March 2nd - 4th, 2012: Lincoln, Vermont

I have not gotten many ski days this year. I most likely won't even hit double digits. However, what I am lacking in quantity, I am trying to make up for in geographical variety. Having already skied in the Midwest (the UP) and the West (Yosemite), it was time to hit the East. The fact that Evan's family happens to have a little place in the woods of Vermont also played a minor role in the decision-making process.

March 2nd: Nobody cares that you Tele

Once you cross this line, nobody cares that you tele.

I'll admit, showing up at a resort on telemark gear usually gives a skier automatic street cred of some variety. Riding lifts with a few strangers at the big resorts, you can usually be guaranteed a comment or two about how interesting telemarking is or how hard it looks. Even if you can't yet string together two tele turns, wearing the gear will get you the cred. At Mad River Glen, nobody care that you tele. So much so, that they sell stickers that say as much. I bought two.

Chair for one, please.

Mad River Glen is a blast from the past. Two main lifts take skiers from the base to the top. One of the lifts is a single-seater, the farthest of cries from high speed quads. The line to catch a seat took about 40 minutes, and the ride felt rather exposing with nobody and nothing on either side, but it was worth the wait for the experience alone. Nearly a third of the skiers were on tele, which was rather incredible, and there wasn't a snowboarder in sight. Though there were no signs banning snowboards, the abundance of bumps on most runs probably resulted in some self-selection.

Snow. Ice? A little bit of both, but plenty of ice on the East Coast.

Don't wanna ski? Mad River has one of the best ski bars around.

Neither Evan nor I really had great ski legs under us, so we were perfectly content to get a few runs, hit the bar, get a few runs, hit the bar, and get one or two runs. The snow wasn't great, but the locals were saying it was the dump of the year. Well alrighty then. All in all, Mad River Glen is pretty sweet and every skier should check it out at some point.

March 3rd, 2012: Lazy Saturday

The weather was great on Saturday. Dave, Emily, Evan, and I took it easy. We did walk for a good few hours around the Howell property. Among other things, we surveyed some clear cutting that the state forestry folks, or some such agency, had done nearby. A surprisingly interesting, yet destructive, operation to say the least. The group also successfully landscaped some of the trails. Our approaches were unorthodox, but effective: I climbed trees and Dave kicked them over (not at the same time).

A room with four views.

Mt. Abe in the house. Or across from the house.

Family dinner at 11 PM.

March 4th, 2012: March 4th, 2012!

Flights out in the afternoon. At least two meals to be eaten. Christmas tree farm to visit. Winter-wonderland-colorful-outdoor-gear photos to be shot. Fresh snow falling lightly around us. It was a great day, and a great weekend. Let's do it again sometime.