Category Columns

At the Killington World Cup I volunteered at the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum’s tent in the Vendor Village. We had a small selection of old skis and old ski boots. The ski boots drew more attention than the skis!… Continue Reading →

Last week I wrote about Mad River celebrating its 75th anniversary. This week I’m writing about its immediate neighbor celebrating its 60th anniversary! That’s the Mt. Ellen portion of Sugarbush. In some respects this is the story of a lost… Continue Reading →

I’ll start off by saying that I no longer put any faith in articles that claim Top 10 anything! They are usually click-bait plus I usually totally disagree with their results. This is particularly true for skiing-related topics. But I… Continue Reading →

Whether it’s sports or business there are always influential people whose names become household words. However there are also other very influential individuals whose names for some reason aren’t as well known. Let’s take Doug Pfeiffer as an example. Doug… Continue Reading →

The village of Woodstock, Vermont, is nestled among rolling hills along the Ottauquechee River. In the 1920s as skiing became more popular, those hills drew skiers. There were several reasons for this: Woodstock had become a summer tourist destination so… Continue Reading →

It’s been awhile since I made it to Opening Day on the Mountain, but I was there last Friday! The WROD (White Ribbon of Death) was in pretty good shape and the crowd was not overwhelming. The temperatures were spring-like… Continue Reading →

The new ski season has begun! In the west, early snow has allowed several areas to open early. In the east, the Beast of the East, Killington, has opened and looks like it will be in good shape for the… Continue Reading →

A couple weeks back I wrote a column about Lena Gale Allen. This week I received a nice note from her son, Dana Allen. He included a copy of a letter from Lena that appeared in the Stowe Reporter in… Continue Reading →

How do you know which ski is right for you? While that was a problem back in the Retro-Ski days, there were relatively few ski brands, each with relatively few models. In the 1950s Head was the ski of choice… Continue Reading →

Last season I wrote a column on Stowe hosting the 1952 U.S. National Championships. C. V. Starr arranged to have top International skiers come to the U.S. such as Stein Eriksen to make the event even bigger. The races were… Continue Reading →