Don Burch Offers Another Intriguing View Of The World Of Skis And Snow. Don’s been experimenting with various techniques to take ski videos into an aesthetic direction. His third offering combines a haunting melody and moody visuals. Music is Gravitated by Edgar Hopp. Click on the image below to watch the video.
A Network Of Trails Run By Community Foundation Offers Multi-Use Recreational Activities. The motto above is the moniker of one of the most interesting trail systems I have seen to date. Round Valley, near Park City, UT, is a paradise for cross country skiers, fat bikers, hikers, and dog walkers. The well groomed trails encourage multi- use and 25 kilometres[Read More…]
ISHA Treasure Chest, Wildcat Polecat Run, Hemingway Excerpt, Jan’s Series Wrap, Gift From COVID Year, Shared House Tips, Nordic Colorado. “There Is Much Weather In A March Day”: Irish Proverb. Indeed, March has us betwixt and between. We had some beautiful mid 60s to 70 degree days early on in New England, then an abrupt switch to zero degrees and[Read More…]
Fresh Snow in the Wasatch. Spring Conditions Reign East. This week’s message is quite simple: If you want fresh snow, head west. If you enjoy spring skiing, the upper Midwest and East will sport those conditions much of the time through the end of the month. That said, I do expect the East to turn a little colder early in[Read More…]
One Year On, It Is Time For Reflection. This year of sudden shut down when everything about lives has changed has thrown a lot of plans out the window. While many readers have found a way to get out in the snow, others have given this season a bye, and still others have taken up alternative snow sports, like cross-country,[Read More…]
By Ernest Hemingway (This is an excerpt from the short story which appeared in the collection In Our Time (1927). To read the complete story, click here.) The funicular car bucked once more and then stopped. It could not go farther, the snow drifted solidly across the track. The gale scouring the exposed surface of the mountain had swept the[Read More…]
Long And Winding Runs. Great Views. It was serendipity to arrive at Wildcat in the northern Presidential Mountains of New Hampshire the first week in March and find spring skiing. Many of us missed that part of the ski season last year in the pandemic shut-downs. Due to its north facing slopes and deep snowpack, Wildcat usually is the last[Read More…]
Non-Stop, Two Mile Run on Polecat. Here’s the next in our Vicarious Vacation series: here’s a nice, calm run on the longest green trail in New Hampshire. Polecat runs from the top of Wildcat to the base, nice wide trails, mostly, taken at a leisurely pace. That’s Mount Washington on the horizon on the Tuckerman Ravine side. Spectacular bluebird day[Read More…]
Part Six: Jan and Judy Become Senior Skiers. We moved to Utah in 1966 when we were in our early thirties. We retired in 1996 in our early sixties, and now we are in our eighties, still skiing what is hyped as “The Greatest Snow on Earth.” It’s a catchy slogan and mostly true. Many of our best skiing memories[Read More…]
Small Ranch Resorts And Large Scale Nordic Centers Span The State. [Editor Note: This article by Pete Wilson first appeared in The Nordic Approach.] In this state of mile-high life, opportunities to elevate your outdoor activities abound. Taking a page from the book of their Alpine resort neighbors, these cross-country ski areas center their offerings around the spectacular peaks of the[Read More…]
Ambassadors Help Create A Congenial Climate At Killington. As a huge ski area with several base areas and mountain peaks, finding one’s way around Killington can be a challenge. That’s where the green-jacketed Ambassadors come in, often saving the day by showing guests how to get where they want to go—or in some cases—avoid a too difficult or too flat[Read More…]
Setting Expectations And Providing Reminders Are Key For Sharing. When sharing a property with a club or friends and family, it’s important to establish a sustainable system for access, expenses, safety and maintenance. Time and effort invested in setting expectations will pay off in the long run. Here are seven ways to share without stress: 1. Commit to an arrangement[Read More…]
End Or Interim, Snow West, Cooler East, Vail Run, Jan’s Saga, Demo Tips, Ski Japan?, NW XC, Happy At Appi, Sharp Porcupine. We’ve been through quite a year. Last year at this time, we were hearing about and experiencing the abrupt closures of ski resorts all over the globe. Races, vacations, bookings cancelled. People just arrived to start vacations had[Read More…]
Not Quite Spring Yet. More Snow In The Forecast. While the resorts in the Midwest and East got a solid taste of spring this week as temperatures soared well above normal for a few days, the winter weather action picked up in the West. A cold trough spun its way down the coast from B.C. to SoCal, depositing wonderful low[Read More…]
Take A Vicarious Vacation On A Beautiful Blue Run. Here’s a long (15 minute) run down the front side of Vail on a really nice blue. For those who haven’t been there, seeing wide, groomed slopes at Vail may be different from the mental model you’ve had of what it’s like at the fabled resort. This is not the Back[Read More…]
Part Five: Jan and Judy Move To Utah Our residence in Illinois proved to be similar to grad school in Indiana. I progressed in my academic career, we had another baby, and (sigh) there was no skiing. But a phone call changed everything. At SIU-Edwardsville, we were renting from a colleague on sabbatical, and we had just started looking for[Read More…]
Guidelines For An Objective Assessment. One of the great things about ski rental shops today is their willingness to rent top of the line skis. This is a great deal because for $35 – $50/day, you can try skis that will set you back $1,000. For the CPAs, math and economic majors, the break-even at $50/day on a $1,000 pair[Read More…]
If You’ve Been, Tell Us So We Can Have A Vicarious Vacation. We have an interesting article this week from Dave Chambers, the “Traveling Australian.” He takes us to Appi Kogen, a resort in the north of Honshu, the big island of Japan. He spent a week skiing powder in the back end of the resort in perfect conditions he[Read More…]
Cascadia Contains Cross-Country Resorts Close To Metro Areas. [Editor Note: This article by Pete Wilson first appeared in The Nordic Approach.] The Pacific Northwest of the contiguous US is a wonderfully strange bit of geography. The Western edge is home to the fjord-filled Pacific Coast, where long beaches and towering seaside rock formations make for otherworldly getaways. Go the other direction, East[Read More…]
Untracked Deep Powder For A Week. Casting aside the duvet and, with a flourish, we spread the curtains wide to greet a new day, a new location, a place of considerable legend. Here the tall Japanese Black Pines punctuate the landscape between the tall buildings of our hotel in this place almost three quarters of the way up the island[Read More…]
Skiers nimbly dodged a porcupine as he wallowed through deep snow to cross Alta’s ski slope. Some stopped to watch the prickly fellow tumble into a tree well and then start to climb. That’s all there was to see. The show was over. He was as prickly as the evergreen so his camouflage was perfect. He virtually disappeared. But[Read More…]
Looking Ahead, First Timers Tips For Europe, Personal Risk Test, Midwest Nordic Centers, DV/PCR Visits, Brunvand’s Journey, L2A Top-Bottom, Tune Up Kit, Okemo Founders, Harriet’s First Time, Emily And March. Outdoor author Patrick McManus said: “God invented March in case eternity proved to be too brief.” March, the elongated month, stretching from the cold of February to the sunshine of[Read More…]
The Straight Story On The Continental Skiing Scene For Seniors. I have coached in pretty well all of the European skiing countries. SeniorsSkiing asked me could I recommend resorts to suit mature American skiers, especially first time visitors to the Continent. Here goes. The range of possibilities is vast. France plasters its slopes with lifts, Italy takes a more environmental[Read More…]
Fresh Snow in Cali. Mild Temps Next Week. Last week’s installment touched upon the fight we usually see in March between lingering cold to the north and advancing spring warmth from the south. The fight usually takes the form of storminess, where it only a matter of whether there is enough cold air in the mix to produce snow instead[Read More…]
Are You A Hucker, Ripper, Park Rat, Or Just A “Sick” Planker? Sorry for the jargon. This week, we’d like to explore on which end of the risk spectrum our readers reside. We have a sense that some readers have slowed down, taken down the speed a notch or two, search for corduroy on on sunny days, and switched to[Read More…]
