Stories from home is where your skis is
-
Champion Angels
home is where your skis is &bull Jan 30, 2012
I turned off the music about noon on the 7th of January. We--the two dogs and I--were about halfway up the route. I wasn't exactly worried but with new snow on the ground, a mix of rain and snow falling from the sky, and low visibility I just wanted to be sure I could hear everything around me. The The's "This Is the Day" turned on in my head and I continued to climb. That's strange, I thought, where did that song come from? I checked on the dogs. They appeared content and confident, eager, as always, to spend a… Full Story »
-
Der schone Traum
home is where your skis is &bull Jan 19, 2012
For our last Christmas in the Old World we decided to return to the land of Christmas or somewhere thereabouts. Though the Stubai Valley felt less Christmasy than Christmas in Berchtesgaden 2009, that in and of itself was a welcome relief. No Christmas markets, no nightly fireworks, cannon volleys, or black powder rifles. Not much Gluhwein. Few lights or decorated trees. In fact, apart from the candle-lit cemeteries and New Year's Eve noise there was little to distinguish it from any other near-perfect, snow-filled, action-packed ski week. Good. Before mid-December snow conditions all over Europe were meager at best. It… Full Story »
-
Literary Skiers 17
home is where your skis is &bull Nov 27, 2011
From the high ridges right down to the level of the road, there was snow all over the Ruby Mountains. "Ugh," said Deffeyes--his comment on the snow." Spoken like a skier," I said.He said, "I'm a retired skier." He skied for the School of Mines. In other Rocky Mountain colleges and universities at the time, the best skiers in the United States were duly enrolled and trying to look scholarly and masquerading as amateurs to polish their credentials for… Full Story »
-
Idahome
home is where your skis is &bull Nov 8, 2011
Apparently change is good. It better be because it's about to happen again. Three and a half years in Switzerland, three in Chile, a year in Kazakhstan, two in Mexico, and a couple other places scattered here and there, and come this July all roads will point back home, or at least a version of home in a part of the world I know the best. In July 2012 this piece of property--its physical walls, floors, and ceiling, as well as its history and the… Full Story »
-
On the Road to Find Out 5
home is where your skis is &bull Sep 21, 2011
To make a week-long trip out of crossing those three mountain passes was not my intention. However, all of my intentions failed and I need something to call a success.As two-thirds of the family up and left for Idaho I found myself with some time to kill. If I couldn't be back in some of the places I love the most I decided that what I should do was try to experience some of those activities from summers long ago right here in the Alps. I set out with the dogs and a car full of camping and fishing gear… Full Story »
-
On the Road to Find Out 2
home is where your skis is &bull Aug 23, 2011
Continued from Part 1. Lucca. Lucca, Italy. Lucca, Italy is in Tuscany. Tuscany is pretty. Like most cities in Italy, Lucca is an old city. Lucca is also a walled city. That's about all I knew about Lucca before dropping down that way and about all I know about Lucca now. But a two week flurry of activity passed after visiting the Beaujolais and I knew we needed a break. Two weeks of the end of school year busyness and, for me, the end of a job that should have been wrapped up a month earlier. The end of June… Full Story »
-
Topics:
- House
-
Literary Skiers 15
home is where your skis is &bull May 17, 2011
He couldn't pin down any specific reason, and didn't bother to repeat the official government line about preserving knowledge of ourselves. Instead, he offered: "It's something you can do where you can actually discover something. There aren't many ways to… Full Story »
-
Pastures of Plenty
home is where your skis is &bull Apr 13, 2011
Anyway, the fourteenth day of March only comes around once a year. Best to indulge myself when I can. There was exactly one short couloir to ski that accessed the east (Lake Geneva) side of La Dole so I did… Full Story »
-
Literary Skiers 13b
home is where your skis is &bull Apr 5, 2011
The standard Arlberg technique was used by Alf and Sverre Engen when teaching. I'd seen Sverre use the single dipsy in powder but Alf didn't use it in public because after all he was the head of the ski school!… Full Story »
-
Topics:
- Alta
- Head
- Skis
- Ski school
-
Literary Skiers 13a
home is where your skis is &bull Mar 23, 2011
One of the men I skied with was Lefty Cormier, who had been in the Tenth Mountain Troops. He taught me the single dipsy. Few people could learn it because it violated all the skiing rules of the time. Those were the days of the Arlberg Technique, made famous by Hannes Schneider, in which… Full Story »
