Glen Plake Brings Back Down Home Tour To Small Ski Areas In U.S.

Elan Skis, handcrafted skis 100 percent made in the Alps for more than 70 years, has announced that longtime Elan athlete and ski industry legend Glen Plake is officially bringing back the Down Home Tour to small ski areas across the U.S. this 2018/19 winter season.

Unlike other tours, the Glen Plake Down Home Tour is intentionally unplanned. There is no set schedule or official way to sign up. It’s about being in the right place at the right time.

Hosted by Plake and his wife, Kimberly, out of their 38-foot custom Freightliner rig, the tour route is set on a whim depending on weather and ski conditions. Their itinerary is loosely planned to travel through the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic through New England from mid December 2018 through January 2019, parking their custom rig in ski area parking lots, skiing with locals and celebrating good times on snow.

The Plake’s started the Down Home Tour in 1991 where they visited 50 ski areas in 33 states and logged 13,000 miles in 68 days. Twenty-seven years later, the Plakes don’t have any goals to achieve the same amount of stops or distance, but the spirit of the tour will remain. Unlike the completely unannounced stops in the 1990s, Plake has adopted the advent of modern day social media and will be randomly updating his social media @glenplake during the Down Home Tour this winter.

Aligned with Elan’s “Always Good Times” approach to skiing and Plake’s favorite Ripstick collection, Elan will be closely following and posting updates from Plake about the tour @elanskis channels to inspire locals to get out and ski with Plake.

“Glen is one of the best ambassadors skiing has ever had,” said Jeff Mechura, Elan’s vice president of global marketing,. “He has learned how to connect with every single person he meets. That’s what makes the Down Home Tour important—it gets to the heart of skiing, having fun with friends and family on the mountain. Plake is the No. 1 spokesperson of having a good time.”