Skiing Paintball?

At lunch the other day all my co-workers could talk about was how exciting skiercross was to watch in the Olympics. The speed, the crashes, the mayhem. I brought up how exciting the cross country biathlon was, pointing out it was the only winter sport in the Olympics where you get to ski with a gun.

That of course caught their attention, but only for a moment. Soon they were saying how they should ski with paintball guns and get points for shooting each other. Oh my.


Then again maybe these guys are onto something. I mean what we are really talking about is creating a sport that can capture a television audience, and if alpine skiing needed a boost, than how could Nordic ever hope to survive. But if you built upon our love of all things fast and our seeming fascination with shooting people we might have something on our hands.

Now I’m not sure I know how this might work, I need to set up a meeting with our Valley biathlon experts- Nat Lucy and Eli Walker, to brainstorm on this. But here is how it might work, think of it as a team event, the first wave head out in a mass start- skiing like mad to a wood line- at which time they hunker down and get ready to pick off the next group that comes through. It would create a whole new way to look at a hole shot, no longer would that be such a great spot! So it would sort of work like a relay, once the second wave makes it to the woods they ski on and set up so that the back line can move forward- we now have a whole new level of strategy and tactics.


It would be very fun to watch skiers max out their heart rate out of the starting gate and then, when they hit the woods try to hide despite breathing like Fat Albert at the top of a flight of stairs. It would also provide a new rub on the racing suits, I mean a really bright suit would not really be all that helpful- but then again everyone can’t be racing in camouflage, obviously there might be some logistics to figure out.

I am of course saying this in jest as I think biathlon is plenty exciting as it is, and so does most of Europe where biathlon is followed like NASCAR is here in the United States. For some reason, it just doesn’t resonate with many American fans, which is too bad as it is a really cool sport.

Originally printed in the Mountain Ear 2-26-2010

X-Games

I just wanted to say- Wow! Watching X-Games and realizing how much the sports of skiing and snowboarding have progressed in the last decade.

How long until they put terrain park elements into bump runs? That could be entertaining!

A Race That I Likely Won't Do But Would Likely Enjoy

This looks like fun. A randonee race is something I've never done, and now I must add it to my "must do list", along with this race- the North Routt Coureur des Bois.

Both look like the type of challenge that offers up enough intimidation that training for them becomes easy. It reminds me of the Jay Challenge, an event that gives you great reason to go out and ride or ski a lot, and in so doing leads you on adventures that you might otherwise not have had time for.

Who knows- maybe someday we'll have a hybrid race in the Mount Washington Valley- part Great Glen to Bretton Woods Nordic Adventure and part Wildcat Valley Inferno- hmmmmm.

(Older piece, ran in February of 2009 in the Mountain Ear, but I found it and realized I was thinking these same thoughts the other day when I was watching a rail jam over at Shawnee the other day.)

I hate to admit this, but I didn't ski on Sunday. It was a beautiful day, but I had a few projects that took precedent and by the time I was done I decided to kick back on the couch and watch some television. A buddy had come over and we were chatting about skiing and low and behold Winter X-Games was on. We watched skier-x, skier slopestyle, snowboard super pipe and some crazy snowmobile freestyle contest.

The things these athletes were doing were unreal. It was impressive to see how far these sports have progressed, it was cool to see athletes like Shawn White who have grown up before our eyes. It was all good, well not all good. There was a darkness growing as we watched the events. Neither of us said anything at first, but it was there, then it came out- Dan said it first- "where were these events when we were kids?"

The door had been opened. Two late thirty somethings sitting on a couch watching television feeling like the gods of fate had cruelly either put them on the earth too early or had let the evils of a litigious society shape too much of their skiing youth in the 80's and early 90's. Ok you might be wondering where this is all going, but if you skied a great deal in the era of neon then you will remember the great ski movies that showed crazy jumps followed by the reality of ski patrol taking your ticket away because you caught a little bit of air- the era of the "NO JUMPING" sign.

I hated those signs. As an adolescent skier jumping was as much a part of skiing as being wet was a part of swimming. Being on skis allowed you to escape gravity for short periods of time. Sometimes you went way up in the air, other times you travelled great distances, sometimes you did both. But no matter what jumping was one of the coolest feelings around, yet doing so was equated with crime- and we're not talking white collar crime where you just get a little slap on the wrist, we're talking gritty crime where the patrol served as judge, jury, and executioner and would take you golden ticket away and leave you grounded at the base of the mountain without another ride up.

To alleviate this we used to bring several jackets and hats (this was well before helmets) and we'd go session a jump and when the patrol would come to nab us we would boogie down to the base at warp speed, blast out of our bindings, run into the lodge and change our jacket and then come back out and do it again. It was a great game and most of the time you could keep your ticket, but sometimes you'd get caught and either lose a corner of the ticket (again before scanning so they would actually cut part of your ticket off), or if you had already lost a corner they would take the ticket away.

I recently took a run with a long time patroller over at Shawnee Peak who had taken my pass when I was a young one and told me I could get it back if I brought him a pizza. No big deal, except he was in the patrol hut at the top of the mountain and I didn't have a ticket to ride the lift. I walked that pizza up to him and got my ticket back. I did get even though, we had the same size foot- so while he was scarfing down the pizza I took his skis and skied back down.

I bring all of this up as I have realized I have become one of those who now say, "when I was young…..," and Winter X-Games brings that out in me. So while I watch these amazing athletes twist, grab and slide through the terrain park, or as they bump shoulders as they race down a banked course full of jumps, I think back to those who went before them and paved the way by sacrificing their tickets so that jumping and skiing fast could live on, and someday make it to the big time. Ok that's corny, but funny.

A Beluga Replacement?

I was perusing the blog of a long time friend and full time ski hero of mine- Hansi Johnson, and found (maybe) the answer to what ski could ever replace my precious Garmont Belugas.

I've been a fan of the Beluga since Hansi first put a pair in my hands and said, "go ski these and don't come back until you understand why they rock." It didn't take long. At first blush they don't look like much. A fat, double camber, waxless XC ski with no metal edge. So you look and say- slow, won't turn for crap, and they'll break in a week. Then you go ski on them and say- oh these just made winter that much better. They are the perfect out the door and go have fun ski. I've spent more time exploring everything from the woods behind my house to the backside of Wildcat on these (even racing them in the first and only running of the Wildcat Valley Inferno)- and I love them.


The only issue- they do break. I've broken a few pair, but having run a shop I always had extra's at my disposal. In fact when Garmont discontinued the ski I got a call from their Marketing Director who said we've got like 40 pair left- do you want them, we'll sell them cheap- I said yes and the entire inventory made their way from Williston, VT to Pinkham Notch. I sold quite a few pair, and bought quite a few pair myself. I also, selfishly, felt good that there would always be a stock of them hidden safe up in the Notch for my future plundering.

Well I left GGTOC and a year later the lodge and shop burned to the ground, with the stock of Belugas sharing the same fate as all the other inventory. No one was injured in the fire, but a great many fantastic skis spent their last minutes melting in a major snowstorm. In fact the storm was so bad they couldn't get fire trucks to the scene for quite awhile- by the time they did the building was just a metal roof sitting on the ground.

Anyway- this loss meant that my secret stash of strange skis was lost and I needed to find another one. I called shops all over North America to no avail. Some were curious as they had seen the ski in the catalog but had never known anyone that had any interest. I think my search for the skis did more to promote the skis than had been done when the ski was actually in the line!

At this point I had two pair left. That was nearly a decade ago. One pair met a cruel end when I miss judged my ability to jump over a stone wall, not quite clearing the wall and snapping a tail. Leaving me with my lone pair. I've taken quite good care of them bouncing back and forth between a pair of Karhu Catamounts and the Belugas just to try and keep the mileage down a bit. Still searching from time to time for another pair of Belugas.

Then just yesterday I came across a recently cut section of woods. It was stumpy and had trees down and looked rather sketchy. Exactly the type of terrain the fat Beluga does well on, however I couldn't bring myself to just letting the skis run, fearful of dropping into a hole a snapping the skis. Likely this kept me from hurting myself, but it also got me to thinking that I need to ramp up my search for a Beluga replacement.

This morning I see a post from Hansi talking about skiing with his kid, and how it ranks with some of his all time favorite days skiing. I certainly can relate to that. I realized I hadn't been on his blog in some time, then there it was- a post talking about the Beluga and the fact that he had possibly found a replacement! I couldn't believe the timing- and I am now genuinely excited!

So he just got his and I'm waiting to hear what he has to say. Assuming a thumbs up, it'll be time to pull out the CC and place an order!

Nansen Ski Club Race on Jan. 23

Nansen Ski Club is hosting the Nansen Milan Winter Festival on January 23rd, and as a part of that they are hosting a 14km Classic Race.

Nansen is the oldest ski club in the country and they built the famed Nansen Ski Jump. This was the first ski jump I'd ever seen and it is something that should be saved and brought back into use. The history of skiing in that area is very rich and I've met some amazing skiers from the Berlin area, including a couple of brothers who taught me a great deal about skiing and a love for the outdoor- Phil and Leo Jensen. They told me stories about the jump in its heyday and showed me what lifelong fitness can do for you when these gentleman who were in their 70's and 80's would clean my clock during Nordic ski races.

Check out some of these stories from the Nansen site, and if you are looking for a race on the 23rd give this one a try.

A Big "Thank You" To Mother Nature

We've been wondering when "winter" would arrive. Well it's here. Thank you!

Author Jeff Foltz To Discuss His New Book

The North Conway Public Library is pleased to announce that Jeff Foltz will be discussing his newly released book, Birkebeiner, A Story of Motherhood and War, at the Mt. Washington Weather Discovery Center on Main Street North Conway on Thursday, January 20th at 7:00. The book is a fictional account of an historical event that took place in 1203 when King Hakon's wife and son escape their enemies on an 8 day ski chase across Norway. This presentation and book signing is in conjunction with the 30K ski race being held in Jackson on Saturday, January 22nd. This event is free to the public with donations gladly accepted. There will be coffee and snacks provided.

Snow in the Forecast

I'm trying to not get too excited, but there is snow in the forecast. The lift serviced skiing has been pretty good, but the XC skiing has been lacking and the base for a good BC adventure is completely missing- so this impending storm gives me hope.

Now please- just don't miss us again!

Originally printed in the Mountain Ear 12/16/2010)

I have a pet peeve and it revolves around the term “ice” as it relates to skiing. Being a 30+ year vet of East Coast skiing and having grown up when snowmaking was still a relatively new technology, I have a certain view of “ice” as it relates to skiing. I should mention this came from a conversation I had the other day, when someone in our group complained about the “sheet of ice” that they had just skied across. I looked back as I had followed this individual down the trail and had found nothing even remotely close to ice out on the trail. In fact I would have had a hard time saying the section of trail they had just skied was “boilerplate”, I might have given him hard pack but that is about as far as I was willing to go.

Some may think this has to do with my time spent as a PR director at a local resort, but it actually goes back much further than that. I remember getting into arguments with a friend during college who was from Vail and used to complain about ‘icy” conditions the day after a foot of powder and I would just about loose my mind.

I was trying to figure out why this is such a big deal to me. I no longer have to worry about doing snow reports, so that isn’t the issue, so what is it? I thought about it and came up with this. As a kid my Dad would have me follow him down the hill and he’d look for ice, shiny, blue, rock hard, uneven ice, and he’d make a turn on it and I’d try to hold his line and more often than not I’d fall down. However over the years I got better, and eventually I was able to actually make that turn and hold it on that ice. It was like a badge of honor and it was a skill that I had worked hard to develop.

To be honest it’s been a long time since I’ve seen much real “ice” on the hill, but I do still look for it after those awful rain “events” we sometimes see midwinter that are followed by bitter cold. I look for that blue ice and I try to make my turn. I can tell I’m spoiled by good conditions as now I often have a hard time with holding my turn, but I still take pride in trying and using it as a way to find out if I’m standing on my skis in the right spot.

So I think I’ve figured it out, when someone calls hard pack conditions “ice” I feel the old curmudgeon in me want to leap out and say, “you ain’t seen no ice sonny, why back when I was knee high to a ski patroller....”. Regardless, the good news- we very rarely see ice out on the trails anymore, and for that I certainly won’t complain.

Ready for Snow.

I'm ready for a good storm to roll into the region and drop snow. Just snow. No rain. No freezing rain. No hail, just snow.

That is all.