New England
 My brother in law is such a snow zealot he sneaks in a summer trip to
Mt. Hood just to get a downhill fix. He doesn’t send his 14-year-old
daughter Kelsey to traditional summer camp on a New England lake;
instead she spends a week on the Oregon glacier carving turns at a Ski
Team camp. Her dad reassures me he goes there to see Kelsey, but he
loves that summer snow. “Skiing at Mt Hood is like waking up in a dream,” says Kelsey’s dad
Jon Burke of Southborough, Massachusetts. “It’s summer and I am
putting on my ski boots, something wrong here, it’s July! I grin from
ear to ear as I hear that familiar and sweet sound of boots clicking
into bindings and feel the cool air on my face."A UVM college buddy of mine, Didi Tulloch of Ridgefield, CT, says her husband Jeff is so fanatical that he drives the rest of the family crazy all year round. Jeff admits that midway through their summer family vacation, his psyche moves toward winter, with thoughts of steep fast runs. “Everyone around me thinks I am nuts for thinking about skiing while the temperature is high and the humidity even higher,” said Jeff, first online to purchase tickets to the new Warren Miller movie. “I am just too impatient, and what would ski season be if you didn’t kick it off with the latest Warren Miller flick.” Come snow time, the Tullochs take their two boys skiing as much as possible at Stratton.  My
friend Wes Mills, of Kennebunk, Maine, says winter is his favorite
season. Mills says it’s a given that he and his family make an annual
ski trip to Europe or out west. And that’s in addition to every
weekend at their Maine ski house.Ski fever is real. You can diagnose it from 100-yards away. Take, for example, the folks who never take their rooftop ski box off their SUV, and people who wear ski area t-shirts and caps all year round, or have bumper stickers that reads “Never Summer.” Downhill obsession is not just a symptom among alpine fanatics however. It can strike new and lapsed skiers with similar fervor. Rosane Hirschy skied in her youth at her hometown hill of Gunstock in Gilford, New Hampshire. Careers and raising kids put skiing on a back burner for over a decade. Now that her kids have expressed an interest in skiing and snowboarding, she is eager to get her son and daughter on the slopes this coming winter. “I now know that it takes a lot of arranging to get the kids skiing, you need to schedule the time from work and school, set up equipment and lessons. I had it all scheduled last winter. When the kids got chicken pox and we had to scrap all our plans to ski during vacation week, that was so disappointing,” said Hirschy. “This winter we are definitely going to go skiing. I am really excited about the kids learning this sport.”  Victoria Rosenberg is ready for her third season of teaching skiing at
Sunday River. “I look forward to November, getting back out on the
slopes. I love the fitness and strength that comes with skiing. And I
just love being outdoors experiencing the challenges that the slopes
offer. Skiing is a fabulous family sport,” said Rosenberg, who teaches
skiing four days a week. She makes time in the afternoon or between
lessons to hook up with her husband and son for a few runs as a
family.As for my husband Greg & I, we eagerly bring the gear out of the basement at the first sign of foliage. As soon as there is a hint of color and cooler temps, we tend to try on everyone’s equipment for fitting. Our living room transforms into a Filenes’s basement of ski bags, boots, parkas, and pants. We like to get our season’s ski shopping out of the way in October, so we are ready to go come snow. Besides, the best ski sales, swaps and shows all take place in late autumn. Fall line families beware, ski fever is contagious and it is coming to a neighborhood near you. Pop in a Warren Miller movie, brew some hot cocoa, slip on your ski boots and do a snow dance. It is going to be another great winter for the family that skis together. |