century. On one foot, the skier wore a long straight non-arching ski for sliding, and a shorter ski was worn on the other foot for kicking. The underside of the short ski was either plain or covered with animal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
