My introduction to Japanese skiing took place roughly 27 years ago in front of a television set in Warren, Vermont, my hometown in the United States, and also home to Sugarbush Ski Area. My father, a transplanted Austrian who had emigrated to North America to become a ski … Continue Reading ››
Minneapolis, MN – There’s one thing any die-hard skier will notice as he or she gazes out the porthole window of their plane on the final approach into the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport: it’s damned flat out there. My eyes scanned from one horizon to … Continue Reading ››
Tahoe City, CA – First light, and the chirping alarm did little more than elicit an anguished groan from my daughter Jacquelin, age 14. It was 6:00 AM and less than nine hours since we had last been on the snow, tubing our hearts out at Squaw … Continue Reading ››
From powder, crust and corn to mashed potatoes, corduroy and crud, skiers probably have more descriptive terms for snow than anyone except the tundra-dwelling Inuit of northern Alaska and Canada.nBut when it comes to the morning snow report you hear on the radio or read in the paper, some … Continue Reading ››
Yosemite Valley, CA – Sometimes life is tough and duty calls. In February 2000, as part of my official duties at NASA, I attended the “Yosemite 2000” Conference on Comparative Aeronomy in the Solar System, where both the science and the recreation were excellent. Winter in Yosemite is quiet time. I have been there in September … Continue Reading … Continue reading Badger Pass: Yosemite in Winter
South Lake Tahoe, CA – Okay, I’ll admit it. Heavenly wasn’t exactly at the top of my list of gnarly places to rip the slopes prior to our family’s recent tour of the Lake Tahoe area. I’d heard the hotshots at our local mountain sneering all … Continue Reading ››
Winter in Texas lasts about two weeks. It starts when people stop running their air conditioners. It ends roughly one week after the hard freeze that catches everyone unprepared, kills all the plants and causes 500 traffic accidents in the first hour of the morning commute. The only other … Continue Reading ››