5th Annual Ryan Rail Jam {Liberty Mountain Resort, Carroll Valley PA}

Ryan Lichtenberg was a former friend and employee of Liberty Mountain, and he was a frequent visitor to our terrain parks. While snowboarding in Colorado in 2004, Ryan passed away due to a head injury. Ryan's spirit and memory has been kept alive by his friends, family and Liberty over the past five years with the Ryan Rail Jam event.

Since Ryan's passing, helmet usage and awareness has become an integral part of Liberty's safety message and Safety Awareness Week event. Helmets have been highlited during recent Safety Awareness Weeks with helmet raffles and special promotions. This past year, for example, free helmets were given to those participating in Children's Learning Center programs and four winners were chosen to receive free helmets from the Liberty Mountain Sport Shop. "Safe Riding for Ryan" is the motto we use for the Ryan Rail Jam event and it helps to remind people that helmets are a smart choice.

While the weather was not in our favor, this year's 5th Annual Ryan Rail Jam was a success. Ryan's family and friends, including his mom, dad, grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins, all came to the mountain to be part of this special event. Each event participant received a Ryan bandana and sticker to remind themselves of Ryan and the importance of wearing a helmet when skiing and boarding. We hope that the event will continue to grow and encourage more and more people to wear helmets. Ryan's story and spirit will always have a home at Liberty.

Pictures from this year's event...

Ryan's mom Linda and Jonah, good friend of the Lichtenberg family.

A special THANKS goes out to Eastern Mountain Sports and Pitcrew as this year's sponsors. They provided us with some great prizes!

One thing that Ryan was known for and is remembered by...his smile.

Picture with Ryan's grandma.

The whole crew - Lichtenberg family and friends. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, and for your continued support of the Ryan Rail Jam and helmet awareness.

Safety Week Jan 16-24 {Liberty Mountain Resort, Carroll Valley, PA}

Safety Week has officially begun at Liberty. It's a week that highlights slope safety and the importance of safety awareness while skiing and snowboarding. Every season, Safety Week is celebrated not only at our resort, but resorts across the nation as part of NSAA's National Safety Awareness Week. This nation-wide effort is filled with education/learning opportunities, fun activities, helmet giveaways, and more for our guests. Click here for all our event details.

Here are some highlights from the first day of Safety Week at Liberty...

Mountain Safety, Ski Patrol and Ski & Snowboard Instructors all helped out by manning the Safety Booth. They talked with guests about slope safety and the Responsibility Code and awarded extra lift time to those who were well versed in safety tips and the code.

One hour complimentary skiing/boarding added to lift tickets...
Rick the Rescue Dummy made an appearance! Rick is a reminder to guests of the consequences that can occur because of unsafe skiing and boarding. He gets quite a reaction from guests every year.

"Play It Safe" - a new safety initiative for Liberty, Roundtop and Whitetail.

Powder Pig!

As Safety Week continues, here are some safety tips to remember while skiing and boarding:

When skiing and boarding (a sampling from our Responsibility Code and Smart Style safety rules)...

1. Always stay in control.
2. People ahead of you have the right of way.
3. Stop in a safe place for you and others.
4. Whenever starting downhill or merging, look uphill and yield.
5. Observe signs and warnings, and keep off closed trails.
6. Do not ski/ride slopes too difficult for your ability.
7. Look before you leap!
8. Respect gets respect. From the lift line through the park.
9. Easy style it. Start small and work your way up.

Play it safe out there! Happy Safety Week!

Winter Trails and Lots of Smiles! {Liberty Mountain Resort, Carroll Valley, PA}

WOW! What a great day it was yesterday at Liberty! We enjoyed beautiful bue skies, lots of sunshine, powdery fresh snow and plenty of smiling faces. It certainly was a fabulous day to be on the mountain, and I am pretty sure most everyone can agree.

Not only was yesterday filled with all the goodies mentioned above, but also Winter Trails activities and fun. At no charge, guests had the opportunity to learn about winter fitness and demo snowshoes. People of all ages enjoyed the various activities and learned a lot about having healthy and safe outdoor fun during the winter months.

First up: Nutrition and Hydration. It's important to get a nice balance of carbs, protein and fat before participating in winter fitness activities, like skiing and snowboarding. Good food choices include pastas, potatoes, oatmeal, rice, bread, corn, and fibrous veggies and fruits. Water is also a good choice. Just like other indoor and outdoor sports, winter activities offer great workouts which means the body needs a lot of fluids. Drink water, before, during and after. Read more here.

Now that your body is fueled with good food and water, it's time to stretch and prepare the muscles. How many of you are guilty of not stretching correctly or at all before a physical activity? Winter Trails suggests a good ten-minute stretch before activity and a nice trip to the hot tub or hot shower afterwards to soothe muscles. Hot tub or hot shower - that's an easy one to follow! Read more here.

Dressing warm for winter - probably one of the most common mistakes among people when particpating in outdoor activities during the winter months. Wearing multiple layers gives you the ability to add and remove as your body temperature changes. Winter sports participants typically wear three different layers - wicking, insulating and protection. Don't forget about headwear, sunglasses or goggles and socks - all very important. Read more here.

Special guests, our friends from the local Strawberry Hill Nature Preserve, talked about winter hiking and camping. Why let the cold temps and winter weather keep you from enjoying such activities. Visit Strawberry Hill's website to learn more.

Strawberry Hill also brought their furry friend Norm for Winter Trails.

Now for the crowd pleaser - snowshoeing! Snowshoeing is another great way to enjoy the snow and participate in winter fitness. People use snowshoeing for hiking, aerobic conditioning and recreation. Don't coop yourself up in a gym during the winter months. Try snowshoeing!

The snowshoe reps had lots of snowshoes on-site for our guests to demo.

This group had such a great time snowshoeing, they deserve two pictures!

Smiles for snowshoeing!

Aaahhh...a relaxing winter scene.

After participating in all the Winter Trails activities, guests were awarded a special certificate from the President's Council for completing the President's Challenge.

Visit the Winter Trails website for more info.

Now for the smiling faces of the day. We had some very happy people at Liberty yesterday....

Jr. Development group and their Snowboard Instructors.

Father-son bonding time on the mountain.

Aren't these little girls the cutest? Love their bright colors!

All smiles after a great ski lesson from the Ski Instructors.

More smiles at the Ski & Snowboard School.

Who wins for the best smiles and poses on the mountain?

These guys were great...having so much fun...

Snowball has got a pretty good smile...

These guys were totally excited for a day on the mountain!

Chillin' on the Alpine Patio...

Smiles from the chairlifts.

A great shot to end the day. Snowball and the kids! This one might be the winner...

Thanks everyone for making Winter Trails and January 9th a spectacular day at Liberty!