Stratton Mountain, VT – I just can’t help but to smile. Let’s just ignore the fact that I was grunting up the side of a ski slope with two broken vertebrae in my lower back, struggling to hold some form of traction in the snow. Forget that, all the while, an image of me losing … Continue reading The U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships: Back to Where It All Began
Newry, ME – We had been dying for a ski vacation. After loving every minute of a record snowfall on the East Coast last winter, this year we’d barely unpacked our gloves. We had planned a couple trips with friends, but each had disintegrated before we’d witnessed the first snowflake. By February, we were beginning … Continue reading Take Me To the River
Lincoln, NH – The best-laid plans do not always go according to design. Skiers, especially eastern skiers, know this fact intimately. Weather is no one’s friend in New England, and we all know the best conditions in the east often match the worst it ever gets out west. The clouds seemingly conspire to produce ill-timed … Continue reading Call of the Loon
Newfoundland, Canada (April 2001) – I drove seven hours across the island of Newfoundland before picking up Bill, from Lake Elmore, Vermont, at the Deer Lake airport and continuing an hour south, through Corner Brook, to the Blow Me Down Mountains. I had never been to the Blow Me Downs, and Bill had only been … Continue reading Blown Away in the Blow Me Downs
Bromont (QC), Canada – It seems that small dogs don’t understand their size. What other explanation could there be for a Chihuahua that attacks a Rotweiller? You’d think that the little guy would pick his fights more carefully, but he doesn’t. The fur on his back rises, and he stands his ground. The Rotweiller, recognizing … Continue reading Ski Bromont: The Chihuahua
St.-Philémon (QC), Canada – It was around 10:30 p.m. when I pulled into the tiny pastoral village of St.-Philémon, Québec. René Godbout, Massif du Sud’s general manager, was convinced that I would never find my condo in the dark, and therefore made arrangements to meet me in the parking lot of the hamlet’s only gas … Continue reading Massif du Sud: A Personal Stash
Mont-Tremblant (QC), Canada – When ski resort conglomerate Intrawest purchased Québec’s Tremblant resort in 1991, it bought a mountain largely thought to be past its prime. A true ski history mogul, Tremblant had fallen on hard times and was floundering financially. It’s amazing what a measly little $800 million will do! n All of this, … Continue reading Tremblant: Music For the Masses