In Short Swings!, Jon pairs French philosopher Simone de Beauvoir’s thoughts about aging with giving the finger to some disrespectful kids at Park City. Skiing Weatherman, Herb Stevens, previews what to expect in ski country over the coming weeks. Wendy Clinch of TheSkiDiva discusses what the women on her forum are saying about the state of on-hill safety. Tamsin Venn[Read More…]
A Rustic Retreat In Remoteness. When skiers talk about great backcountry, they often cite the Tenth Mountain and Braun systems in Colorado; Sierra Club huts in California; Skoki Lodge, Assiniboine and Shadow Lake in the Canadian Rockies. I’d like to add a new destination, near Canyon in Yellowstone National Park. (Check an atlas, find Yellowstone in the northwest corner of[Read More…]
The Technical Reason Why Ski Trails Are Corrugated. [Editor Note: This article was written in collaboration with Auguste Lockwood, Yellowstone Track Systems.] Interest in winter recreation promises to grow phenomenally in winter 2020-’21, despite—or because of —COVID-19, and a lot of us are looking forward to more friends and families on more and better groomed trails. One of the subtle,[Read More…]
Luxury Ranch Includes Gourmet Food And Outdoor Sports. I’m a winter guest (or “dude”) ranch specialist – ski at them, write about them, consult with them, love them. Which is a little ironic because when you think “ranch,” you probably also think “horses!” – but I’m a wondrously inept horseman, whatever the season. I’ve been lucky enough to visit maybe[Read More…]
Joining A Race Without Training? Hey, It Could Be Fun. In this strangest of times, I think back to the great and diverse and sometimes unorthodox adventures I’ve had cross-country skiing. And although I haven’t competed often, there was this one time, some years ago… As I understand it, you’re supposed to train for a major race. Seems sensible, right?[Read More…]
States Of Euphoria The week before Christmas, 1980, I drove west from Cody, WY, through the rugged Absarokas, over Togwotee Pass, dropping into the northeast corner of Jackson Hole, then south to the town of Jackson. Deep fresh snow covered the landscape, with occasional bison, moose, and coyote tracks crossing broad meadows. The road parallels the Snake River. So do[Read More…]
Ocean Of Volcanic Lava Offers Awesome XC/Snowshoe Experience. “[It is an] area of about 60 miles in diameter, where nothing meets the eye but a desolate and awful waste, where no grass grows nor water runs, and where nothing is to be seen but lava.” (Washington Irving, The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, 1868 ) Some things leave a lasting impression.[Read More…]
Classy And Classic, Sun Valley Has Magnetism And Charm. I’m a total sucker for romance, and Sun Valley, ID, radiates charisma, beauty, diversity, skiing history— the whole shebang. Known as “America’s First Destination Ski Resort,” it’s 2.5 hours from Boise. Happily, there’s a jet airport only a dozen miles away. Set in the rugged Sawtooth Mountains, Sun Valley Nordic &[Read More…]
Catch Early Snow in West Yellowstone. If you head to West Yellowstone, MT, in late November, you can visit the early winter cross-country ski epicenter of North America: the Rendezvous Ski Trails. There are a bunch of fall camps in the Rockies – including Silver Star, BC, Crested Butte and Steamboat Springs, CO, plus Mt. Bachelor in Oregon – but[Read More…]
Skis, Dogs, Bikes. It Must Be Crested Butte. It sometimes feels like not much of the American West remains unspoiled, but the town of Crested Butte, CO, comes mighty close. It’s a ski town that used to be a mining community (gold and silver, then coal). Somehow it’s kept the serenity (population is pretty steady at around 1,700) and retained[Read More…]
Not XC’s Poor Cousin Anymore. Back in 1971, when I transferred winter affections from downhill to Nordic skiing (due to a spectacular fall in Austria, that racked up one knee and stripped off my nifty French-made Fusalp ski suit– but that’s another story), I tried snowshoeing too. After all, cross-country skis and snowshoes were both made of wood and quite[Read More…]
