What Is This? Who Used It? Why Is It A Rare Artifact Of Ski History? Last Week This is Betty Welch Whitney, born in Haverhill, MA, graduated from Smith College in 1923, and first went on a ski trip with the AMC in 1928. She remained an AMC member for life, and became a ski fashion and equipment buyer for[Read More…]
Here’s What The Experts Say. Let’s say you want to learn how to cross-country ski relatively quickly and easily: How to move with grace and minimal effort, develop endurance, and enjoy what you’re doing from the git-go. Well, it’s going to take time on skis to develop that self-assurance, balance, and muscle memory (though kids can do a lot of[Read More…]
“Was ever anything so vexatious?” One of the most enthusiastic English Victorian tourists who made a ski trip to Norway was Mrs. Alec Tweedie, author of A Winter Jaunt to Norway (1893). Not only did she sketch a vivid picture of Norwegian skiing equipment, technique, and terrain, but she also reported on the second-ever Holmenkollen Day events. Mrs. Tweedie, then[Read More…]
Harriet’s Album Of Deep, Deep Snow Pics At Brighton. At my home resort Brighton, the snowfall has topped 500 inches—about 41 feet—and the snow keeps coming. Brighton is a down home, low key resort near Salt Lake City that’s favored by families and snowboarders. Plentiful snow is crucial because It’s our drinking water supply, and there have been several years[Read More…]
Seniors Can Still Get A Mid-Week Pass At A Big Discount Before April 14. Sunapee in New Hampshire went Epic this past winter, joining Stowe and Okemo, Vt., as Vail Resort’s three footholds in the East. Sunapee draws many locals from neighboring towns plus a hefty day crowd from the Boston area. Parking lots fill up early on weekends. Midweek[Read More…]
Odds & Ends, W.S. Merwin, Ski For Light Part 2, Schneider Cup, Resort Reviews, BC Resorts Love Seniors, Mystery Smithy, Crazy Ski Ads. Spring Arrives Tonight. This week, there’s yet more snow in The Sierra, and a Nor’Easter in the East, leaving piles of it everywhere. There are clearly opportunities for extending the season well into the summer. The question[Read More…]
[Editor Note: This article was written by Robert Civiak, a 25-year Ski For Light volunteer guide. It previously appeared in the Ski For Light Bulletin, Summer, 2018. For Part 1: A Skier’s Experience. click here.] Part 2: A Guide’s Story. In 1992, after several years of bad snow in the mid- Atlantic region, I signed up to go to Colorado[Read More…]
…What? Hints: New Hampshire. She went to Smith. Her husband’s last name was the name of the creation. Many thanks to the New England Ski Museum, now with an Eastern Slope branch in North Conway, NH, in addition to their home base at the foot of the Cannon Mountain gondola, Franconia. Last Week Yes, Buddy Werner is the skier on[Read More…]
Remember Lange’s “Soft Inside”? I get it. It’s not easy to sell skis. With so many advances in ski design, there are tons of great skis out there. So how does a brand differentiate their products from others? Just like they always have, advertising and marketing. This means slogans, endorsements, performance claims, use of exotic materials and “systems” and of[Read More…]
Celebrating Hannes Schneider, A Pioneer Of Alpine Skiing In North America. Every year, the Hannes Schneider Meister Cup Race, sponsored by the New England Ski Museum and Cranmore Mountain, NH, celebrates the legacy of the venerable Austrian ski instructor. For 23 years, the Cup has drawn people to Cranmore from all over to race or just cruise on this low[Read More…]
In The Shadow Of Mammoth, June Mt. Features Dramatic Views. One of the most beautiful drives in ski country is from Carson City, NV down Rt 395 to Mammoth Lakes, CA. Passing Mono Lake and making your way through the passes that are open in the winter yields some of the most breathtaking views in the country. As we made[Read More…]
By W.S. Merwin (1927-2019) What if I came down now out of these solid dark clouds that build up against the mountain day after day with no rain in them and lived as one blade of grass in a garden in the south when the clouds part in winter from the beginning I would be older than all the animals[Read More…]
New England Trails With Western Snow. I love skiing Solitude Mountain Resort for its wide range of trails for all levels and ages of skiers ranging from wide-open trails to steep, narrow trails that remind me of skiing Stowe, Mad River Glen, and Sugarbush. All the parking is right out front of the Moonbeam Lodge or Solitude Village. Management loves[Read More…]
Italian Alps, Ski For Light Skier, Mystery Irishman, Great Glen, Personal Knee Story, Winter’s Spring. Happy St. Patrick’s Day, formerly the unofficial beginning of spring skiing. But this year we aren’t so sure. Winter isn’t going anywhere. This week’s Mystery Glimpse reveals the story behind the Hard Pak Puliverizer, the ingenious ice grinder machine invented by Jim Kelly, owner-operator of[Read More…]
Italy’s Aosta Valley is rich with history; even richer with places to ski. The Romans used the valley as a route to Gaul. In the intervening centuries, more than 100 castles were built. Starting in the early 1930’s, the Italians, the Swiss and the French started building ski lifts. They haven’t stopped. The valley provides easy access to some of the[Read More…]
Part 1: The Skier [Editor Note: We met Chris Leghorn in a local North Shore community acoustic music jam. She sang and played her Martin HD 28 with both gusto and gentleness, depending on the song. In talking with her, we learned she had taken part in 19 Ski For Light events since 2001 as a cross country skier. She[Read More…]
Who Do We Have In The Tucked Position? Thanks again to the Tread of Pioneers Museum, Steamboat Springs, CO, for contributing this picture from its archives. Last Week If you recall, Brodie Mt was nicknamed “The Irish Alps”, because on St. Paddy’s Day it was definitely the place for skiers to be. It was also the domain of a creative,[Read More…]
New NH Cross-Country Resort Offers Winter Sports Alternatives. Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center just past Wildcat on Route 16 in New Hampshire, sits at the base of the towering Mt. Washington. At 1,600 feet in an area known as the Glen, the snow is plentiful, and the managers cut Nordic trails to perfection daily for both classic and skate. Cruise[Read More…]
Conditioning Makes A Huge Difference To This Skier’s Post-Op Experience. A lifetime of abusing my body never really bothered me until it did. Coming down a blue trail five miles long at Park City, UT, one of my all time favorites because of the killer views, suddenly posed a problem. My knees were killing me. The pain traveled into my[Read More…]
By John Clare (1793-1864) The winter comes; I walk alone, I want no bird to sing; Tho those who keep their hearts their own The winter is the spring. No flowers to please—no bees to hum— The coming spring’s already come. I never want the Christmas rose To come before its time; The season, each as God bestows, Are[Read More…]
[Editor Note: We sent packages and envelopes to readers who donated in our recent fund-raising campaign this week. Jon and I are truly gratified by your support. Thank you. If you haven’t received your premium, please be patient. More patches and stickers are being shipped to us.] Vasaloppett And Memories Of The Great Washington Birthday Race, Fat Bike Amateur, Mystery[Read More…]
Older skiers have older eyes, and all skiers eventually experience decrease in snow contrast sensitivity. The most common culprit is cataracts, the cloudiness that forms on our lenses, causing the eyes to lose clarity and decreasing the quality of light focused on the retina. Cataracts can start forming when we’re in our 40s and 50s, though they’re more commonplace[Read More…]
A Fat Bike Neophyte Takes To The Trails. Here’s What’s Different. Exploring alternative snow sports always interests us. We like snowshoeing around the woods when the snow is too deep for cross-country skiing. We go ice-skating on the pond behind the house when it gets cold enough and there’s no snow cover, an uncommon combination. We even tried snow camping,[Read More…]
Read The Hints, Connect The Dots. Boiler plate, locally manufactured, Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Irish-tinged ski area. Got it? What is this? Who invented it? Last Week This is the famous Al Johnson, ski legend of the Rockies. According to the Colorado Snowsports Museum, which contributed this picture, Al was a superb skier before he came to Crystal, CO, from[Read More…]
Advice From An Orthopedic Physician. A reader asks: I need a knee replacement. Is there one implant (Zimmer, Depuy, Stryker, etc.) that is better for returning to skiing? Here’s the reply from Dr. Peter Schmaus, Orthopedic Spine and Sports, Paramus, NJ: Thank you for that interesting and timely question. There are nearly 700,000 knee replacements done in the United States[Read More…]
