I know that some of you tried to reach me over the weekend to set up fishing plans for the spring and weren't able to reach me.  Sorry about that, but Shelley and I went to Stowe, VT for a long weekend of skiing and the phone was turned off!  Stowe has gotten over 21 feet of snow so far this season, and we were treated to 20" of fresh powder when we got there.  Needless to say, the skiing was AMAZING!!  Shelley and I spent quite a few runs cruising  on some of the long blue and black trails that Stowe offers and we were smiling the entire time...the snow was just incredible.





In between cruisers I was able to spend a fair amount of time on Stowe's famed Front Four of Starr, National, Liftline, and Goat.  Goat was in its typical gnarly, nasty, steep, bumpy, ugly condition, which required me to have some pretty fast feet to keep any sort of rhythm.  It's kind of hard to tell from the picture, but the Goat is only about 20 feet wide at its widest point, has a cool double fall-line and is sssttteeeeep!  There were all sorts of rocks, roots, stumps, frozen waterfalls, bumps, and other fun hazards on the trail...in short it was almost perfect.  Goat was my second or third run of the day and what a great adrenaline rush to start off the trip!



My favorite run of the trip was unquestionably Starr.  Unlike Goat, Starr holds its snow pretty well, and it had HUGE, soft,  Volkswagen-sized bumps on it for all of its 2000' vertical feet.   My legs were on lactic acid overload and I was drenched with sweat after skiing that run.  When I met Shelley at the chair lift after my first run on Starr I was grinning ear-to-ear...I think that particular run was one of the best bump runs I've ever had in my life.  I just wish she had been there to see me ski it.  I felt like I was skiing really well and I was in this almost hypnotic rhythm...I only stopped during the run so that I could catch my breath and let me legs recover after 40 or so huge bumps in a row.  Definitely a run that I'll remember for a long, long time!



If you ever need skis or boots, be sure to check out Nordica.  They're the only skis and boots that I ski on and in my opinion its the best stuff on the market.  I also use Hestra Gloves and Marker bindings and goggles.  Again, I think it's the best stuff out there and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to you.

We skied hard for two days straight and enjoyed every single second of it.  I'm tired and glad to be home though. Now its time to get down to the serious business of getting ready for fishing season...and of course there's still LOTS of skiing to be done over at Greek Peak until we drop the boat in the water!

Until Next Time,
Ski on!

~Capt. Bill