More Skiing

Last weekend, I took 45 teenagers skiing on our first high school ski club trip of the season. It was a beautiful day, plenty of sunshine and cool temps. The conditions at Stratton were really nice. Gianni and I enjoyed a long day on the slopes skiing with his soccer buddy, Sean. For me, the best part of the trip was that no one was injured!

This weekend we headed up to Stowe again. Yesterday Gianni and Ben fooled around outside in the snow, while I skated to the cabin at Trapps. It was cold, but the snow was excellent. Today, Gianni, Ben and I woke up at 6am and caught the first chair on the quad at 7:30. It was cold again, but the conditions were super and we enjoyed a full morning of skiing with little traffic. Nosedive was the highlight of the day. I don't know how many times we skied it. Mid-morning we met up with Mike and Rosalie and enjoyed fun runs over at the gondola, and the warmth. It was a very full day of skiing. Time to head home now...

First Tram and a Powder Surprise

My birthday present today was a powder day at Cannon Mountain with Gianni. We awoke at 4:30 am and drove up from Paul's in pretty heavy snow. Luckily there was little traffic. We made first tram at Cannon, 8:30 am. I was expecting 2-3 inches. When we arrived at the top, I knew something was odd - there was snow everywhere and it was dead calm, a rare occurrence at Cannon. We dropped in for our first run and had fresh tracks top to bottom. I was knee deep the whole way and grinning. It was a strange morning, one of the strangest of my life on skis. No one was there. I think most folks who were up for the holiday weekend left early due to the storm, or maybe the difficult driving conditions kept people away. We enjoyed a couple of hours of powder, seemingly to ourselves (we wouldn't see another skier on the trail with us). By mid morning enough skiers arrived to track things out, so we stopped for a picture and slowed the pace. You can see Mount Lafayette in the background. The rest of the day continued to be a peaceful and enjoyable one, as we turned in early and made it home at a reasonable hour. I hope that I am fortunate enough to enjoy may more birthdays adventuring with Gianni.

Epic Day at Stowe

This was our view from the lift at 7:30 am last Sunday. Gianni, Ben and I made first chair on the quad on a zero degree morning. We just dressed for the conditions and enjoyed a crowd free day of skiing. The corduroy in the morning made for spiritual turns as the sun crept above the Worcester Range. Later in the morning we met up with Art and Mike. By then I was tired from chasing the boys all morning. They are getting too fast! The day before we enjoyed a nice long skate loop with Ben and Patti at Trapps. Another great weekend in Stowe!

New Years in Stowe

Gianni and I spent the last four days of vacation in Stowe, Vermont with the McKenna-Wassers. The first day I enjoyed three skate skis at Trapps, beginning early morning with Patti. It was Patti's first day on skate skis and she looked like a veteran. After dropping her off back home, I took Ben and Gianni for few nice skate loops on Deer Pond Trail, the new race loops, Picnic Knoll, and down Russell Knoll Trail. After dropping them off at home, I headed back out shopping and then back to Trapps for one more loop by myself. It was a great day of skiing and the skate conditions were fantastic. New Years Eve was a joy as usual, feasting and enjoying time with friends. The kids even stayed up till midnight. The next day Mike and I took the boys up the Split Rock Trail on tele gear and skins. We enjoyed a nice powdery run back to the truck. Day three saw us heading out on a big adventure up Sky Top and down the Steeple Trail. Mike, the boys and I skinned up to the cabin at Trapps and had lunch. Patti and the girls met us there. After lunch we headed up Sky Top. After recovering from a wrong turn, we were back in route. Part way up Gianni bonked and the two of us had to turn back, enjoying a nice run down Parizzo. Ben and Mike made it to the top and enjoyed skiing in lots of powder on the upper half of the Steeple Trail. After a nice feast we all went to bed early for a change. The final day was mostly a clean up and pack day, but I did get out for a ski in the afternoon. It was my longest ski of the year. It had snowed over night and continued all day. I waxed up green and hit the trails for a sort loop. The wax/snow combo was so perfect I couldn't stop. I did the whole lower loop at Trapps and then enjoyed my favorites, Skaters Waltz and Deer Pond tails. Inspired I tried out the 40th Year Anniversary Trail to the top. It was long but the snow was perfect. After arriving above the cabin I enjoyed the nice drop back to the van. Finally, Mike and Patti took us out to a spicy meal!

Christmas in Maine with Mom

Gianni and I spent the 4 days after Christmas in Rockland, Maine with mom. The first day was a cozy indoor day avoiding the rain. The second day Gianni and I skied at Camden Snow Bowl for the first time. Only the lower mountain was open, so we enjoyed riding the t-bar all day. We took a break for lunch and went ice skating at the local rink, then headed back for some more turns. It was Gianni's first day alpine skiing of the year. The next day we headed back up after some fresh snow. Gianni used his telemark skis and successfully worked on developing his tele turns. The last day we had to pack up and drive mom to Logan Airport. The highlight of the trip was spending lots of time with mom and enjoying the many great restaurants each night! After dropping mom off in Boston, we turned around and headed up to Stowe, a nine hour day on the road.

First Ski of the Year

We spent another weekend up in Stowe visiting the McKenna-Wassers. I managed to get out on the trails at Trapps both days, inaugurating another ski season! I felt a bit rusty, but the fresh air and exercise did wonders for my mind.

Another Weekend in Stowe

We spent the first weekend of December in Stowe with the McKenna-Wassers. We hiked the Pinnacle, which for Gianni and I was our first time. What spectacular views! So good to enjoy it with such good company!