it's pouring rain in LA today. when it rains in LA the storms come across the continent and pound the new england with snow. get your skis tuned and waxed cause it's going to be great for the steep and deep.
winter weather
- Thread starter jon hansen
- Start date
I'll tune up my snow blower.
-Will (Dragonfly)
-Will (Dragonfly)
Here on the coast, we'll prepare for the 'Wintery Mix', a coastal NE term. Sounds benign enough but in fact it means, "we dunno,...yet". 'Mixed bag', we could get a foot, a few inches of snow,...or ice. It'll be a surprise!
I grew up in NE, winter weather is part of the fun. I used to live in the 'country', and remember it well. Feeling like a gladiator in my youth, I fought valiantly for decades miles down dirt roads and country lanes manning wood stoves and lugging water for days and nights by candle light.
These days in an old village, winter weather is easier. We rarely lose power (close to the main grid), never lose water (town supply) and plows begin running at the first snowflake (school bus, EMT, life line).
We park our cars(no 4wd these days), at the road edge leaving just a few feet to shovel, then let the snow in the driveway, melt. We walk only, most days, anyway.
Winter is chaos or calm, depending on who you talk to (and the length of your legs).
I grew up in NE, winter weather is part of the fun. I used to live in the 'country', and remember it well. Feeling like a gladiator in my youth, I fought valiantly for decades miles down dirt roads and country lanes manning wood stoves and lugging water for days and nights by candle light.
These days in an old village, winter weather is easier. We rarely lose power (close to the main grid), never lose water (town supply) and plows begin running at the first snowflake (school bus, EMT, life line).
We park our cars(no 4wd these days), at the road edge leaving just a few feet to shovel, then let the snow in the driveway, melt. We walk only, most days, anyway.
Winter is chaos or calm, depending on who you talk to (and the length of your legs).
At least you were going "down" the roads. The wealthier kids would get heated up potatoes to carry in their pockets to keep their hands warm.
Not me, I was a Florida boy.
No snow, no hills, oranges instead of potatoes AND no shoes
. I use to be able to stand in the middle of the street barefoot on a hot Summer day. No more.-Will (Dragonfly)
You are without a doubt, a pioneer, Will! Floridian retired to New Hampshire. And you obviously take our NE winters in stride.At least you were going "down" the roads. The wealthier kids would get heated up potatoes to carry in their pockets to keep their hands warm.
Not me, I was a Florida boy.
No snow, no hills, oranges instead of potatoes AND no shoes
-Will (Dragonfly)
Besides learning how to dress yourself correctly, what's your secret?
No, that's it. While everyone else complains and wears a single pair of jeans and one jacket, when the first chill tints the days, those long johns go on. When it's below 20, I add a loose pair of hiking pants on the outside. I've usually got at least three layers on. No big deal. My wife can't understand that I'm not boiling when I go inside. She's the one who complains about the cold, not I. Oh yeah, a hat that covers your ears makes an enormous difference too.
-Will (Dragonfly)
When they make flip flops for snow I'll re-consider. Ponce de Leon wasn't looking for the Fountain of Youth in Greenland.
I'll answer that one … it's easy, you just have to LOVE it!
My sister, on the right, was the person whom introduced me to skiing when I was about 14. That changed the trajectory of my life.
I wonder how many recognize this iconic mountain!
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Because it's a big mountain, and looks like the NE, I'll guess Killington (second guess Jay Peak)?
We were there last, about 5-6 years ago. Our old stomping grounds, I started skiing there in the early 60's.
My wife and son converted me to the snowboard when I was 56. Our daughter is the traditionalist still on skis.
Bah ... ah ..ah nope! (that was a hint)
But I'll play along, is that Skye Lark or Bittersweet that your photo is aimed at? Looks familiar.
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My first trip to this mountain was in 1973 ... single chair was still in operation ... famous for the blankets! I had just turned eighteen ... Rusty Nail and Baggy Knees were the places to hang-out!
I'm stumped. Not Bolton Valley in VT (looks too big). ?
Exactly where we were (in photo above), I'm not sure. Those trails sound familiar. We went down at least one, I shouldn't have been on,...
We mostly stay off the big mountains these days. On a snowboard, even our tiny Camden Snowbowl is the Matterhorn for me. I haven't been out this season and won't go until we get a good snow cover.
My wife has been out. This was taken about 10 years ago on the Snowbowl.
I especially love this trail because I can see all the islands I sail through in the summer. You can see all the way from lonely Monhegan Island to MDI and Cadillac Mountain. Not much fog in the winter.
I cheated with google and the bars, Stowe!
Stowe. The blankets did it. I froze my butt off on those lifts.
I've done my share of skiing in NE and the Western resorts. I'll probably do some skiing this winter; but in recent years it's been more painful than fun. So here we are at Stratton a few years ago (Note to self - take the pics under the black diamond trail markers). That is some high school buddies I've been skiing with for nearing 50 years.
I've done my share of skiing in NE and the Western resorts. I'll probably do some skiing this winter; but in recent years it's been more painful than fun. So here we are at Stratton a few years ago (Note to self - take the pics under the black diamond trail markers). That is some high school buddies I've been skiing with for nearing 50 years.
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You guys get around. I'm a Cannon Mt man. Started there when I was 15. Went down Granny's Grit my second day on skis. Should have waited 'til my second season. My first day was at Mt Sunapee. I really impressed the three girls behind me when I fell off the J bar for the fourth time. Right after I heard one of them whisper to the other, "Watch, I'll bet he falls off again." I turned to look at them and over I went.
Edit: sorry, no pictures. Thank goodness.
-Will (Dragonfly)
Edit: sorry, no pictures. Thank goodness.
-Will (Dragonfly)
the prep school i went to in the berkshire mts had it's own ski lift on the campus. plus jiminy peak and brodi mt near by. i played hockey there so the transition was immediate. this flat lander from ohio became entranced.
the school had a ski jump too. i tried it twice. did not stick the landing. garage sale.
the first year i sailed on the lakers. 9 months straight. i bought a new car, new skis and went to killington. lived off the access road for 11 weeks. unemployment and sub pay covered all my bill. LA rain ment good snow coming.
4 months off the ships every winter, paid. summer vacations sailing with dad.
the next year i went to colorado for 9 weeks and never went east again. i became a aspen geek for the next twenty years. benzz zee knees, ten dollars please...... steep and deep........
the school had a ski jump too. i tried it twice. did not stick the landing. garage sale.
the first year i sailed on the lakers. 9 months straight. i bought a new car, new skis and went to killington. lived off the access road for 11 weeks. unemployment and sub pay covered all my bill. LA rain ment good snow coming.
4 months off the ships every winter, paid. summer vacations sailing with dad.
the next year i went to colorado for 9 weeks and never went east again. i became a aspen geek for the next twenty years. benzz zee knees, ten dollars please...... steep and deep........
rope tows, j bars, t bars, single chairs, double chairs......... no safety bars... the top double chair without bars at aspen highlands in the old days had a sign that if you were afraid of heights do not take. all long gone
Well, that does it, now I'm really taken off down memory lane!
My photo was looking at the front four ... one of them is "Goat". The narrow one that gets kind of twisty down below. That's were I was going with my hint.
On skier's left is the windy "Nose Dive". More straightened out now than it was in the old days when it had steep hairpin turns at the top and was most famous as a treacherous downhill. I skied in the Sugar Slalom on Nose Dive several years ago when we first moved to NJ from Chicago. That race is still going on to this day. It is one of the oldest traditions in skiing. Named for the maple sugar runs. They pour it out in the snow so that you eat it like candy. That perspective may look unfamiliar as the photo was taken from the top of Little Spruce.I was in my senior year in high school when I came to Stowe for 10 days in January. My sister was just 19 and got married to Joe just a few weeks earlier, the day before New Years Eve. They were on their honeymoon during their winter break from St. Lawrence U in NY. Joe was a ski instructor at Stowe working for the famous Sepp Rushp. We stayed at the famous Ma Russells boarding house. I was happy to find this article about it. She was the kind of character whom becomes legendary.
https://books.google.com/books?id=_...ved=0ahUKEwjc89bg7_XMAhWHyT4KHYRDDaoQ6AEIMzAE
This photo from a few years ago includes Joe and Cindy with their friend John and wife (and Sue and I). John (gray coat) was the single guy at Stowe whom I got to tag along with back in 1973. I'm sure he thought I was like gum on his shoe. He gave me a hard time because my only big-mountain experience before this was the year before in Aspen (Midwestern skiers almost always go west, not east). They all had to let me know that New England was for real skiers, the Rockies were for posers. He was on the ski team with Joe at St. Lawrence and was also teaching at Stowe and living at Ma Russells. 7 bucks a day for room, breakfast and dinner. Lift tickets must have been just $10 a day, too.
It's a small world, tight knit world. John's daughter and my daughter were on the ski team at St. Lawrence at the same time. My niece ski raced there, too, just a few years earlier.
I guess Cindy and Joe are posers now with their Rocky Mountain home. Still loving winter! (back to the original theme)
BTW, Camden Snow Bowl looks like a real gem. There's nothing better than to have skiing near by. We had Hidden Valley near our house and it was pretty good when we had real winters.