Carrabassett Valley, ME – The wind had quieted. The sun had burned away the early-morning clouds. And when my husband and I slipped off the Timberline lift, the sign to our left was like a neon EAT ad beckoning to the starved. It told us that Sugarloaf’s famed Snowfields … Continue Reading ››

Bolton, VT – We here at First Tracks!! Online like to think we have a finicky audience. We like to think that our readers want a little more from their snow sliding experience than endless groomed runs, man made snow, and $7 burgers. Perhaps we’re wrong, but … Continue Reading ››

Hancock, MA – The charm of a “low speed” lift has always been decidedly lost on me. Lets get to the top … now! That was the only concern. Intolerable twelve- to fifteen-minute lift rides always seemed to be cruel and unusual punishment, especially those first few chairs of … Continue Reading ››

Photos by Scott Murphy Snowshoe Mt., WV (January, 2001) – We drove for hours in the pitch dark. Past gas stations and mobile homes and shuttered barbecue joints. Up corkscrew mountain curves and through national forests, Orion burning brighter on the horizon with each mile into the middle of nowhere … Continue Reading ››

Magog (QC), Canada – We sat around the table chuckling arrogantly at the Mont Orford trail map.  Triple black diamonds are the overzealous creations of a marketing department run amok, and we were certain that Orford’s were no exception.  We prepared ourselves for a day of gentle corduroy cruising.  … Continue Reading ››

Fayston, VT – Tucked into a sharp bend of State Route 17 in north-central Vermont lies a trip back in time, to a ski resort relatively untouched by the hand of "progress." A place where natural snow is the rule, a place … Continue Reading ››