Still no snow in the east

This blog will eventually be about skiing. My plan is to write about the small areas I ski at this winter. I would like to talk about the people I ski with, what we do in PSIA events I attend, what happens at races I go to, the people I meet along the way, the food I eat while trying to get there...whatever. None of this can start until we get some winter. In the meantime, I will just write stuff to help me pass the time and help me get ready. It is pouring rain here again. If you are in the northwest or northern Rockies...have a blast, you lucky devils!

I did have a nice trip to Cape Cod. I did ride the ferry over to Martha's Vineyard with my family, my sister-in-law and her son. It has been a long time since I was over to Martha's Vineyard. They now have Internet service on the boat. We proved, very well, that it worked as we adopted a puppy from the Ithaca SPCA Adoption Center while in route. My wife and I tried to pick up the puppy today but we have to bring our daughter and older dog to meet the puppy before they will release it to us. Hopefully tomorrow we will have a new puppy underfoot. I will not be telling you a cute puppy story every time you hit this blog. As I said, this will be about skiing but if something really good happens with the new dog, I will let you know.

We had lunch at the famous Black Dog in Vineyard Haven. The clam chowder was amazing with some great home-made croûtons on top. I also had a fried cod sandwich that wasn't amazing but really fresh.. no complaints. My wife and her sister started with an apple squash soup that might have been better than the chowder. There are probably a ton of great places to eat in Vineyard Haven but I have had such good meals at the Black Dog, I always seem to go there to see if it is still the same... it is. After lunch, in the Black Dog store, we bought a couple of Oval Black Dog stickers, one for my daughter's guitar case and the other for a spare. Other than that we just walked around Vineyard Haven looking a things and enjoying the afternoon. It is a great time to be there, most things are still open but most of the summer crowds are gone.

Tonight, I am picking up our "free range organic turkey" and putting it in the brine. Yep, Thanksgiving is at our house again this year. Tomorrow (in addition to the puppy thing) I hope to pick up our newly mounted skis. If I can't ski on them yet, I would like to at least look at them (and start waxing them). I have also downloaded the new PSIA Eastern Division Children’s Specialist 1 Workbook and will begin working my way through it; another way to get myself more psyched for skiing.

Have a delicious and safe Thanksgiving!

I woke up to 2 or 3 inches of snow yesterday morning but we are headed back to 55 degrees Monday. I took skis over to the mountain to get mounted. They are just waiting for cold weather....well, the new paint in the rental shop is not finished yet and things are a mess but it will be good soon. I am in the middle of a quick trip to Woods Hole, MA with my family. My sister in law and her mother live there and it has been a long time since I have been there to visit. My wife and daughter go there pretty often but I seem to always have other things to do. It looks like we are going to walk down to the ferry and go to Martha's Vineyard for lunch. I am reading the newest issue of Ski magazine that has a really good section on How to raise a skier by Edith Thys Morgan (my favorite ski writer). Unfortunately, almost all of it is about the big mountains but there is a Small is Good article on the back page by Warren Miller. While Warren sings the praises of small ski areas, he can't resist reminding us that he himself skis on a 3000 ft vertical private club. One of the many differences between Warren and I is that I am living the Small is Good thing almost everyday I ski!

The winter is beginning. I have the opportunity to ski at a lot of smaller ski areas in the eastern USA. I will try and chronicle my travels and experiences this winter in this blog. I hope I can share many good things with you.

A little background is in order. I have 2 skiing jobs. I am on the educational staff at PSIA-E (Professional Ski Instructors of America Eastern Division). I have done this job in a part time capacity since the early 1990's. This year, with other commitments out of my life, my plan is to work many events for PSIA-E .  These are mostly 2 day educational ski events that are for ski instructors maintaining their membership in PSIA , preparing for an exam to obtain a ski instructor's certification and/or just having fun skiing and learning. I am also starting my 19th season as a Alpine Ski Racing JIII coach (13-14 year olds, both genders) with the Labrador Mountain Ski Club. Labrador Mt is a 700 ft vertical, 4 lift ski area smack dab in the middle of New York about 25 miles south of Syracuse. Both of my skiing jobs take me to many, mostly small ski areas in mostly New York and Pennsylvania and occasionally further south and sometimes into New England.

Ski season really begins in September. PSIA National sends us the catalog, the Eastern PSIA office sends the educational staff information about the coming season, the first Ski Pro (PSIA zine) arrives, my athletes need to get fitted for equipment and the local shop holds a large race night in September. Ski, Skiing and Ski Racing start showing up in the mail again. For me September is a yin and yang. I love the summer. I love to hike, swim, paddle canoes, run, cook out, sit on my porch, eat stuff out of the garden, and everything else about summer. I hate to see it go. I get worried about heating bills, snow pack on my roof, clearing the driveway, making sure my daughter's ski race entries are in and the craziness that accompanies doing 2 basically full time ski jobs but, I love to ski. I love the first snow (even if it is a waste). I love the first day out even if the conditions and acreage available are questionable. It is great to see my ski friends, my athletes, the parents of my athletes and get on the hill and just ski. The local areas in Central NY try and get open as soon as they can after Thanksgiving. We are getting close even if it is 50 degrees with rain pounding on my roof right now!