Category Columns

As I wrote last week, Marc Girardelli won his 5 overall FIS World Cups with his rear-entry boots. The highly coveted overall World Cup is considered to be the ultimate prize in Alpine ski racing. From a United States perspective,… Continue Reading →

“I am still skiing with my Salomon rear entry boots! Started skiing young in 1969 and after years of Nordica, Lange, Fischer (I think) and pain, my Salomons are the most comfortable boots I’ve ever had. If I could drive… Continue Reading →

It’s 4:30 in the morning as I load my skis and get in the gondola. I join a group of non-skiers already in the car. I ask them where they’re from and they tell me they’re from Fairfax, Vermont. That… Continue Reading →

Humans enjoy competition, particularly in sports. So it’s not surprising that from the time people started strapping boards to their feet, they also found ways to compete on snow. In its earliest form, it was what we now call cross… Continue Reading →

So last week’s trivia question asked what alpine skier holds the record for most consecutive seasons with at least one FIS World Cup win? George Lengvari had the answer I was looking for: Alberto Tomba! I do have to say… Continue Reading →

Just to review where I left off last week. Founded in 1946, Barrecrafters became one of the leading producers of ski racks, ski poles, and ski boot trees. The Brooklyn-based company was acquired by Richard Snelling to add to his… Continue Reading →

I moved to Vermont in 1968 and one of the few possessions I brought with me was my Barrecrafters ski rack. By the way, I did not bring any skis with me. My old Northlands with missing edge segments and… Continue Reading →

Earl Eaton was born December 10, 1922 in Eagle, Colorado. Like most families in the Eagle River valley, the Eatons scratched out a living through farming, ranching, and logging. In the early 1900s the valley was actually one of the… Continue Reading →

Forty five years ago from February 4-15 the 1976 Winter Olympics were held in Innsbruck, Austria. Highlights included Dorothy Hamill winning the gold in figure skating and starting a worldwide hairstyle craze; Alpine skier Rosi Mittermaier coming oh-so-close to winning… Continue Reading →

First, some comments I received on my “guest column” by the late Bill McCollom. In that column, Bill described participating in one of the last hike-to-ski downhill races in the Northeast which was held on New Hampshire’s Mt. Tecumseh in… Continue Reading →