1)    Layering gloves – Just like all of your other ski gear, layering is often the best solution for your hands. There are gloves that are a layering system – like  the Granddoe GCS -Glove component system  – which includes layers for waterproofing and warmth. Depending on what you use them for, you can opt for the Goretex layer, which is relatively breathable, but not quite as comfortable as without. On the slopes you are going to want to have some protection against moisture.
2)    Mitts – If you live or ski in a region where temps drop severely, you are probably better off going for a pair of mittens for grown-ups. They retain heat better and will keep you warmer longer. Unfortunately, they also leave you a bit hobbled as you cannot use your fingers unless you remove them. But they are great for cold. I wouldn’t layer these with a pair of gloves underneath. Part of the warmth comes from skin on skin, not the fabric.
3)    Quality Gloves – Some people swear by one really good, well-made pair of gloves. I have a pair of HESTRA gloves – they outfit the Swedish army – and they are great gloves for skiing and life. Marmot, Patagonia, and Black Diamond are some of the brands my friends swear by and have used with great success.
4)    Motorcross Gloves – A bit outside the box, but if the temps aren’t that low where you ski, you might want to try a pair of motorcross gloves. They are great for flexibility and breathability. They also give you ideal range of movement. They often are not very waterproof, so you will need to watch out for moisture. They are less expensive, and they can be handy on the slopes. I learned this when a friend tagged along on a ski trip and they didn’t have any ski gloves, so they just grabbed the nearest thing, motorcross gloves.
5)    Heat pouches – Many ski gloves now have a pocket where you can put hand warmers. This is a really nice comfort, but shouldn’t overshadow the value of a good pair of gloves which can do a decent job even without the warmers.

Look to pay probably between 50-99$ for a good pair of ski gloves. They are pricey, but you want to keep your hands warm in order to ski as well as possible. Also, as long as you don’t misplace one, your gloves can have a long life.

I got the chance to go up to Burke Mountain in Vermont. I had never been there before, so it was a fun treat for me. Burke is known as a family mountain.  I am used to an 8 peak Sunday River resort, but Burke was a good change. The place itself is not all too big. It has about 50 trails, and this weekend they had 29 of those trails open. They even had a glades run ready to go!

I had a lot of fun at Burke, even though it felt like negative ten degrees out on the slopes. I can tell that they put a lot of emphasis on the family aspect of the mountain. There is a lower mountain and an upper mountain, and the easier trails are on the lower mountain. They also have a ton of activities for people of all ages, and the lodges are warm and friendly.

The trails were pretty easy, but  I was not looking for something too crazy either. I was just there to have some fun and to get some days in on my skies. I would say that I don’t think that I got my $56 worth for a half day. I only say this because to ski at a place like Sunday River is only $20 more, and that is for a full day ticket. For one day, the price was okay, but I don’t think I would invest in more than two days at this mountain. On the bright side, we never waited in line for more than 5 minutes, and the lifts were quick. I’d say that their investment into a high speed quad was well worth it!

Overall, it was a great day on the slopes, and Burke is definitely worth a day visit!

So when my fiancé proposed we hit the slopes of Austria one winter holiday, I thought he was nuts. Then I tried to think of 15 other things we could do instead. Then I realized this would be a great chance for me to finally learn to ski.

While I will never have the pure fearlessness a 10 year old has when hitting the slopes, after 2 years of struggling, I can say I am a bit more confident on a pair of skis.

Here are a list of my tips to a beginner adult skier.

1. Be brave, but accept your limits: you may feel silly on the bunny hill, but if you are too scared to tackle anything larger, there is no shame in that. There will be time for the other trails, and you won’t enjoy them if you are out there too early.
2. Good friends will stick by you: when you are ready to venture out about further, bring some of your skiing buddies with you, but make sure they aren’t the type to leave you for dust. It’s important as a new skier to make sure you always have support along the way.
3. Good gear: you don’t need to make a huge investment before you go skiing; it is always a good idea to rent before you have committed to the sport, but it is invaluable to be well-dressed. Having a good jacket, snow pants, hat, gloves and layers are well worth the price. Most of these articles you can use off the slopes as well. Remember that cotton is really unpleasant to have as a close layer in this type of situation. Try using some of your other workout clothes as bottom layers if you have them.
4. Get professional help: before you book your trip, try to register a ski package that includes some lessons or time with a ski pro. Even if you have a friend who is willing to teach you, things can get tense if you try to have a teaching relationship with a loved one. Better to invest in an impartial outsider who can coach you, and teach you the rules of the mountain.
5. Relax and have fun! Remember skiing is a fun sport; it may take awhile to master, but if you aren’t enjoying it right away, give it time. There are a lot of things to remember and think about, but once you get it down you can relax and have fun.
6. After ski and massage – need I say more? Enjoy the skiing extracurriculars!

Utah’s snow has gotten the nickname of “the Greatest Snow on Earth,” so any flight there would be worth it. Plus, once you get there, it is really easy to get to this amazing snow. There is no need to  travel far – the three Park City resorts (Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort, and Deer Valley Resort) are all located within a 15 minute radius of Historic Main Street.

Then, less than an hour away lies Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons. The resorts there include Brighton, Solitude, Alta, and Snowbird. If you can get out there, which is easily done, I would highly suggest doing that. While the Park City resorts are great, traveling to the canyons may be an even greater reward as you will feel like you are miles away from everything. The scenery is breathtaking, and it is worth it to be away from the city feel of Park City.

From there, you can travel to Ogden to experience Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, or Wolf Mountain, and if you are looking for a family feel mountain, head to Beaver. To switch things up a little more, you can travel south and check out Eagle Point or Brian Head. These may be more enticing if I mention that Las Vegas is only three hours from these resorts.

Utah has worked out a great deal for its snow lovers. They have something called the Park City Quick START program. This program allows visitors to ski free at Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort, or the Canyons Resort the afternoon that they arrive. You need to have the the airline-boarding pass that shows that same date on it, and you also need to sign up in advance. Free afternoon of skiing? I’ll take it!

I got a chance to talk to a lot of experts at Volkl and Solomon, and that was a great experience for me. Not only that, but we got a chance to watch guys jump on trampolines, play Wii, and more.

I personally have a lot friends and connections at my university who help me get up the mountain. I’m extremely lucky to be able to say this, but even if I didn’t have any way to get up there, there is a way to get from Boston to the slopes. I learned about the New England Snow Bus (NESB) during the Expo. The NESB actually has a variety of pick-up locations. One of the closest locations for me is on 800 Commonwealth Ave. They have trips on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Their trip is actually pretty phenomenal. They go to Sunday River, Killington, Stowe, Mt. Snow, Waterville, Stratton, Okemo, Loon, and Sugarbush. My group of friends typically goes to Loon or Sunday River, because that is where our college passes are from, but it would be great to get a little more variety on my trip list this upcoming season.

The prices are not too bad either. The price is typically $75 for the ticket and the bus. The option to just go on the bus also exists. You can pay $40 for that service.

The NESB provides a great opportunity for those who either can’t or aren’t in the mood to drive 3 hours to the slopes. I have never been on the bus itself, but it couldn’t hurt to check it out!

11/22/1997

Today we went to Eldora. We took skiing lessons. We learned how to stop and turn on the ski slopes. I got tired and went inside. 

11/23/1997

Today we went skiing again. This time we went on the carrot lift and went with my teacher. I went all the way down by myself! I like my ski teachers. I like skiing a lot! We learned the pizza stop, duck steps up the hill, and banana gorilla going sideways up the hill.

There you have the first account of my skiing career. Who knew that the journal entries from my Thanksgiving vacation in Colorado in 1997 would ever become so precious to me as they are now? I can’t believe that I was 7 years old when I first started skiing, and my sisters were only 5! One thing has definitely changed. Even though I do get tired, I never stop a skiing day early! Well, if the conditions are terrible, I may reconsider the amount of time that I spend on the mountain.

Eldora Mountain is located 21 miles west of Boulder, Colorado. I hope to go back there some time in my lifetime. I do not actually remember what it looked like. I have a feeling that I did not travel very much further than the bunny slope with the carrot lift that I wrote about. Eldora has 680 acres of land, a base elevation of 9,200 ft, and a summit elevation of 10,800 ft. It is a pretty basic resort consisting of 20% greens, 50% blues, and 30% blacks; however, for those of us who are East Coast skiers, let’s keep in mind that these ratings are West Coast ratings, okay?

The prices are not outrageous – coming in at around $70 for an adult ticket. Considering that I have not been back there yet, I could not tell you if the $70 would be worth it, but I am sure that it is worth checking out. After our second day of skiing, we went to a restaurant called Trail Dust. I Googled the name to see if it still exists, and low and behold, it did! They are even still cutting off people’s neckties as they did back in 1997. I think it would be a great trip to re-live my first skiing experience.

Don’t worry, ACs are still dubbed a great ski. They are not on sale because Volkl found something wrong with this series. They are on sale, as they are no longer being made. One would hope that the newest line of skis is even better than the ACs.

RTM is what the ACs are now called. RTM stands for Ride the Mountain. Volkl is definitely doing their best to have more of an all mountain ski. Many people may argue that the ACs were all mountain skis, but in my opinion those were true East Coast skis. Those skis were too stiff for me. I love bumps, so I need some flex to my skis. I think that a fair amount of people have the same opinion when it comes to the ACs and how stiff they are. I think Volkl’s new ski is going to attempt to address this by making the ski a little more flexible.

It seems as though Volkl has made some positive adjustments in their designs. In fact, so much so that they have been the winner in almost every major magazine. The RTM 84 is designed skiers who are at the expert level. It’s made for good skiers who want to carve on the front side of the mountain, but still want to be able to move around easily in the softer stuff. The RTMs feature an extended low profile (ELP) full rocker design. You will feel the difference when everything feels nice and smooth, and when you are making direct turns. You feel like you have control over the skis.

I definitely want to demo them. Either that or go ahead and get used to the stiffer AC50s or 30s; for $500 – $700 I don’t think I could leave a pair sitting there!

If you live in the United States, there are a few options. Do you live on the East Coast? Go to Maine! Old Orchard Beach is calling your name, and then you can head up north to get to Sunday River. For those of you who are familiar with my articles, you know that I love Sunday River. This resort has been the first resort to open on the East coast for the last three years now. Let’s see if we can’t break that record. I just hope that you dress warmly for the cold water!

Another option in the United States is to head for the Golden State. I have always wanted to do this. It just seems so mind boggling to me that someone could be basking in the sun on a beach in the morning and still basking, but this time in the snow and on skis, in the afternoon! True, Old Orchard Beach also lets you catch a few rays of sunlight, but it’s usually too cold to enjoy the water at that time of the year, and you are typically in a wetsuit. In California, you can start in one of the beaches around San Francisco, Marin County, or Santa Cruz, and then drive for 3 to 4 hours to get to Lake Tahoe. Make sure you pack everything that you need to tackle the powder as well as the sun!

If you move away from the US, there are even more options. One option is in Chile, while another is to go to Japan. You probably already thought about this one, but going down under and visiting Australia (Thredbo Ski Resort and the Pambula beach) or New Zealand are also some great options. Costly, yes, but if you go for extended period of time, I’m sure that it would be worth it.

Some of my friends were crazy enough to go out west. Others actually managed to find some stuff to ski and snowboard on in Mount Washington near Tuxermans Ravine. They have pictures of themselves on the Lunch Rocks, so apparently there was snow right in Tux itself. Pretty cool, huh? I knew that the snow hung on there for a long time, but I had no idea that you could even go up there in July.The conditions looked pretty bad and mushy, but still, skiing in July.

The hike up there must have been pretty brutal. I could not imagine walking there with my pack and skies in the summertime. I guess it is a little easier to pack for than in the Spring. In the Spring, there is the chance it will be too windy and cold, so you usually end up preparing yourself for all weather possibilities; however, in the summer, you can be pretty sure that you will not be needing a jacket, and that you could probably even get away with a sports bra.

For those who went out West, most of them were at Lake Tahoe. Conditions looked a whole lot better than those at Tux. There are a few other places you can check out as well for some glacier skiing. Blackcomb on Whistler is one of them. The glacier’s formal name is the Horstman Glacier. Their terrain is for intermediate or advanced skiers, so I would not advise going there for some summer skiing if it is your first time ever going skiing. The price for a summer glacier skiing at Blackcomb is $56 per day.

There are a few ways to approach glacier skiing. Some people use it as a vacation; they get some turns in the morning, sun bathe in the afternoon, and then commence the après ski fun. Due to the altitude and white snow, the sun gets you pretty fast. I was out there for a few hours, and my face was the most sunburned that it’s ever been.

Many skiers on a glacier are actually training. To stay on their best game, they have to train year round. While I was on the Stubai Glacier, I saw a ton of teams getting their workouts in for the day. The glacier got significantly quieter after lunch; that’s when the teams pack their things for the day, and when the snow starts to become mush. I, too, had plans to turn in for the day, when I found myself trudging through slush, but I then spent an hour helping an elderly woman make her way down the trail. Other than vacationers and athletes on the glacier, there were also people like me who go for their skiing fix.

Glacier skiing can be done in both North America and Europe. In the US, Whistler Blackcomb is the place to go. The unique thing about this glacier is that it offers a more advanced/intermediate terrain. Most glaciers offer downhill and cross country slopes that are pretty easy to conquer. The Stubai Glacier was an example of this, but I didn’t mind, because it meant that I could focus on my surroundings instead of my skiing. Another place to go in North America is the Glacier National Park in Montana.

Europe offers a different type of skiing. The Alps provide plenty of glacier skiing opportunities, with locations in Austria, France, Italy, and Switzerland; however, not all of the glaciers are open the whole year.