May 14th, 2012  Posted at   Uncategorized
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You know the feeling. You’ve had a vague headache all day, just enough to make you feel off, but not enough to make you change your schedule. You get used to the discomfort, and not until the ache goes away do you realize how crummy you felt — and how great you feel now.

Well, ladies, you now have the chance to trade the I-guess-this-is-as-good-as-it-gets feeling of your old skis for that I-can’t-believe-it-could-be-this-good feeling. Almost every company now has skis designed for the lighter (135 pounds or less) skier — both intermediate and expert models. If you’ve never skied on a ski like this, you’re in for a great surprise. A few are marketed as a women’s skis, but don’t worry about the ones that aren’t — it’s your weight, not your gender, that makes the difference.

There’s another notable trend this winter, too — skis are becoming less specialized. That means you can find a skis that’s as comfortable zipping through soft moguls as it is in long-radius turns on hard pack. No need to buy extra skis or suffer in conditions your skis weren’t made for. Not every ski is perfect, of course. To help you with your choice, women ski instructors tested an expert and intermediate ski designed for lighter weight people from each of 18 different manufacturers — and we put intermediate skiers on the intermediate skis as well. What follows is the creme de la creme — eight expert and five intermediate skis that each got a unanimous thumbs up from the women who skied them.

If you thought your old skis turned well, wait until you try these. Could be you’ve just gotten used to the pain.

Expert

Dynastar SLC 175-207 cm. $490 The SLC’s Rohacell core, an acrylic foam laminated with fiber glass and Dyneema fiber for strength, helps make the SLC the lightest slalom ski on the market. Testers found the SLC to be “a good, lively ski, stable and easy to turn.” It performed as well in the bumps as it did on steep, groomed slopes, making it a great all-mountain ski. Recommended for racers and advanced to expert recreational skiers.

Fischer RC4 VT SL Super 185-205 cm. $475 Fischer’s “vacuum construction,” which draws the resin that laminates its wood/fiber glass/metal core evenly through the layers, helps make the SL Super a stable, predictable ski. The vacuum construction also allows Fischer to mill the layers with enough precision to make the point where the tip and tail first meet the snow thinner, and therefore flex more easily. “Strong all-around skiers, racers and instructors” would be happy on this ski, say our testers. The slalom ski holds well on hard pack or ice, but “requires attention” and is “not forgiving” in the bumps. If you stay in balance in the bumps, however, you’ll enjoy the ride just fine.

Head CR6 180-205 cm.$465 Cap construction (a one-piece polymer layer that covers the top and sidewalls of the ski) helps dampen vibration and gives a streamlined look and feel to the CR6. The sidecut and flex pattern is designed to make this an all-around ski, but we felt the CR6 was strongest in medium- and long-radius high-speed turns. Head says its exclusive Radial technology stores and releases energy as you turn. We say it skis great. Recommended for advanced to expert noncompetitive skiers.

Pre S4.3 170-204cm. $395 Torsion box construction increases torsional rigidity for holding power on hard-pack and ice, yet allows the ski to flex well for easy turn initiation — lively is the operative word here. Testers found the ski “totally responsive; it did everything you asked it to do. It held well, initiated turns easily and was very predictable.” And it’s lightweight, too. Recommended for intermediate to expert noncompetitive skiers.

Rossignol DV6L 168-201 cm. $485 Rossignol took their top-selling DV6S ski and softened the flex pattern so lighter-weight people could enjoy it too. Directional Variation Effect sidewalls, which form a more obtuse angle in relation to the base at the tip and tail of the ski than they do under the foot, make the skis easier to turn; internal torsion box construction adds stability and edge control. The “RossiTop,” a one-piece transparent material that totally wraps the top and sidewalls, protects cosmetics. The DV6L skis itself through turns of any length on the groomed, but you’ll have to do some steering in the bumps. Recommended for aggressive advanced to expert skiers.

Salomon 8000 EXP 175-200 cm. $525 You may need a partner to carry these skis to the slopes, but once the 8000 EXP perform well through all types of turns and terrain, it also has a smoothness that’s rare in a ski — in one tester’s words, “lively but not jumpy.” The 8000 EXP isn’t new this year, but technical changes such as the new wood core have improved its shock absorption. The ski is more stable at high speeds than last year’s model as well. Recommended for instructors and advanced to expert recreational skiers.

Volant FX-2 180-205 cm. $475 Ditto on the parking-lot porter — Volant makes the topskin and sidewalls of its skis from a continuous sheet of stainless steel, then seals the wood core with carbon steel. But again, the weight (almost) disappears once you start skiing; instead you’ll notice what else the steel contributes: smoothness, great tracking and stability, and rebound. The FX-2 is extremely quick: “Roll it over and hang on,” said one tester. At home in the bumps or in high-speed turns, the FX-2 is a good choice for an aggressive, advanced to expert skier. And because steel is extremely durable, the FX-2 should ski like new for a long time.

Volkl P 10 SLC 175-205 cm. $660 The P 10 SLC is designed as a race ski for short- to medium-rodius turns, but we felt it did well no matter what you asked from it. “If you can turn your feet,” said one tester, “this ski knows what to do.” The P 10 SLC’s cracked edge dampens vibrations and makes the ski easier to flex (and, therefore, turn), while its high-density wood/fibe glass core and double torsion box construction (the entire core is wrapped again in fiber glass) adds torsional rigidity for hold on hard pack. Along with the Salomon, this was our favorite ski. Recommended for racers, instructors and advanced to expert recreational skiers.

Blizzard VCS R55 160-190 cm. $305 The VCS’s softer flex and midski geometry complement an intermediate skier’s stance and turning style. The ski turns easily, is stable at moderate speeds and has enough heft to push through slush or heavy snow. “I could just turn and go,” said one intermediate tester. Recommended for beginning to intermediate skiers.

Elan RC Falline SC 55 175-205 cm. $445 The Falline 55 is a good example of top technology brought to a lower-priced ski. Key to the ski’s performance is its Uniline sidecut, which gives a constant radius to the curve of the flexed ski. This benefits the skier because it let her weight be distributed more evenly over the ski, making it easier to carve the whole ski. It seem to work: Said one intermediate tester, “The edges held — it cut really well.” The ski is lively, stable at slow to moderate speeds and performed well on all types of terrain. Recommended for mogul skiers and recreational skiers of all abilities who don’t have the need for speed.

K2 LTP 160-195 cm. $385 The LTP has a soft, balanced flex for predictable turns, and a foam core that’s strong at the shovel and tail for increased strength but light in the midsection to reduce weight. Maybe that’s why one tester said the ski felt “sturdy but not too heavy.” Said another: “My turns were in control. I didn’t feel like the ends were splatting.” Recommended fo intermediate athletic skiers.

Rossignol 4LS 168-201 cm. $445 The 4LS is a softer version of the 4CS; both skis have a narrow slalom sidecut designed for quick, short-radius turns. Rossignol’s V.A.S. system dampens vibration for greater control. In our tester’s words: “It hugged the snow and gripped well.” moderate speeds. It’s not a ski for a passive skier — intermediate to advanced skiers who put some oomph into their turns will be happiest on this ski.

Volkl SP 9 SLC 175-205 cm. $565 Combine Volkl’s top performance features (cracked edges, high-density wood core, double torsion box construction) with a forgiving flex pattern and sidecut, and you have the SP 9 SLC. Expert testers felt the SP 9 SLC was “lively, but stable when necessary; solid in both bumps and hard pack.” Our intermediate testers’ comments: “Heavy, but didn’t feel the weight; study, held well no matter what; no flopping; springy in the bumps.” Recommended for intermediate to expert skiers.

February 6th, 2012  Posted at   Uncategorized
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When Pam Williams first stood on skis in 1972, she wore an Army-issue parka and paid $5 for a full-day pass at Brighton, Utah. This year Williams won’t be waxing her Rossignols. Like many former die-hard skiers, the 40-year-old government worker from Salt Lake City says skiing has priced itself out of her budget. Worse, even if she could afford it, Williams isn’t sure she’s welcome on the slopes anymore. The resorts, she feels, are overloaded with glamorous people more interested in the right clothes than in fresh powder and parallel turns.

The $7 billion ski industry has been hurt by three bad snow years, but it is losing former enthusiasts like Williams, which should worry operator more. Single people who took up skiing from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s are leaving the sport, victims of skyrocketing fees that have sent one-day lift tickets as high as $41. They were expected to be the bread and butter of the industry as they married, had children and introduced them to skiing.

The financially strapped 1990s have crimped those plans. The industry that once called itself recession-proof is learning that the posh and glamorous image adopted in the 1980s doesn’t sell to middle-class America. “The industry is caught in a double bind,” says Janet Nelson, executive editor of Ski Area Management magazine. “They have often projected a glamorous image because it’s an attractive selling point. But that could be turning people off.”

For the 1991-1992 season, ski resorts are counting on discounts and package deals to turn that image around. Following the tradition of the airline industry, they’re advertising the lowest possible lift price instead of the highest. Beautiful people in Willy Bogner fashions have been replaced in advertising by “kids ski and stay free” programs. Many resorts are working with groups once considered rare on the slopes, such as the Black Summit, a conference of African-American skiers. Marketers from Colorado ski resorts were in Germany last week trying to win over the lucrative European market with its combined 24 million skiers.

U.S. resorts need them. This country’s ski population has lost a million people since its high of 12.3 million in 1988, according to the United Ski Industries Association (USIA) of McLean, Va. Ski equipment sales are even more depressing. Sales for skis, boots, bindings and poles are off by as much as 51% since 1987.

The industry says the flat ski market is primarily due to three bad snow years, especially in drought-stricken California. They also blame the recession and the Persian Gulf War. “But if 1991-92 is a good snow year and skier visits still drop, then we’ll have a control group to learn from,” says Laura Wittern, director of the news bureau at Killington Ski Resort in Vermont. “Maybe then we’ll really know why fewer people are skiing.”

Pam Williams could tell the industry a few things about price and image. The sport has always had high-class resorts. Ernest Hemingway skied Sun Valley, Idaho, and English royalty still cut tracks in Switzerland. But in the 1970s, skiing went mainstream. “Skiing was enormously popular in the 1970s,” says Charles Gouldner, a business professor at the University of Colorado, who has tracked the ski industry for 17 years. “The boomers were latching on to participation sports, and everyone thought skiing would just keep on growing.”

By the 1987-1988 season, the number of skier days reached a record high of 54 million, even though ski resorts did little to lure skiers to the mountain. “Practically anything you did would bring in skiers,” says Kelly Davidson, director of marketing at Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado. “But that gave marketers, many of whom are just former ski champs, a false sense of security that they were doing things right.”

During the mid-1980s, most ski areas were strapped with debilitating operating costs. The posh Deer Valley resort in Utah opened 11 years ago. This year it will charge $41 for a full-price lift ticket, with weekly vacations running as high as $5,000. But with snowmaking and grooming costs of $25,000 every day, the resort makes a disappointing $2 on every ticket, says director of skiing Stein Eriksen.

Margins like that lured many resorts into a classic marketing trap. Like Deer Valley, ski areas played up high-end peripherals where profits are considerable – posh hotel rooms, continental meals and spas and discos. Customers have full internet hookups, plus complete data recovery services in case of any kind of hard drive failure situation (article). Marketing budgets were devoted to advertising and direct-mail campaigns that positioned the industry competitively against cruise lines and European travel, a strategy hardly designed to win over the loyal locals who returned every weekend.

“It was the Dynasty mentality,” says Mary Jo Tarallo, public relations director at the USIA. “Everyone had a ton of money to spend and they wanted the best.”

But “the best” is more than most skiers can afford to purchase. Families, especially those raising two or more children on middle incomes, aren’t very much interested in glamour and the expensive frills. “Our marketing drifted too far away from our product, which was the snow and the mountain experience itself,” says Copper Mountain’s Davidson. “We were selling ambience, not skiing.”

Copper Mountain began shifting its emphasis back to family about five years ago. The Colorado resort, though still an upscale area, has revived its “kids ski free” program. Regular season packages now start at $80 per person per day, and this includes lodging, lift tickets and access to the club’s racquet and athletic club.

Middle-income families are not won back by price alone. Davidson says that positioning the resort as a subtle blend of lifestyle and value can help the industry reverse the swinging singles image it gained during the 1980s. “The resort is pretty quiet around 10 p.m.” he says. “We don’t have discos.”

Copper Mountain’s national advertising now focuses on the mountain itself and trails that naturally separate beginner, intermediate and advanced skiers. There is a satisfaction-guaranteed program on all lessons. A day-care center is available for children who don’t ski.

Davidson credits these changes, along with exceptional snow last year, with reviving Copper Mountain. The resort had a record year for sales in the 1990-1991 season, and telephone calls to its reservations center are up 45% this year.

On the East Coast, Vermont’s Killington isn’t coasting on its reputation for being a challenging mountain for advanced skiers. Killington wants beginners, too. The resort runs a “Learn to Ski” program that brought in 6,000 new skiers last year. For $35, beginners get rental skis, a lesson and a lift ticket.

Killington’s Laura Wittern says it’s been frustrating trying to overcome the message that has gotten out about skiing. “It’s been advertisers that have sold the idea that skiing is expensive,” she says. “We’re just a resort run by skiers, for skiers.”

Reversing skiing’s image may take several more years. Pinched by recession and climbing costs, smaller areas are closing – Utah’s small Park West ski area is the latest in a long line of failures. This has left consumers with fewer low-price choices, often farther from home. And although resorts are making it easier to get a good deal, many budget-conscious families still find it hard to justify spending $1,000 or more for a vacation so dependent on weather for a good time.

Even Deer Valley’s Eriksen concedes that all skiing may have suffered because of the image-building efforts of a few tony resorts. “We have to teach people that Deer Valley is only one of many experiences,” he says. “But we haven’t done enough to change the perception.”

“I really don’t know how valuable I would think skiing was if I was a middle-class working man with two children,” he says. “Especially knowing it was going to cost me over $100 just to get on the mountain.”

September 22nd, 2011  Posted at   Uncategorized
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If you can ski solid short turns in the fall line on packed snow, you can learn to ski powder. Apply normal, packed-snow technique to powder in which you can feel the bottom. If you can’t feel the bottom, the following tips should have you grinning through the soft stuff

Weight distribution

Instead of shifting your weight strongly from ski to ski as you do in packed conditions, distribute it more evenly over both skis. Imagine your skis as a single platform, then stand centered over them with your legs closer together than usual. Don’t sit back — your quads will burn, and you’ll lose control.

Legs

Deep powder requires an exaggerated up-and-down motion with your legs. Draw your feet up beneath your buttocks, and begin turning your feet and skis in this flexed position. Extend your legs strongly, keeping your weight centered over both skis to finish the turn; immediately flex again to begin the next turn.

Arms

To balance in the narrower stance, you may need to spread your arms wider than usual, but keep your hands in your line of vision. When you lift up to launch a turn, raise your outside arm as though you were directing a symphony. This helps unweight your body and guides your skis into the turn. The arm movement should be smooth, coinciding with the tempo of your linked turns and pole plant.

Hip

Although hip rotation is generally frowned upon, in extremely deep or heavy powder you may need to use your hip to help with the turn. As you draw your feet up to turn left, initiate the turn with your right hip bone by circling it toward the left. Your legs and feet will follow. Reverse for a right turn. Remember, under normal circumstances, never initiate a turn with your hip.

The turn

To test the depth and characteristics of the snow, traverse the slope, bouncing your knees (don’t sit back). The first turn is the hardest — you need some speed to move through powder — so begin by heading straight down the fall line. The shape of the powder turn is also slightly different — an elongated “S” rather than ribbon candy-shaped. A gentle banking with equal ski pressure keeps the turn snaking directly down the fall line. If you have trouble establishing a rhythm, make figure-eights with an accomplished skier’s tracks.

Conditions

When powder is light and fluffy, choose flatter terrain until you get your rhythm and balance. Wet, heavy snow has more resistance; you’ll need a steeper slope to maintain speed.

Tracked powder can be very irregular. Be prepared to make adjustments to your knee and ankle flexion, and ski the slope aggressively. You may need to make a rounder turn to manage increased speed.

The key to skiing powder is to ski it often and with the same level of confidence and aggressiveness you use in packed conditions. The optimum snow for learning is light, fresh powder — be there for first tracks.

March 29th, 2011  Posted at   Uncategorized
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Sixteen years ago ski instructor Elissa Slanger surveyed the group of women seated in a ragged circle in the Squaw Valley, California, ski school and said, “Please introduce yourselves and tell us why you’re here.” Thus was launched the first feminist ski week. Taught by women to women, Slanger’s Woman’s Way Ski Seminars highlighted what was then a distressing phenomenon. As more and more women joined husbands and lovers on the slopes, more and more women were stuck as “terminal intermediates,” able to negotiate an easy slope well, an intermediate slope acceptably, and an advanced run in fear, if not actual panic. Was this simply another example of woman as wimp?

You go, girl!

Never one to let a cliche go unchallenged, Slanger-whose adventurous past included a solo trip around the world and a stint in a Zen monastery in Japan-began to ask questions. Bolstered by ideas circulating in what was then called the human potential movement, Slanger zeroed in on what was going on in a woman’s head and not on her unbent knees.

I joined my first Woman’s Way seminar in 1978. About 15 of us-instructors and students-crowded into a hotel room for an after enjoyment, ski rap session. Refreshments were jug wine and cubes of cheddar cheese.

I was there to begin writing a book with Elissa. The other women, mostly in the 35-to-60-year-old range, were there as a last resort. Abilities ranged from virtual beginners to advanced, if not expert. But we all had this in common: years of lessons, of pushing to keep up with male companions, of frustration at no improvement, of self-disgust at turning to stone at the sight of a mogul field or a stretch of ice. As we talked about the day’s experience, all that and more began to surface: skiing to other people’s expectations, fear of failure, fear of success, perfectionism, the male model as a standard-all the dilemmas women were prey to in skiing and in life.

Elissa had trained the instructors in humanistic teaching techniques that emphasized what might be called “feminine” qualities: easy on the technicalities (no more “weight on the inside edge of the downhill ski”), strong on visualization “Picture yourself turning on top of the mogul”), evocative metaphor (“Pretend you’re squeezing grapes with your toes”), kinesthetic awareness (“How did that feel?”) and games. A human slalom with the students playing slalom poles for one another was a favorite.

These ski weeks were as much consciousness raising as learning to ski better. Elissa has never finished one-then or now-without remarking how rewarding it is to see new awareness, to see and be part of the bonding that takes place and the friendships that are formed.

Did the women learn to ski better? Most did, some advancing as much as two classes in a week, others making progress apparent only to an instructor’s eye. But most important, they learned to love skiing for itself, to trust their own judgment and to set their own pace.

Since those first Woman’s Way Seminars, skiing programs for women have proliferated, incorporating many of the techniques that Elissa pioneered.

Almost every major ski area claims to have a woman’s program, though some do little more than provide a woman instructor if requested. Some offer glorified ladies’ days-but lunch and a discounted lift ticket do not constitute a women’s program.

It’s the camaraderie, the more feeling-oriented teaching technique and the women role models that are the heart of good women’s programs. Annie Vareille Savath, who runs the well-regarded Telluride, Colorado, Women’s Weeks, understood immediately the value of the woman-to-woman approach.

Vareille Savath, who learned the Woman’s Way approach from Slanger, is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Telluride program and finds some changes in that decade.

“At first,” she says, “women came because they were having difficulty with the idea of the sport. There was a lot of fear. Now they come not so much because of fear but because they are stuck on a performance plateau. They want to make a breakthrough. It’s more positive.”

The differences between male and female are still evident: Women express their feelings more than men; men muscle their skis into a turn; women are more concerned with the subtleties of technique and looking good.

“Women learn faster because of that,” says Savath. “A man may think he’s a better skier because he goes faster, but it’s technique and the shape of the turn that makes a good skier.”

Sadly, Savath is also finding that women come to the program less physically fit than men. That can dramatically alter one’s ability to progress and enjoy skiing.

“Even now,” she comments, “girls don’t do sports as much as boys. It’s crazy, but that just hasn’t changed. Women still don’t push themselves physically as much.”

One of the newest programs is Janet Spangler’s Women’s Ski Experience at Okemo Mountain, Vermont. “One woman, a successful lawyer, had never done anything with a group of women, not even shopping, and she wanted to try it,” Spangler reports. “She loved it. Another one with a nasty divorce and children coming at her with all kinds of demands just had to get away. At first, she felt so guilty about the time and money she was taking for herself, she wouldn’t even sit with the group. But by the end of the week, she was transformed.”

But Spangler’s clients also express fear as a reason for attendance. Some experts believe that if the surge of adrenaline triggered by challenge were labeled “excitement” rather than fear, women would come to terms with it more quickly. Women’s Ski Experience addresses that adrenaline charge with the help of Mermer Blakeslee, a high-powered ski teacher who trained with a psychologist specializing in stress reduction.

Blakeslee teaches “focused attention”: the ability to banish fear of ice, fear of the fall line, fear of falling. One of her exercises is to send students on “sensation hunts,” paying attention to the feel of the snow and the sensation of movement.

“We put awareness where it should be instead of raping the mind with fear,” says Blakeslee succinctly.

Spangler is making some changes in her program next year: Her students want more skiing, harder skiing and more time together. So the Okemo program will increase time with the instructors (in last year’s program, afternoons were on your own) and arrange for students to be booked into the same lodges.

Back at Squaw Valley, how has Woman’s Way changed? Elissa still begins the sessions by saying, “Please introduce yourselves and tell us why you’re here.” But video has been added. The afternoon snack has improved. In a pleasant room under the clock tower not far from the base lodge where the daily after-ski session is held, the wines are prime

California labels and the hors d’oeuvres are the delectable likes of artichoke frittata, salmon mousse and thumb-size quiche.

The women are relaxed and happy after a long day of hard skiing for everyone-from the lone never-ever skier to the small advanced group that’s been chasing new powder. Comfortable together, they are less interested in baring their souls than their sisters of a decade and a half ago. This is no encounter group, mistrustful of men. They have chosen Woman’s Way because they like skiing with women.

“It’s more fun with all women, commented one in her evaluation. “Less threatening, no makeup.”

Some of the earlier shadows linger: perfectionism, other people’s expectations, the male model, but they do not go unchallenged. Bibitz Brown has been coming to Woman’s Way every season for years, introducing her troupe of daughters and daughters-in-law one by one to the seminars. This year her hard-skiing French daughter-in-law put it plainly: “I felt comfortable skiing for the first time since I was 10 years old . . .that was the age when men started coaching me.”

At the final session, skiers critique the week. As it was 15 years ago, the human slalom is a favorite. Also welcomed was the personal attention that came from small classes and sensitive instructors, and the camaraderie that evolves from sharing breakthroughs.

September 5th, 2010  Posted at   Uncategorized
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When you restore hard drives, especially in a case where you’re working on an IBM server recovery, one of the things that you will be able to do is to sleep better at night. The reason as to why you would be able to sleep better at night when you restore hard drive is because the agonizing thought of having a hard drive that is broken alongside important files that can no longer be accessed is something which you would no longer have to worry about. This is because with restore hard drive services, your hard drive would literally have been restored to the way it was before it ended up in an accident. And so for those who subscribe to the restore hard drive services being offered at a shop near them, these people will likely not be that stressed out when their hard drive malfunctions because they know that such things can be easily remedied at this page. And so when you restore hard drives, prepare to sleep better at night.

If you are someone who needs to recover hard drive but has absolutely no idea how to do so, one of the best things to do would be to involve your friends. The reason why doing this is such a good idea is because your friends could really help you restore hard drive especially if they have the necessary skills and knowledge that you enable them to do so. Similarly, it could also happen that your friends are related to someone who knows how to restore hard drive. In both situations, you can be assured that if you go to your friends or a friend of your friends, you are likely not going to have to pay since these people are on very good terms with you. If indeed you do end up having to pay them for restore hard drive services, you will not likely have to pay them that much.

February 1st, 2005  Posted at   Uncategorized
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“Funny,” I think as I look down the 1,000-foot channel of crusty New England snow. “This gully didn’t look quite so steep and scary when I was bushwhacking down below in the puckerbrush.” In fact, glowing in the winter sunshine, the chimney of slippery stuff looked like a perfect place to escape crowded resorts.

You see, just beyond the lift lines lie miles of untracked mountains, glades of sturdy birches, quiet and wilderness. And my telemark skis get me there.

Like cross-country skis, telemark skis use a free-heel binding system that attaches the toe of your boot to the ski, leaving the heel free to lift off the ski. This way, skiers can move over flat and uphill terrain with relative ease.

However, telemark skis have metal edges, essential for carving turns that slow you down before you crash into that lovely, birch you so admired on the way up.

My three friends and I skied uphill for four early-morning hours to reach this silent, snow-capped pinnacle. Although not as accommodating as a quad lift or gondola, our climbing skins — one-directional strips attached to the bottoms of our skis that keep the skis from sliding backward — did the trick once again.

Today no black diamonds mark the paths we’ll follow. The only snow-making machines are the wind and clouds that sweep over the ridge, leaving me and my three friends wrapped in a muted, gray world — waiting for the weather to dear.

Swaddled in high-tech fabrics and armed with extra clothing, food and a thermos of hot chocolate, I have the makings for a perfect day in this craggy outpost; I don’t even miss the snack bars or the boot-warming machines. And I certainly don’t miss the congested neon-dappled slopes.

I launch into my first turn, sliding my outside ski ahead of the inside, bending my uphill knee deep into the telemark position, creating, in a sense, one long ski. When executed correctly, the telemark turn — invented in the mid-1800s by Sondre Nordheim of Telemark, Norway — delivers an elegant grace and control that I’ve yet to capture in alpine or cross-country skiing.

Some of the time anyway. Halfway down, I catch an edge on a chunk of traditional New England ice and slide about 50 yards on my face, corn snow stuffing my nostrils and the space behind my sunglasses. Just me and my humility here on this mountain. The boulders and stunted trees that line the gully are my only spectators — unless you count my three co-conspirators almost hidden in the brush below, now cheering for an encore.

Telemark skiing satisfies my year-round appetite for isolated backcountry adventure. For me, the sport combines the best of hiking and cross-country and downhill skiing.

I’ve been telemark skiing for only three of my 12 years of alpine skiing. And although I’ll probably always use lift service when natural snow is scarce to develop my ever-inelegant alpine technique, the backcountry looks ever more inviting.


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