Columns
The State of the Sport
One of the most frequent questions I get from skiers, resort owners and the general public is, "Just how many cross country skiers are there in the country?" Close behind that is, "How is the sport doing?" I've struggled to provide definitive answers to both.
In an effort to come up with a better response the next time these questions are voiced, I decided to sit down and take a look at some of the available research. Analyzing the data is both complex and potentially contradicting and confusing, and in part depends on the source as to its interpretation.
Admittedly this is a cursory, top-line take on the subject. There are a ... Read more >
Taking a Shot at Paintball Biathlon
It was a single-digit Saturday in January when we headed out to meet four other families for a carpool caravan to the Mountain Top-Tippmann Paintball Biathlon. While parents discussed the best route for the two-hour drive to Chittenden, Vermont, the kids ran around the parking lot in their puffy parkas unfazed by the cold temperatures.
Making the trip were nine children, a mix of boys and girls ranging from preschool to fifth grade. Two of the boys were primarily alpine skiers, but the combination of shooting and ... Read more >
Groomed trails are awesome, but there's a great white world worth checking out just
beyond the corduroyed path. Why not break out of your rut this season and explore it?
When you do, or if you've already discovered the joys of sliding wherever and whenever
it's white, don’t leave your technique behind on the set track. ... 
In literature, winter is often used as a metaphor for the depression that sometimes afflicts the human spirit. In Moby Dick, Melville's character Ishmael begins the epic tale musing on the subject of his own darkness. He finds himself "grim about the mouth; - pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear of every funeral I meet." He finds it hard to refrain from "deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically
knocking people's hats off." He diagnoses his own symptoms as ... 