Category Columns

I’m accelerating down the in-run of a natural terrain jump – a “kicker” in today’s parlance.  It’s in the sparse trees, skier’s right of the cliffs above Mid-Vail.  I’m nervous because I’ve never taken this jump before – hell, I’ve… Continue Reading →

If you’re a regular reader of this column, chances are you learned to ski based on the Arlberg technique.  Even if you didn’t get specific instruction from a ski instructor, the way you learned was still influenced by the technique…. Continue Reading →

Popsicle® sticks and duct tape!  If you were skiing in 1969 or 1970, you may have seen some skiers (usually teenage boys) with a crude extension attached to the back of their ski boots made of, you guessed it, Popsicle®… Continue Reading →

The archives of the National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. contain a significant collection of Howard Head’s papers.  Part of that collection is the “Honeycomb Ski” journal which documents Head’s development work from May 1947 to March 1948. … Continue Reading →

Last Saturday I was loading my skis into the rack on one of the gondola cars and in the slot next to mine was this pair of long, skinny skis.  I thought for a minute that someone was on cross… Continue Reading →

When I was a kid, every time I wanted to go outside on an extra cold day my mother would insist that I wear an extra pair of socks.  This even applied to skiing.  And we’re talking those thick, ribbed… Continue Reading →

What was the most memorable ski you ever owned?  And I mean “memorable” in a positive sense.  I’m hoping you’ll share your most memorable skis by posting a comment! Let me start things off by sharing my most memorable ski:… Continue Reading →

What do a fan-type snow gun, Lange-Flo, and Hanson ski boots have in common?  They were all invented by the same person: Alden Hanson!  Hanson was the chief scientist for Dow Chemical and a prolific inventor.  He patented the initial… Continue Reading →

The old lift blankets used on the Mansfield single and double chairs are the skiing nostalgia topic that I hear mentioned most often in the greater Stowe area.  You hear it mentioned in lift lines and in the bars; you… Continue Reading →

I used to hate skiing when it was snowing.  During the 1950s and 1960s I would dread those snowy days even though I knew they usually meant good skiing conditions.  Starting in about 1970 I began to actually enjoy those… Continue Reading →