Greek Peak: All in the Family

I feel fortunate to have come from a family of skiers. Skiing families raise skiers, and I’m grateful that I learned to ride at a young age. Part of my family lives in California; they’re hardcore skiers who access terrain through backcountry gates, almost exclusively skiing the trees. My aunt and my uncle, in their 70s now, seek out soft snow and bluebird days with no crowds.

Greek Peak

Unfortunately for the cousins out East, the options are not quite as deep as they are in Tahoe. For us any new snow is good and there’s nothing wrong with cruising the groomers. We make the most of it, and with winter returning the East Coast family was ready to get back on the slopes.

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The Wandering Skier, Part 3: Rikert Nordic

With snow in the evening forecast, I bailed from Craftsbury at 3 PM. Fastest way to Ticonderoga, NY? Google maps had me dive off of Vermont Route 14 on to Cemetery Road, eight miles of dirt, to get to Route 15. Brilliant. Once I was on Route 15, I drove on autopilot to the bridge over Lake Champlain. Snow was falling as I arrived at the motel.

View from the Stadium
View from the Stadium

Ticonderoga is a cool spot. Despite the massive eponymous fort, it’s likely off the beaten path for most people. The main drag had a cool vibe, including a museum featuring sets from the original Star Trek TV program. Local eateries feature autographed photos of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and the guys who played Scotty and Bones.

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The Wandering Skier, Part 1: Jackson, NH

Mount Washington’s summit was covered in clouds as I drove towards Jackson, NH. Everything’s bigger in New Hampshire: much as I love the Adirondacks, the White Mountains a positively gargantuan in scale.

Looking
Looking east from Prospect Farm Trailhead

Decades ago, I drove to the western Catskills on a Friday night. On Saturday, I roller skied around one of the reservoirs with three other people, including a nordic athlete who’d gone to the Paralympics. That afternoon, I drove to Virgil NY and camped out near a bullring where dirt track race cars snorted and roared.

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