Yeah, I live near Paoli Peaks in Bedford, and work in Paoli.
There are lots of Hotels up here in Bedford, Indiana. 25 minutes north, about have of the road is Divided fourlane. They have a Holiday Inn Express, Very nice Super 8 with inside rooms, and hot tub/pool. They have some restaurants, like Chinese Buffet, Gatti's pizza, mexican, italian, etc.
We could meet up somewhere in Paoli. They have some great backroads to drive on.
FWIW, gas is like 98 cents a gallon in Paoli. And there is a Super Walmart there.
You might want to take US 150 out of Louisville/New Albany to Paoli.
We could meet at my work, but it has a gravel parking lot
and is 3 miles east of Paoli Courthouse on US 150, about 5 miles from the peaks.
Here is an article from the newspaper.
Colder temperatures help ski resort extend its season
By LORETTA BROWN,
Times-Mail Staff Writer
Paoli Peaks employee Evan Cox uses a snowmobile to travel between snow-making machines at the ski resort Wednesday afternoon.
Times-Mail/GARET COBB
PAOLI — When the night-time temperatures dip below freezing and daytime temperatures hover in the mid 30s, a crew of five people drop whatever they are doing and head for the big guns.
Six thousand gallons of water a minute spews out of the guns' barrels, creating a thick white cloud over Ski Paoli Peaks. The goal is covering the trails on the 65-acre property.
Jody Ream, a member of the daytime snow-making crew, can't think of anything he would rather be doing.
“It's a very rewarding job,” said Ream, manager of operations at the resort. “To see the amount of snow on the ground when you come in for a shift and to see the amount of snow at the end, it's a rewarding feeling. It's a cold job, and it's not easy. It's as much mental as physical, but making snow is probably my favorite part of the job.”
Ream has been on the snow-making crew for four years. He credits Dave Mullet, the resort's head snowmaker and snow groomer, for the optimum snow conditions. Mullet has been employed at the resort 18 years.
Ream also applauded Dennis Harper, the night shift supervisor, for snow-making efforts on his shift.
Ream performs varied tasks — he promotes the resort to groups in the summer, he makes sure food in the cafeteria is ready for the throngs of people, and he runs the ski school.
“We are not able to make snow all the time,” Ream said. “When we are, that's where my focus is at.”
The weather hasn't presented many moments when the guns could hit full tilt, but since 10 a.m. Tuesday, snowmakers like Ream have been having a blast.
“Basically, we started over as of Monday,” Ream said. “Now we've got a lot of snow on the ground, and we expect cold temperatures tonight (Wednesday) and we will continue making snow. Yesterday (Tuesday) was 25 degrees, and the wind was blowing 25 miles an hour. It's demanding (to work) in the elements.”
Ski Paoli Peaks suspended operations Tuesday and Wednesday to make snow. Those efforts will extend the skiing and snowboarding season by as many as three more weeks.
Ream said making snow is a science and requires the crew members to know just when to point the guns higher or lower to throw maximum amounts of snow. They also must know how temperature, humidity, wind speed and wind direction will help or hinder snowmaking.
When they make snow, the crew members ride snowmobiles to each of the 100 towers across the property. They climb the towers to adjust the snow guns.
“The snow is wonderful right now,” Ream said. “Mother Nature gave us two to three inches of natural snow, and we put out several feet of snow. Conditions should be optimal when we reopen at 10 a.m. Thursday.”
Ream expects the weather to be perfect Saturday for the facility's annual Spring Carnvial. Anyone who wears any type of costume and registers before 10:30 a.m. will receive free chairlift tickets. There's also a Big Air competition and a Boarder Cross competition and several games for all those who attend the last event of the season. More than $3,000 in prizes will be awarded.
Ski Paoli Peaks is expecting more than 1,000 people to participate in the Spring Carnvial, many of whom were taught by Ream and other ski and snowboard instructors.
Ream has been employed at Ski Paoli Peaks for 16 years, having started skiing himself when he was in the fourth grade. He taught ski lessons to work his way through college and then ran Midnight Madness sessions.
This season alone, 80,000 visitors have come to Ski Paoli Peaks and thousands have learned to ski and snowboard.
“There's a fulfillment when that many people are having a good time and they come back year in and year out,” Ream said. “That's rewarding.”
Ream, who grew up in Orleans, said he has no regrets making his career tracks at Ski Paoli Peaks.
“I would rather spend a day on the snow than anything else,” he said. “A bad day on the snow is better than a good day not on the snow.”
