The Ski Life Blog

Hooked: Skiing on Natural Snow

Posted on by Harvey

My first time skiing was at Garnet Hill Lodge in 1989. I had a friend with a ski shop who convinced me to give nordic skiing a try. We bought NNN skis, a complete set up, boots, poles and skis for $125.

Natural-Snow

The first morning of our stay we skied from the lodge down to the ski shop via the Cut Off Trail. It’s pretty steep for a nordic trail with a 90-degree turn at the bottom of the steepest section. It was right after a rain/freeze and we were out before the groomer.

When I got to the corner, it wasn’t pretty. I spent a minute on the ground wondering what the hell I was doing.

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Tagged: Nordic Skiing, Ski Life6 Comments

Adams, MA: Thunderbolt Ski Race Goes Rando

Posted on by midatlantico

New England backcountry skiers have plenty to be thankful for this year. Winter Storm Cato bullseyed on the Berkshires over Thanksgiving, gracing the Thunderbolt Ski Trail with its first significant cover ahead of the run’s 80th anniversary race on February 28, 2015.

Plunging nearly 2,500 vertical feet down Mt. Greylock, the tallest mountain in Massachusetts, the Bolt has undergone a remarkable revival in the five years since local skiers revived the storied trail with a vertical to rival that of the major northeastern ski resorts.

Mt. Greylock looms over the town of Adams, and is home base for the Thunderbolt Ski Runners, who maintain the Bolt with state permission. Following some busy fall work days, they hosted a season kickoff and membership drive on November 21. They also gathered to make a big announcement about the 2015 race: it’s going rando.

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Tagged: MA, Ski Life1 Comment

Force Majeure: Women and Children First

Posted on by James Michaud

SPOILER ALERT: If you’re planning to see this movie during its current run in New York City or later on premium cable — we reveal a key plot point that occurs in the first ten minutes.

Force-Majeure-Movie-Poster

Do you remember the last truly compelling dramatic film that was set at a ski resort? Neither do I. In fact, I’d have to go all the way back to the 1969 classic, Downhill Racer, starring Robert Redford and Gene Hackman, which Roger Ebert accurately summarized at the time as “the best movie ever made about sports without really being about sports at all.”

Almost a half century later, we may finally have a film set in the lift-served skiing universe that’s at the same quality level: the unsettling Swedish psychodrama “Force Majeure.”

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Tagged: Ski Life9 Comments