My introduction to Japanese skiing took place roughly 27 years ago in front of a television set in Warren, Vermont, my hometown in the United States, and also home to Sugarbush Ski Area. My father, a transplanted Austrian who had emigrated to North America to become a ski instructor, had not yet adopted the American … Continue reading Introduction to Skiing in Japan
Minneapolis, MN – There’s one thing any die-hard skier will notice as he or she gazes out the porthole window of their plane on the final approach into the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport: it’s damned flat out there. My eyes scanned from one horizon to the other for any skiable topographic features, and unfortunately I … Continue reading Bright Lights, Twin Cities
Tahoe City, CA – First light, and the chirping alarm did little more than elicit an anguished groan from my daughter Jacquelin, age 14. It was 6:00 AM and less than nine hours since we had last been on the snow, tubing our hearts out at Squaw Valley. Frankly, the attitudes of son Jonathon, 10, … Continue reading Alpine Meadows: So Laid Back
From powder, crust and corn to mashed potatoes, corduroy and crud, skiers probably have more descriptive terms for snow than anyone except the tundra-dwelling Inuit of northern Alaska and Canada. n But when it comes to the morning snow report you hear on the radio or read in the paper, some of that creativity goes … Continue reading Snow Report Equals Part Art and Science
Yosemite Valley, CA – Sometimes life is tough and duty calls. In February 2000, as part of my official duties at NASA, I attended the “Yosemite 2000” Conference on Comparative Aeronomy in the Solar System, where both the science and the recreation were excellent. Winter in Yosemite is quiet time. I have been there in September and it was … Continue reading Badger Pass: Yosemite in Winter
South Lake Tahoe, CA – Okay, I’ll admit it. Heavenly wasn’t exactly at the top of my list of gnarly places to rip the slopes prior to our family’s recent tour of the Lake Tahoe area. I’d heard the hotshots at our local mountain sneering all the way back to my hometown near Niagara Falls. … Continue reading Just Heavenly
Winter in Texas lasts about two weeks. It starts when people stop running their air conditioners. It ends roughly one week after the hard freeze that catches everyone unprepared, kills all the plants and causes 500 traffic accidents in the first hour of the morning commute. The only other winter ritual to look forward to … Continue reading Voodoo on the Slopes…and Other Winter Rituals