TGR Stoke the Fire

Ski movie tours are a long-standing tradition, going all the way back, almost to the very beginning of downhill skiing in the United States. Names like Miller and Barrymore pioneered the art form in the days when ski movies were narrated by a guy standing at the back of the theater, often the same guy who edited the film with tape and a pair of scissors. For many people, attending the annual ski movie premiere in person still marks the unofficial start of the ski season.

East 32nd St in NYC

I’ve been to a few tour stops but this year I wanted to change things up. I’d never been to a Teton Gravity Research movie so that was my first stop when researching options. I’ve been a fan of their movies for awhile but always just ordered the DVDs (when that was a thing) or streamed them.

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Season Pass Math Fail

Maple Ski Ridge

I started cross country skiing at age 30. By the time I was 40, I was fully hooked on snow sliding. I was jonesin’ to ski by Thanksgiving, and often there was no snow in the woods.  I started to ski at Gore.

I didn’t have fixed-heeled gear. I took my 210s and leather boots over to the mountain, bought a ticket at the window, and skied.  For several years, Sunway, Gore’s classic green trail, was all I could handle.

I’d do twenty laps, which was a lot of turns, for an advanced beginner on skinny skis.   I was having a blast and never really thought too much about the price of the ticket.

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Covid: Return from the Edge

Yesterday, I finally got out of covid quarantine, and I went for a ride on my mountain bike. I did my longer loop that includes a swing though the old AT&T Pole Farm, an historical international communications hub that was active from 1927 until 1975.

On my ride, I decided that I’d have to write my story down. It’s clearly off topic, and while I am the home page police, I’m also the biggest offender of my own home page rules. My sister’s passing comes to mind. It was only peripherally related to skiing, but it was huge in my life.


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