Caberfae Ski Club News

CABERFAE SKI CLUB eNEWSLETTER

Each week an e-Newsletter is sent to the membership. Below is an archive of the newsletters.

2022-2023 SKI SEASON

2021-2022 SKI SEASON

SPERRY CLAYPOOL

Sperry Claypool Obituary

Claypool Obit.pdf

Adobe Acrobat Document 1.6 MB

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Life at Caberfae - A Poem

Life at Caberfae

By Dennis Johnson

Former general manager,

Caberfae Ski Resort

It all started in 1936 and 1937 to note,

A Cadillac, Michigan famous ski resort,

With 580 acres to explore!

So many good years of skiing,

With friends and professionals,

At Caberfae!

It's Gaelic for Stag's Head!

It reminds me of a song.

Life is a Cabaret, old chum!

What good is skiing alone?

Come and make turns in the snow,

To meet your friends to show and glow!

Riding up the hill on the chair lift,

Swinging your ski tips to amuse.

As you reach the top to unload,

You bolt out of the chair to implode.

It's a quick skate with ski poles to push,

To reach the steepness with a quick arch

And block your speed to look like a pro,

Other skiers stop and stare,

To watch your smooth style with flair!

Life at Caberfae has been rewarding!

Skiing was always great!

It's time to show with glee,

And don't forget my friends,

You're skiing at Caberfae!

It's time for a ski Holiday!

Life at Caberfae, my friends!

Leave the booze till evening.

Ski like there's no tomorrow,

Enjoy the bright sun in the blue sky,

The cold breeze refreshing your face!

As I end this poem for my ski friends to see,

In honor of the past and present skiers,

we all agree,

Monty, Jim, Sperry, Bill, Brian, Larry, Johnny, Curtis,

Paul, Chad, Franz, Jack, Dale, Bernie, Bob, Ed and Karen;

With so many others to remember and make notes.

All gracing the hills with their various ski styles,

To ponder and to emulate from memory!

It was life at Caberfae, old chum!

This poem pays tribute to many of the instructors who spent long hours on

"Instructors" introducing the wonderful sport of skiing to so many grateful patrons

of Caberfae,

Monty Montague, Jim Wickham, Jim Sandberg, Sperry Claypool, Bill Richards, Bill

Smrekar, Brian Blanchard, Larry Walters, John Kelly, Curtis Martin, Paul and Chad

Williams, Franz Gabl, Jack Snider, Dale Crites, Bernie Bovee, Bob Meyer, Ed

Bosworth and Karen Violeeta Kunkel.

*This poem was sent to Dave Reiser. Dave thought it would bring back great memories.

CABERFAE PEAKS THIS SEASON AND INTO THE FUTURE

These updates appeared in on the Michigan Snowsports Association website at https://www.goskimichigan.com/slopes-trails-winter/.

CABERFAE PEAKS

Terrain updates: A new ski trail was cut to North Peak this summer. The yet-to-be-named run will flow skiers right from Smiling Irishman, accessible from the North Peak Quad and the Vista Triple chair. Caberfae planted 65 Norway Spruce along the trail to keep skiers from inadvertently entering the backcountry. The new trail is designated a green run and will be groomed nightly. Caberfae historians will tell you that this is the old “Bo Buck” run from long ago. The new trail runs out near the Shelter lift now but expect a new Triple chair to replace this next season.

Snowmaking enhancements: Caberfae added snowmaking infrastructure to the new trail; water, power, and nine snowmaking guns that will get the terrain open as early as possible. Caberfae also purchased 10 SMI Super PoleCat snowmaking guns to replace those moved to the new trail.

Amenity updates: The Skyview Day Lodge underwent extensive updates this summer, enabling skiers and riders to stay warm and dry while eating picnic/crockpot lunches between runs. Built in 1962, Skyview Lodge is a special building at Caberfae Peaks, and the management went out of their way to save and restore the structure. In the hotel you will find new carpeting in all 36 rooms and Beatie’s Bar & Grill. Lastly, the resort added additional seasonal lockers for rent.

Caberfae Peaks is quietly developing a third peak, dubbed “East Peak” which is skiers right of North Peak. Caberfae General Manager Tim Meyer stated that the installation of a new triple chair will begin next March and should be in operation for the 2022-2023 season. The new chair will rise from the bottom of Shelter and offload in a built-up area to the right of Smiling Irishman. The new lift will service a widened Smiling Irishman, Shelter, the new yet-to-be-named run described earlier, and the backcountry area. The anticipated vertical drop of East Peak is “around 400 ft.” according to Meyer.

Looking even further into the future, there is a plan to build a “backcountry lift” that will service a fourth peak that has not been built out yet.

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December 15, 2021

Caberfae Peaks has announced plans to install a new chairlift in 2022. The new lift will be supplied by Doppelmayr USA, based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The fixed grip triple chair is set to be delivered in the spring of 2022, with construction taking place summer of 2022, for service starting the 2022/2023 winter season.

The new "East Peak Triple Chair" will replace the Shelter Double Chair as the main base area lift and have a modified alignment, serving the full vertical and the new East Peak. The chair will serve beginner and intermediate terrain as well as the new ski trail, Funnel Cake, that was added for the 2021/2022 winter.

The new lift has been in the works for several years as a contract was signed back in September of 2020. To help welcome the new chair, the TRAIL MAP has been redesigned showing future lift line.