I think I remember skiing...

Well it got cold out, which I really don't mind at all right now. I like cold. While I totally plan on actually riding both days this weekend - I'm hoping it snows pretty soon in northern New England. I really want to get a good year of cross country in and to do some alpine backcountry stuff. There's got to be a lot of backcountry stuff within a few hours of here...I just don't know where it is yet. I'll find it - eventually. I remember doing a lot of semi-backcountry in VT when I lived there - I think I skied the Teardrop on Mansfield every weekend because I was too "cheap" to buy lift tickets. I really wasn't cheap, I just couldn't afford them. Stowe (which has by far the sickest backcountry stuff) wants like $70 a day or something. I also remember doing some really stupid shit - like skiing down Camel's Hump in a snowstorm and having to drive an '86 Cutlass with summer tires home down the access road. I ditched the car once and the three other guys had to push it out. It was so sketchy - white knuckle to the max. There was some really fun stuff too - like skiing the Robbins Mtn. power line (you can see it off I89 in Richmond) in a totally untouched state, with my brother who was still learning snowboarding but fought like hell to stay up (he failed at that and so did I). I think our goal was to admire our lines from a distance - it was all messed up because all of us kept falling - the snow was so deep and heavy. Like you made three turns, leaning all the way back and had to stop because you were too tired to continue. Everything I wore was soaked from falling in that stuff - snow was all inside my boots, hat, inside of gloves...everywhere.

Cross country for me is like mountain biking in the winter - even though bikes are cool cross country is better. I really miss cross country skiing. Getting up the southern VT portion of the Catamount trail would be good this winter. I've done a bit of it - from App. Gap thru Smugglers - which was great when the snow didn't suck and my skis were appropriately maintained. I have delusions of skiing the entire thing at some point - in sections. Sort of all set with winter camping because it sucks and you are always cold. Well enough for now.