Our Mission:
The Texas Twisters Ski and Adventure Clubs a non-profit club that promotes snow skiing, water skiing, and other outdoor adventures with members of all ages. Our aim is to provide opportunities for skiers of ALL abilities to ski with friends at excellent group rates. We encourage non-skiers to join us on the mountain and learn to ski, or enjoy a getaway at great rates.
We have social activities including happy hours, special events, parties and other non-skiing activities. It’s a great way to meet new people and have a great time! The Texas Twisters Ski and Adventure Club is a member of the Texas Ski Council, an association of about 16 ski clubs representing close to 10,000 skiers throughout Texas.
Once Upon A Time It All Began…
Back in 1975 there was snow and there was snow skiing. The ski mountains were just as close as they are today. The West Texas Ski Club was formed in the mid-1970s and had about 70 skiers. A few individuals from those beginnings formed the Texas Twister Ski Club in 1983. We actually still have a few of those original members still around! The first Twister ski trip was not a ski trip at all. In fact, about 20 members made a trek to the October Albuquerque Balloon Festival in 1983. Soon after, the first ski trip took place in Keystone, CO. where about 36 members enjoyed good early season snow. Well actually, great snow the Twisters got snowed in on the very first ski trip!!! The year was good with another four official trips that initial season.
Through the years……
The Twisters have had many, many memorable times over the years. There were the great bus trips to Taos that introduced many of us to the club. A person may have known only one or two people when they got on the bus, 20 people by the city limits, and a 100 people at the end of the trip. That’s right, our annual club trip to Taos has attracted over 100 skiers at one time that’s two bus loads! We had the opportunity (or not) to see Taos actually close one of very few days in history due to weather. We shifted gears and had fun elsewhere.
Somewhere along the way we introduced the world famous “Texas Twister Double Release Rule”. The rule states that “a person who releases from both skis on the mountain is required to purchase drinks of choice for all Twister witnesses to the release”. Needless to say, this can become rather costly at times. There was an instance where one person released a $100 bill because of his two ski release on the mountain.
There were other trips where hot tubs got to be a main attraction because of sore muscles after a long day of skiing. The Twisters have not understood how the hotels select such a low number for the hot tub capacity we usually assume we should double it!
There were the ghosts at the Banff Springs Hotel (Redrum, Redrum). One year we had a costume party on the mountain while skiing! There was once the unusual road trip to a road side park up by Plainview and back tee shirts and all. On the sentimental side there was a couple who got married in front of 100 Twisters at the Sagebrush Inn in Taos right before our regular wine and cheese party. There was one couple who got married in 1986 just before they took off on their honeymoon to Austria with 1,200 Texans. Oh, there was also the couple who got married on the Tahoe Queen Paddle boat on Lake Tahoe one morning. Then in 2001 they repeated the trip as co-trip captains. How about the guy on the 1998 Purgatory trip who popped the question AND got married on the same trip?
As you can see, there have been many memorable moments. The good thing is that they are not ending. Become a part of the memories and photos.
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