Some of the slopes at Sunday River weren't as ready for the season as the boys were. (Ryan Tuck photo)

Many of my college friends have gotten their seasons rolling with post-Christmas college weeks. Some resorts make a big deal of attracting college kids who are still on winter break after New Year’s. Killington Mountain had not one, but two back-to-back college weeks. My college friend Betsy Stanley and I drove up from Boston for a weekend to meet our friends Dan Thornhill and Casey Wittner at Killington to ring in the new season.

Casey and Dan, who also go to Northeastern University, met us at Killington’s Collegiate Snowfest. They came a little sore and in need of a shower having spent the previous week at Sunday River’s College Week in Maine. Casey had this to say about the Sunday River experience:

“Five of my college buddies- Dan Thornhill, Dan Kern, Ryan Tuck, Andy Youngstrom, and Jay Tanch– and I decided to head north after the holidays for Sunday River’s College Week. I had never boarded in Maine and wasn’t sure what to expect. I was wary of the lack of snow so far, but with discounted tickets and the promise of more precipitation up north, who could refuse?

Sunday River set up four nights of events for College Week. The night we arrived, we checked out the first of these: the 80s Comedic Dance Party. The event was taking place at the Foggy Goggle, a large bar on the third floor of the South Ridge Lodge. Having heard good things about said establishment, we willingly forked over a $10 cover. Unfortunately, we ended up being disappointed with that particular piece of the College Week experience.

Dan Kern pauses halfway down Cascades to catch his breath and his balance after a near tumble. (Ryan Tuck photo)

Turnout was poor, and the act was a lone thirty-something doing covers of 80s and 90s songs on guitar and accompanied by a laptop. The drinks weren’t any cheaper than they would be during any other week, and we soon left. We were disillusioned enough by that experience to avoid the rest of the scheduled College Week activities.

Check out the festivities for yourself and form your own opinion, but I would also recommend checking out the local joints. We enjoyed the $5 pizzas from Portland Pie Company and $3 drafts of a delicious microbrew at a lodge near Mount Abram, a deal which happens every Thursday. We also made fools of ourselves at a local bar called the Funky Red Barn that hosted karaoke.

The partying, however, is always secondary to the real attraction: the slopes. I’d just bought a new board and was itching to hit the slopes with it. Most of us bought three-day tickets on Tuesday morning which allowed us to avoid returning to the ticket lines each day and saved us some money besides. The ticket discounts we got for College Week were excellent. Three days of snowboarding on eight peaks for $120 instead of $240? Sign me up!

Casey's ready to ride at the top of Killington Peak. (Caroline McDonald photo)

Admittedly, over the course of the three days, only five to seven peaks of Sunday River’s eight peaks were ready and running, but it was certainly better than anything around New York where I’d spent my winter holiday. Nicely groomed corduroy awaited us when we strapped in on Tuesday morning, and quality, corduroy slopes greeted us each morning thereafter thanks to a bit of fresh snow and a bunch of man made Sunday River pushed out each night. When the rest of the east coast is too warm for snowmaking, you can almost always count on Maine for frigid temperatures.

It was a bit chilly (if you can call lows around -5° F”chilly”), but we bundled up and endured. Waking up early  to make the first chairlift up and indulging in the morning’s groomed trails is so worth it. As is to be expected, more and more snow got pushed down the mountain as the day went on, and trails became icier. Conditions were never terrible though, and those powdery mornings really helped.

Although some  weren’t open the week we went, a few runs stood out. From the Barker Mountain peak, a series of intermediate trails (Ecstasy and Cascades) made for a fun run down to the main Barker quad chairlift. Conditions there stayed good throughout the entire day, even when others became icy. Tempest, a diamond off the White Cap quad, had snow being made on it day and night, leading to some fun rollers and a nice amount of powder.

Killington Mountain, taken from the Ramshead Lodge. (Caroline McDonald photo)

Sadly, only two parks were set up, one consisting solely of a few boxes and rails while the other provided four hard packed jumps. If you visit later this season, more should be ready. The ticket prices made the trip totally worth it, and we’ll be back next year. Short lift lines and relatively empty trails were the perks. Maybe people being wary of the conditions kept them home. Don’t make that mistake!”

Killington’s Collegiate Snowfest doesn’t offer half price lift tickets, but they do have events happening along the Killington Access Road to entice the college crowd as well as the Winter Games which happened the first week of January.

One of the Access Road events was the dance party at the Wobbly Barn that we stopped by on Saturday night. Sort of like the boys’ experience at Sunday River, the Wobbly Barn was no great party. At the suggestion of the bouncer, we ended up at Charity’s Tavern across the street. We liked the vibe and their dart board and would recommend checking it out.

Brewskis aside, the riding at Killington was pretty good, especially considering the above freezing temperatures and minuscule amount of snow they’d gotten at that point. Killington is huge– the second biggest resort on the east coast actually (they were first, but Sugarloaf’s new terrain gives them more skiable acres)–and they had enough runs open to keep us happy. All of the peaks were open, but not all of the trails. Greens and blues dominated the color spectrum of open runs, but blacks and double blacks were also available. More trails will open up as the season marches on.

We stuck to the blues and only a few blacks. Most of the blacks were moguled and icy. When doing outdoor activities with friends, it’s easy to get caught up in competing with one another–trying to be faster or endure longer. At something like College Week, when college kids are everywhere and the nighttime partying gets excessive, you have to be careful on the slopes.

Healthy competition can push you to improve your abilities, but too much competition and someone might end up riding the red toboggan. I wouldn’t call myself a strong snowboarder, and the boys were exhausted after a week in Maine. I’m glad I went with good friends who recognized that it was a weekend to take it easy. It was a choice that made for a fun weekend.  I bet you’ve got friends like mine who know when to push and compete and when to rest. Bring ‘em along.

Our first day out, Saturday, was one of the warm days that have plagued mountains this season. Conditions were patchy, but never underestimate a good attitude. The temperature meant that our fingers and toes were comfortably warm, not numb. And the slopes loosened up in the late morning.

Conditions were noticeably better our second day out when it had been cold enough to make snow and even produce a layer of the real stuff. We had good luck at Bear Mountain, which was less crowded than Killington Peak and Snowdon Mountain.

Through a snowy fog you can see the grooming trucks preparing the superpipe on Bear Mountain as quickly as possible. (Caroline McDonald photo)

The only park open at Killington was the beginner’s Mouse Run Terrain Park. Here, I made a New Season’s Resolution (sort of like a New Year’s Resolution): I’m going to master my fear of parks and being in the air. I’ll keep you updated. What’s your New Season’s Resolution?

Mouse Run wasn’t the best place to get started on my resolution as it was very crowded, probably due to it being the weekend and the only park open. The good news for park devotees is that Killington will be hosting part of the Dew Tour in a couple weeks. Check it out if you want to see some big air and seriously talented athletes. Prepping for the Dew Tour means that their groomers and plows have been working as much as possible to get the superpipe ready on Bear Mountain. It also won’t be long before their wooden park, The Stash, is also open. The park crowd should thin out when these two open and offer bigger challenges for the advanced skiers and riders. I’ll see you there one of these days.

If you’re familiar with Killington, you may also remember the Superstar Pub at the K-1 Lodge. Alas, it is no more after Hurricane Irene roared through. But in its place is now the Roaring Brook Umbrella Bar where we took a quick break. Two, round, yellow-capped buildings stand where the Superstar Pub was once. Killington is justifiable proud  of their quick recovery, and I recommend resting at the new spot  and watching skiers and boarders come down the mountain through the huge, glass walls.

The Roaring Brook Umbrella Bar serves one of the best Bloody Marys I've ever had. (Caroline McDonald photo)

Killington has a fun, energetic vibe that not only attracts droves of college-aged people, but also pros, beginners, the old, and young. I got schooled by some snowboarders half my age at the Mouse Run Terrain Park. Pretty soon they’ll be tearing it up at College Week.

Casey and I both agree that conditions were pretty good at both mountains. We keep hearing that mountains aren’t ready for the season yet; there hasn’t been enough snow. Don’t let the naysayers deter you! Take it from people who have been there: it’s about working with and making the most of the snow on the ground.

People tend to underestimate how steep King Pine can be; a quick look at the lift angle will correct that impression! (David Shedd photo)

A little background. We’ve skied the area before; it’s a short hour from our house, and has a great deal that allows you to downhill ski, XC, skate, you name it, all on the same ticket. Fun way to spend a day! Except when Mother Nature hasn’t provided any snow for XC, and it’s been generally too warm to make the ice safe for skating…in other words, today. We were looking at downhill skiing only. But, we decided to head over anyway, for two reasons. First, we knew that they’d done a major snowmaking upgrade over the summer; replacing their diesel system with an electric one for both environmental and operating cost reasons, and in the process increased capacity by 50%. We’d been impressed by the snow quality before, so thought…well, maybe we’d get lucky. Second, we had two reasons to go to a mountain that had more relaxed terrain than we often ski. I’d recently picked up an AT (Alpine Touring) setup. With new skis/boots/bindings, all with VERY different characteristics than my regular skis, I wanted some time to learn without scaring the daylights out of myself. And, Susan, as a relative newbie to downhill, wanted to work on some specific training techniques; that’s hard to do on an icy black diamond. Off we went!

Talk about "boards"...my Karhus utterly dwarf Susan's Blizzards. (David Shedd photo)

The week between Christmas and New Year’s is a busy one for ski areas, and with a small area like King Pine, that can be a concern. We didn’t need to worry, though. As busy as it looked in the parking lot and the lodge, we found that the multiple trails down from the summit allowed skiers to dissipate and keep it from being crowded. Ideal conditions for our goals, in other words.

And speaking of ideal conditions, we were spot-on about their snowmaking improvements.  The majority of their trails were open, including the black diamond Jack Pine, and in over 4+ hours of skiing, we didn’t encounter even one patch of ice. Period. Sure, there was some of that hard, scratchy stuff, but nothing that we couldn’t put an edge into, and in some ways the conditions improved during the day as skiers “groomed” it and created a nice, soft layer on top, particularly near the edges of the trails.  In the afternoon, the left side of Red Pine was simply outstanding, with about 4-6″ of the soft stuff to play in.

One of the most overrated facets of some mountains is “feet of vertical”.  King Pine doesn’t carry any bragging rights in that world; 350 feet of vertical is, um, pretty small. But, they make use of every foot of it; there’s no runout at the bottom, no skating along a flat trail, hoping you don’t have to pole for a  hundred yards to get to the lift.  Skiing is fun right to the bottom.  And when you’re trying to work a technique, you get tired a lot faster than when you’re simply skiing. For us on this day, 350 was perfect; we could focus on our turns, maintain as perfect form as we were capable of, right to the bottom, then relax and keep fresh legs on the way up.  There was no “dude, we got 12 runs in!”…we had more than that before noon!

I learned that the Karhus can carve...but look at the snow under my left foot, and you'll have an idea of the great conditions we had at King Pine! (Susan Marean Shedd photo)

Did we accomplish our goals?  Oh, yes…Susan was looking to move her turns to more “S” than “Z”, and  worked over and over on the “$100 bill” technique (if you want details, email us!). By late in the day, she looked like an entirely different skier than the one I’d started the morning with, both in technique and actual speed on each run. And my skis?  Going from a pair of Blizzard Magnum 7.6 and custom Dalbello Kryptons to a pair of vintage-ish Karhu BC100s (yes, that means 100mm underfoot) with AT bindings and Garmont G-Ride boots definitely meant a steep learning curve. Each run gave me more confidence, and allowed me to test how the tips and tails reacted to balance shifts; to try them in big, swoopy GS turns as well as tight, short radius blasts along the edge of the woods. End result…love the skis, feel confident on them, and now have a built-in muscle memory for the way they react. Now, when I take them into some unexpectedly difficult terrain, I’ll feel confident and prepared!

We’d have had fun at King Pine even if we’d simply gone there to play in our usual way on the slopes; the trails are well laid-out, fun, and have enough difficulty that it’s up to us to ski them in the way that we like best. But on a learning day…it truly was a great time! Now, we just have to wait for some  natural snow so we can go back and play on the few trails we missed. It’s funny how many skiers we know who have never tried King Pine, or some of the other smaller mountains around; we’d say that it’s a shame, but on the other hand, what they don’t know equals better skiing for us…

Party! There's probably a good reason this party scene from Sunday River is a little fuzzy. At least with slopeside lodging, no one needs to drive. (Sunday River photo)

A week of partying, skiing, riding, and partying some more. Sounds like an awesome Spring Break, but who can wait for that? Good thing College Week is coming up for many east coast mountains. The ski bum lifestyle is one of the perks of going to college in the northeast, and it only comes this cheap once a year.

Check with this list to see which of your favorite mountains are offering cheap getaways. Just as with the college season passes, you must present a valid student ID with a picture to take advantage of the prices.

PS. I’ll be at the Killington collegiate extravaganza and would be happy to meet up with anybody who needs a ski buddy.

Hunter Mountain (Hunter, NY)

Jack Frost Big Boulder College Week (Blakeslee, Pennsylvania)

Dates: January 2-6

Price: $15 “snow pass,” $10 rentals, and drink specials at local pubs to top it off.

Mount Snow College Week (West Dover, VT)

College Week means friends chillin at Mount Snow. (Mount Snow photo)

Dates: January 2-6 and again January 9-13

Price: $282 for five days of skiing or riding, lodging, parties, and more.

On Thursday, lift tickets are $29.

Learn to ski or ride for free at 9:30 and 11:30 all week long

Sugarloaf Mountain Snowfest Week (Carrabassett Valley, ME)

Dates: January 1-6, 2012

Price: $299 for a five nights of lodging, skiing, and events.

Glass Half Full--but that can be remedied quickly (Sunday River/McLain photo)

Sunday River College Week (Newry, ME)

Dates: January 1-6

Price: $309 for five days and nights of skiing or riding, lodging, parties, music, and more.

$89 for one day of skiing or riding and a one night stay

$39 lift tickets for a day of skiing or riding

*Sunday River’s College Week is sponsored by Red Bull, so it should be pretty awesome!

Killington Resort Collegiate Snowfest and Collegiate Winter Games (Killington, VT)

Snowfest dates: January 1-13

Winter Games dates: January 2-6

Price: Lift tickets are sold at a regular rate. However, the Collegiate Winter Games are free to participate in, restaurants along the Killington Access Road will be offering discounts, and bars will have free cover.

*Collegiate Winter Games is a part of the Collegiate Snowfest and is a chance for college students to go toe warmer to toe warmer in a series of competitions like Mountain Ops, King of the Mountain, and the Sledding Derby.

Smugglers’ Notch College Adventure Break (Smugglers’ Notch, VT)

Dates: January 1-6 and again January 8-13

Price: $69 for a day of skiing or riding, team challenges, races, entertainment, and more.

Tremblant CollegeXBreaks (Tremblant, Quebec, Canada and Montreal, Quebec, Canada)

*CollegeXBreaks sounds like a few of the wildest parties on the east coast. They have a few different options to check out.

Dates: January 1-5

Price: $484  for lift tickets, lodging, and party access.

Dates: January 5-8

Price: $414  for lift tickets, lodging, and party access.

Dates: January 8-12

Price: $484 for lift tickets and party access.

Where's Waldo? A sea of skiers in colorful parkas waits for the new Skyline lift to turn. When it did, the line cleared out--FAST. (David Shedd photo)

Mother Nature certainly hasn’t been kind to the ‘Loaf (or any other ski area in North America for that matter), in the early season this year. Between very little snow and warm temperatures to quickly melt any that did fall, natural white stuff has been hard to find. And, warm overnight temperatures have kept the snowmakers idle in their shacks, talking about the “good old days”. But, the recent run of cooler nights was enough to allow Sugarloaf to open some real terrain and give us top-to-bottom skiing.

Hopes of  warm sun softening the typical early-season boilerplate were dashed quickly, as a random cloud hung over the mountain and temperatures dropped during the day and the snow stayed “firm.” Oh, well…isn’t that what sharpened steel edges were designed for?  Actually, the snow conditions on Tote Road were relatively mellow, with enough soft stuff  on top to at least allow us to warm our legs up before moving over to steeper Kings Landing and Hayburner. A handful of runs on those reminded us that our early season legs weren’t what we’d hoped they’d be; Hayburner, in particular, became “Thighburner” about halfway down! Luckily, the noon opening of the new Skyline chair meant we’d need to shift over there and take some time off to watch the festivities. That kept us from having to admit that our legs were toast. Priceless!

The crowd resembled nothing more than an invading army ready to pillage the mountain (David Shedd photo)

Arriving at the base of the new lift, we were treated to the sight of hundreds of lunatics who had been waiting in line for hours in the cold to be first up the lift. In particular, the front 100 were a hardy bunch; some had spent 6 hours and more in order to get a free t-shirt. Nobody ever suggested that Sugarloafers were sane! In due time, the lift started, and up they went…FAST. Thanks to a conveyor system that has passengers partly up to speed before the chair hits the back of their knees, the Skyline is the fastest fixed-grip lift out there, clocking up to 500 feet/minute (bizarrely enough, that’s the same speed that the old Spillway double was rated for…uh huh, sure). Within 15 minutes, the entire waiting crowd was on the lift and headed for the top, and the line dropped to…well, nothing. At that point, we headed up, and for the rest of the day never waited in line, period. Sweet.

The view from the top of the new Skyline lift resembles...well, the view from the old Spillway lift. Hmm...might have something to do with them following exact same route! (David Shedd photo)

So, what’s the new lift like?  Well, first, it’s like riding in a sport luxury sedan (think BMW 5-series, only colder). With everything new, it’s a magic carpet ride; you glide up it, no rattling or clanking, just a low hum. Second, it’s noticeably lower than the old lift. On this moderately windy day, that was a welcome change. Third, you’re at the top…well, FAST. About the time we’d have been feeling the cold really hit on the old Spillway chair, we were unloading at the top of the Skyline. That’s a double-edged sword, particularly at this time of year. Less time on the lift means less time for tired, burning legs to recover…. On the positive side, more runs in less time created a great excuse for getting out of there a little early to take advantage of the last daylight and get partway home before sunset on one of the shortest days of the year.

Over the past handful of years, Sugarloaf has made a lot of improvements; among other things, their snowmaking has gone from “pretty flaky” to “lots of flakes!” This latest upgrade, which will give the expert crowd easier, faster access to their favorite pain runs (no, Virginia, Santa Claus didn’t design an easy way down from there), means the mountain now boasts lift capacity that puts them in the thick of the “best of the best”, allowing skiers more time on the slopes/less in lines or on the lifts. The new lift will also likely reduce pressure on some of the more moderate terrain which will allow intermediate skiers to enjoy their experience more. Overall, it’s clearly a significant improvement over the old lift, and we’re looking forward to enjoying it more as the winter progresses!

Gifts that get used! Any of these gifts ($8-$120) are likely to please an active outdoors enthusiast. Merino wool zip-neck top from Icebreakers, Leki trekking poles, 3 AAA headlamp from Princeton Tec, Steripen water purifier, Swiss Army knife, Insect Shield bandana, Kahtoola Microspikes,.(Tim Jones photo)

Let’s face it…outdoors enthusiasts are all about the toys. When hubby says “Honey, I really NEED that $400 tent; it’ll take 4 ounces out of my pack weight!”, what he’s really saying is “That thing is SO cool, and I want to play with it!” It makes them easy to buy for…a gift certificate to LL Bean, EMS, REI, or a million other places will allow them to  indulge. But what if you want to actually have a package for them to open?

The real problem is that anyone who is contemplating buying a gift for an active outdoors enthusiast is putting themselves in real danger of getting it wrong. You can buy something that isn’t outdoor related and watch them try to think of something polite to say (“What a lovely new tie…I can use it to hang my lantern!”).  Or, you can buy something outdoorsy—with the attendant potential for getting it wrong. There’s a flip side, too; enthusiasts who buy “agenda gifts” to try to encourage non-believers to get more active are walking on dangerously thin ice (trust us, we speak from experience on this, and have the scars to prove it). If you are going to buy an outdoorsy gift for someone, make sure it’s something they, not you, would like.

Here at EasternSlopes.com, we get to test a whole bunch of new gear (heaven for a gear junkie). And, we have lots of long-proven gear as well. So here are our carefully considered suggestions to avoid gift-giving disasters. Chances are, most active outdoors enthusiasts would use and enjoy these and picking them isn’t as difficult as choosing something highly specialized like a tent or backpack or skis. And, for the AO enthusiast that wants to subtly  encourage someone to get out there, some of the items are “everyday life friendly”; who wouldn’t appreciate a way to keep bugs away, or a light they could carry in the car and use in their hands or on their head?

One-Size-Fits-All Gifts

Trekking Poles ($50 to $120): If the active outdoors enthusiast you are gifting is still using old ski poles for hiking, or isn’t using poles at all, consider giving a pair of modern, adjustable trekking poles. It’s hard to describe how much difference they can make. When the going gets rough or slippery, they are a remarkable aid to balance,  saving you from many a fall. On long downhills they help ease your knees. They can serve as an emergency tent poles and fishing rods. And when you don’t need them, they collapse down and ride on your pack (or in your car, where they can literally be a lifesaver when you have to navigate an icy parking lot). There are many poles on the market and all of them are better than old ski poles. Our personal favorite is the Leki Corklite Makalu Ultralite ($120). They aren’t cheap, but they have comfortable, versatile grips, an easy-to-use external locking system and snow baskets are a cheap ($8) add-on.  A great budget choice is the Gabel Mont Blanc Lite ($75), which has external locks and includes snow baskets. And, for the backcountry ski enthusiast, the Easton CTR-65 ion($99) is an ultralight, 2-piece external lock pole with an extended grip; perfect for when they’re skinning up a steep hill.

The Steripen quickly turns water from almost any wilderness source into safe drinking water. (Tim Jones photo)

SteriPEN($50-100): Safe drinking water is essential for all outdoor activities. All untreated water sources are suspect and can carry a host of diseases. You have two choices when playing outdoors: either carry the water you need or treat the water you find. Of all the water solutions we’ve tried, the SteriPEN is the lightest, most compact, and easiest to use. It takes just moments to purify a liter of water with the ultraviolet light. Instant safe drinking water from almost any source, anywhere!

Waterproof Camera ($100 and up) The newer ones cost more, the older designs still work. Taking pictures make any outdoor adventure more memorable and these are wonderful cameras for taking along anywhere they can get wet, and the newest models are shockproof as well. You can pick up a refurbished model on eBay or Amazon with a warranty for relatively cheap money and not worry about how abused it gets…that’s a great option for your budding Eagle Scout. For the more serious photographer, new models from Olympus, Canon, Nikon, and all the other big names have 12 megapixel and up sensors and will take photography-contest quality photos in the right hands (if your outdoorsman doesn’t have the skills, think about a gift certificate to a local photography workshop!).

Bheestie Bag ($20): Speaking of electronics, most of us have lost at least one piece of e-gear to water damage, and probably more due to long-term corrosion. This slick little item reminds you to drop your phone, camera, iPod, whatever into it after you’ve been in wet or snowy conditions. It’s got a pouch of superabsorbent beads that suck any humidity out of it. Get caught in a unexpected rainshower when running? In goes your music player, and it has a chance of surviving. If you’re a parent, this is a stocking stuffer that could pay for itself many times over!

Clever Wraps ($10-15, packs of 5):  We tend to stick our phones, etc., into Ziploc baggies, which works in most conditions. But, if you want a more tailored option, or want a little extra protection for that rafting trip through the Grand Canyon, these do work. We wouldn’t use them for sticking in our bike jersey pocket on a daily ride; they’re pretty pricey for that use, and definitely overkill, but they’ll give you some extra security on a big, wet day.

If you want to see someone light up, put one of these in their stocking! (David Shedd photo)

LED Headlamp: ($15 to $100): The most useful, versatile light we’ve found  for the outdoors in general and especially for the long nights of cold-season camping is an LED headlamp.  You can use it hands-free or carry it like a flashlight.  And, if your enthusiast has one that’s more than a couple of years old, virtually ANY new one will be a big improvement…the technology has changed a lot.  Two notable new models for winter are the Black Diamond Storm ($50) and the Underwater Kinetics Vizion Arctic ($45).  Both have technology designed to recycle heat from the LED to warm the batteries; that translates to significantly longer battery life in the cold. The Black Diamond is the tech freak’s dream: 2 sets of white LEDs that both have infinitely variable output, and maximum blowtorch level of 100 lumens, plus red LEDs for close up work that preserves your night vision. The Underwater Kinetics is the absolute opposite; it has two levels (65 and 35 lumens), and uses a rotating filter to diffuse the light or give you red output. BUT, it’s about as bombproof, bulletproof, waterproof, and idiotproof as it gets, and has the added advantage that the light capsule comes out of the housing and doubles as a lantern so you can play cards in your winter cabin.

With a magnet to secure it to your car, an articulated rotating head, and bright LED/strobe modes, the Streamlight Knucklehead can put light exactly where you need it (David Shedd photo)

Streamlight Knucklehead (from about $65, depending on model): Here’s a great one for the non-outdoor enthusiast that just MIGHT get borrowed. Hands down, the best light we’ve ever seen to keep in the car. The 360 degree articulating head means you can aim the light wherever you want it. The magnet means you can stick it on your car’s fender and aim it backwards as a warning strobe, or aim the light to where you’re changing your tire, or even stick it on the hood to use as an emergency headlight when yours short out. If you’re feeling wealthy, get the rechargeable version with the clip; you can mount it permanently in the car and ALWAYS know you have light when you need it, plus can attach it to your belt if you’re working away from the car.

Swiss Army Knife ($20-$50): We’ve had a Swiss Army knife of some sort made by either Wenger or Victorinox in our pockets almost every day of our adult lives and wouldn’t consider going for a hike without one. Choose a basic model like the Wenger Commander ($25) or Victorinox Tourist ($23) or something a little fancier like the Victorinox Camper ($30) or Wenger Traveler ($45). Either way, it’ll get carried and used. Particularly if you get a model with a corkscrew…

An $8 lifesaver! The insect protection in this bandana is certified for 70 washings. (Tim Jones photo)

Insect Shield Bandana ($8-$12): We doubt we’ll ever leave the house again between April and October without one of these. When the bugs aren’t out, it rides in your pocket like any other bandana and serves all the same purposes. When the bugs show up, use it as a headscarf or neckerchief, and the bugs stay away from your face. Protection lasts for 70 washings—give another one for next year!  Of course there’s a whole lineup of Insect Shield clothing, too, which we’ve tested extensively and reviewed; everyone loves socks for Christmas, and what better than a pair that will keep ticks away!

GSI Pinnacle Dualist ($60) We find it hard to imagine anyone who plays outdoors who wouldn’t enjoy this compact cooking/eating kit for two. It’s just plain cute, and very very functional whether you want hot soup on a picnic or are cooking in a backcountry camp.  Pair it with a tiny canister stove and one of those Swiss Army knives that will fit inside it, and you have a totally self-contained system for eating anything everywhere.  We keep it in the car for impromptu picnics; give it to your favorite non-AO enthusiast, and maybe they’ll start wanting to picnic farther afield (or, perhaps you can borrow it once in a while…)!

Dr. Drip makes it easy to get that caffeine fix in any situation! (David Shedd photo)

Dr. Drip ($8.99/5 pack): Got a java junkie on your list? For years, we’ve searched for an easy way to make quality coffee in camp, and finally found it. Dr. Drip is a single-serving all-in-one coffee/filter/carrier setup. Open one, put it over your cup, put hot water through it, and you’ve got cafe-quality coffee in minutes. We carry a few inside a Primus EtaSolo on backpacking trips or day-long snowshoe jaunts (yes, we know that hot cocoa is more traditional for that, but some people HAVE to have their coffee); pull over by the side of the trail, and in 5 minutes you’ve got your hot caffeine fix!

Windbloc Fleece Hat ($20): Fleece hats are good: lightweight, warm, comfortable. But Windbloc Fleece is even better, especially if you are out for a long time. Many companies make windstopper versions. Look at the L.L. Bean Wind Challenger Fleece Hat ($19.50)  as a great example. Even warmer, the Arctic Shield Fleece Beanie($14) uses a radiant barrier to hold heat in (weakness:  it doesn’t breathe as well as plain fleece, so isn’t as good for highly aerobic activities).

Highgear Traildrop ($50):  Sort of an electronic Swiss Army knife, the Traildrop is a watch, thermometer, electronic compass, stopwatch, and level in one neat little package, allowing you to replace multiple items.  We’ve used it for checking temperatures to determine sleeping bag ratings, to time how long isobutane canisters run in real-world conditions, how long it takes to boil water, you  name it.  Being throwbacks to the dinosaurs, we’re still not fans of electronic compasses, but having a backup is always a good thing.  The level…well, we haven’t figured out a trail use for it, but it’s handy for setting up the gas grill for tailgating.  It’s always clipped on one pack or another, ready when we need it.

Air Grill Blower ($10):  One of our favorite “luxuries” when we’re backpacking, the imaginatively named “Blower” does exactly that…blows air. Anyone who has put their head sideways on the ground to blow at the base of a fire knows how miserable that is, and how quickly you start to feel dizzy, even when the fire isn’t blowing smoke in your face. This nifty tool weighs almost nothing (4.1 ounces), and allows you to blow a steady, controllable stream of air exactly where you want it. In dry conditions, it’s great; in wet, invaluable. Useful for backyard grilling, too!

Whatever knife you have, the Sterling will sharpen it quickly and easily (David Shedd photo)

Sterling Knife Sharpener($15):  We’re freaks for sharp knives, and have tried pretty much every tool to get them sharp and keep them that way. But with all those toys, we doubt there’s been a single backpacking trip in the last decade where we didn’t carry a Sterling with us. Small, light, ridiculously easy to use, it’ll sharpen your knives in the field or the kitchen. There’s nobody who can’t use one or more of these; 30 seconds, and you can go from dull to sharp on virtually any knife.  One in the kitchen, one in the backpack, one in the car or tool kit…you get the idea. At this price, you can own several, and you can’t go wrong. A simple, brilliant design with a lifetime warranty.

Small, Medium, Large . . .

Road ID ($20-30; ): It can (and does) happen: You are out for a bike ride or other outdoor adventure and end up in the emergency room—and no one knows who you are, who to contact, or what special medical needs you might have . . . Road ID solves that nicely and is comfortable enough to wear 24/7. The Elite is the highest end model; there are other models for wrist, shoes, you name it.

Little Hotties Toe Warmer Insoles ($15 + heat packs): These can be hard to find (they aren’t even on their website), but are worth it for any kind of foot travel in cold weather. These are NOT the disposable heater insoles, but a thick, supportive foam insole with a plug where you can insert an adhesive toe warmer and walk, skate, or ski in comfort.

If you hike in the winter, you need these traction aids. (Tim Jones photo)

Kahtoola MICROspikes ($60) By far the best traction aids ever devised for hiking on icy trails (or sidewalks). One step down from crampons, miles ahead of other slip-on traction aids when the going gets nasty. If you hike in the winter, you need these. (For the non-outdoors enthusiast, a pair of YakTrax to keep in the car shows that you really care about their safety.)

Lightweight Longies($25-$80) Whether you choose polyester or wool, lightweight longies tops and bottoms are essential equipment and no one can have too many sets. We’re now totally hooked on the superfine merino wool versions from Icebreaker  and Minus33, but we’ve happily used cheaper polyester from EMS, Marmot, Patagonia, Hot Chillys and others for years. The waffle pattern cotton ones at the local discount store? Free is overpriced for them.

Any of these under the tree will warm the heart (and other parts!) of your favorite outdoors enthusiast or not-so-enthusiast.  Don’t forget birthdays, either…and if you’re the hopeful recipient, you can always print this, highlight a few favorites, and leave it around the house!

The Tuckerman Sport Boot from L.L. Bean looks pretty normal...but in use, it's super! (Warner Shedd photo)

With age often comes a touch (or more) of arthritis. Even for those of us lucky enough to not have major problems, it can still add  a level of difficulty to everyday tasks. Add in the fact that it’s consistently worse when it’s cold and/or wet, and it becomes obvious that one of those problem areas will be lacing up winter boots. The boots themselves are typically stiffer than summer boots due to the insulation layers, the laces are thin and hard to grasp, and the fact that the boots are usually higher means that you have to pull the laces even harder to snug them around your feet and ankles so that you don’t slide around in them. Truly, an unpleasant trifecta!

There are solutions, of course. Slip-on boots or Velcro straps make life easy; the problem is that if you’re trying to hike in serious backcountry conditions, they simply don’t provide the kind of support and control that are needed. I had resigned myself to limiting my hiking, particularly when the weather is transition between seasons (deep snow is actually easier to walk in than a few inches on top of slippery leaves!). Not an ideal situation, but safety trumps fun.

It was early November of last year when son David arrived at our house and handed me a pair of L.L. Bean’s Tuckerman’s Multisport Boots ($129). With a thick layer of very wet leaves topped by a couple of inches of wet snow on the ground, the going in our woods was extremely slippery, and on steep slopes (which we have in abundance) the footing was often downright treacherous. In other words, exactly the conditions that I’d decided to avoid. In spite of that I spent two days traversing the woods without slipping even once! The traction of these boots was amazing: the sole lugs appear to have their bottoms composed of a soft-but-tough material similar to that on the outside of really top-notch snow tires (a word of caution, however: no footwear is non-slip under all conditions. On ice and hard-packed frozen snow, for instance, nothing short of real traction aids like creepers or, in worst case, crampons will give you non-slip traction. Just be aware that even these boots have limitations, and act accordingly).

The Boa lacing system is easy to use, and incredibly effective (Warner Shedd photo)

But…what about these boots made it possible for me to take advantage of the traction?  It comes down to a lacing system called “Boa”.  The lacings themselves are what appears to be a thin but sturdy plastic cable of some sort, but in fact are twisted bundles of impossibly thin stainless steel! These are connected to a dial about the size of a fifty-cent piece, located at the top front of the boot. Simply insert your foot into the boot and push the dial in toward your shin, whereupon it will engage with an audible click. Then start turning the dial clockwise. You will hear a clicking or racheting sound, and the laces will quickly tighten. How much the dial is turned determines how tight the lacing will be, and you can make it as tight or as loose as you wish. To remove the boot, just pull the dial out away from the shin, and the lacing immediately opens up. Pull the dial and tongue outward a little farther and presto!, your foot will easily come out of the boot. For anyone who, like me, has problems lacing up boots, the ease and simplicity of this system is a godsend.

The well-spaced, soft lugs on the Tuckerman's sole provided amazing traction in all winter conditions (Warner Shedd photo)

That was the beginning of my love affair with these boots, which I’ve affectionately dubbed “Superboots.” Beyond the ease of lacing and the superior traction, these boots have a plethora of other sterling virtues. Let’s see, where to begin? We can start with the extremely light weight – 34 ounces, or, if you prefer, two pounds and two ounces. That’s in the weight range of my summer hiking boots! They are also extremely comfortable, at least on my feet; a happy side effect of the lacing system is that the boot snugs down with very consistent pressure all over my foot. Next comes the waterproof quality of these boots. They’ve got a nylon composite outer that doesn’t look as if it would stay dry for long; however, I’ve worn them in wet snow, slush, and several inches of water, and my feet have stayed dry. Then there is the matter of warmth. My feet get cold very easily and quickly (with age comes limited circulation!), so I’ve been astonished at how warm my feet have been in these boots. Traveling in wet snow, at temperatures just about freezing, my feet stayed warm. Then, at the Winterfest, I hiked in snow for several hours in the morning (yes, the sole is designed to work with snowshoes), with the temperature about 20 degrees, and my feet…warm again. But, that wasn’t all; I spent most of that afternoon standing around in the snow watching Tim and David put on an amazing seminar on winter camping gear and techniques, and only near the end of a long afternoon did my feet begin to get cold.

I also tried the boots on an ice fishing expedition.In preparation for that, I removed the inner soles from the boots and substituted Little Hotties inner soles. These have a little hollow that holds one of Hotties’ foot warmers – those little gizmos that warm up when removed from their package and stay warm for nearly six hours. Those worked very well, although, with the temperature about 20 degrees, it was difficult to tell how much the Hotties extended the lower range of comfort for the boots.Obviously, these lightweight boots have limitations as far as hyper-cold temperatures are concerned. I haven’t tried them at temperatures much below 20 degrees, and even with Hotties inner soles I ‘m skeptical that they’d be comfortable, at least on my feet, at temperatures approaching zero during long periods of standing around. Still, considering their light weight, these boots are amazingly warm.

Added to all this, the boots are sufficiently good looking that I’ve even worn them to meetings in our State House. Admittedly, the Vermont legislature, as a concession to Vermont’s harsh winters, is probably more relaxed about winter footwear than are its counterparts in the Banana Belt; still, it’s formal enough so that ties and jackets are more or less de rigeur for men. As a matter of fact, I’ve worn these boots everywhere outside the house this winter. It used to be that my feet were generally cold when driving my car in winter, even with the heater working well. Now, I’m happy to say, my feet have been warm while driving all winter.

If you’ve been looking for a winter boot solution that’s got great traction, support, warmth, waterproofness, and ease of use, you owe it to yourself to give these a try.  With Bean’s legendary guarantee, you can’t go wrong…and you may just find yourself spending a lot more time outside in the winter!

Even on a day of cold, blowing snow and rotten light, the Revision Desert Locust Extreme goggles allowed me to ski confidently (Susan Marean Shedd photo)

Seriously.

Wearing Revision Military’s Desert Locust Goggles without a helmet can be hazardous to someone else’s health.

Time to backtrack. After my wonderful experience with Revision’s “Sawfly” glasses, I wandered through their catalog and ran across the Desert Locust goggle. Pretty cool looking, optimized for helmet use, and with the usual Revision “to military specs and beyond!” (sorry, Buzz Lightyear) build quality. And the “Extreme” version ($99 with neutral gray lens; extra lenses $28/each) has sealed double lenses to avoid fogging in cold weather…hmm. Definitely a “must-try”, particularly for backcountry and sidecountry skiing!

Now, here’s where the health part comes in. I took them out of the box, put them on, and my sweetheart Susan hurt herself laughing. Honest. This is why you shouldn’t even put these things ON without a helmet. Naked, they’re about as wide as J. Lo’s…sunglasses. And, frankly, they didn’t fit all that well…they gapped around my nose. NOT a promising start. But, the people at Revision are serious detail freaks, so maybe I should put on my helmet and try them that way.

You can't claim you weren't warned; these goggles are NOT meant to be used without a helmet, or seen by anyone else that way! (David Shedd photo)

Whoa! WHAT a difference. Goodbye gaps. The angle of the strap changed when the helmet was added into the equation. The goggles were pulled a bit wider, and the fit changed dramatically. These goggles SHOULD NOT be worn without a helmet.

With my trusty old carbon fiber Leedom, they looked a little . . . well . . . menacing. I looked in the mirror and thought “Hey, I look a little badass!” When I pointed this out to Susan, she hurt herself laughing again. Apparently, even with a helmet on, these things can be dangerous to someone else’s health. Also apparently, I’ve got about as much chance of being badass as Elmer Fudd.

But…the military-goggle connection does have some validity. This is serious eye protection, with serious quality. Fit on my helmet is excellent, with minimal gap showing between the helmet and the googles. Clarity of the lenses is spectacular. December and January in the Northeast means “flat light”…the sun is hiding behind the mountain, making it hard to see contours on the slopes.  The usual solution is a yellow or vermillion lens, but I personally hate yellow, and at that point the Desert Locust didn’t offer vermillion. So, neutral gray it was. And, wonder of wonders, I was able to see at least as well as my companions on some gray days that had everyone concerned about visibility. Apparently, the clarity of the optics allows for greater contrast than you would expect from neutral gray.

With this quiver of lenses, you can be set for everything from night skiing to flat light to snowblind conditions on Everest (David Shedd photo)

After several months of playing with the neutral gray, though, Revision brought out a vermillion lens for the Desert Locust. True to form, the optical quality was spectacular; so much so that on a backcountry skiing trip in Quebec’s Gaspesie National Park, another writer and REAL backcountry ski expert took one look through them, gave them a “wow!” rating, and immediately asked where he could order a pair.  They’re simply that good…and yes, he’s a helmet wearer.

Even on bright days, the vermillion lenses don’t leave my eyes tired after a long day of skiing, as some lenses have done over the years; I used them into April, and even on bluebird days didn’t feel the need to change back to neutral gray (although I like neutral gray on a day like that; color accuracy is greater, allowing you to really enjoy the beauty!). For night skiing, or when you get caught by darkness skinning back to your lodge at the end of a day of backcountry, it’s a matter of seconds to pop in a clear lens and have full vision with eye protection.

Beyond the optical quality, though, is the fogging resistance. On one particularly cold day at Sunday River, I was skiing with a couple of lunatics who thought it was a great idea to ski through the snowguns at speed. They frequently had to stop because they couldn’t see a bloody thing through the fog on their goggles. My goggles, on the other hand, were perfectly clear (other than the ice balls on them from the snowguns). Intrigued, we went in for hot chocolate and put all three sets of goggles on the table next to each other; they all fogged, but mine cleared dramatically faster than the other two. These guys don’t tolerate poor quality in anything they buy, and their goggles were no exception, but they simply couldn’t measure up. Sadly for one of them, though, he doesn’t wear a helmet, so he’s stuck with what he’s got.

There was one problem with my Desert Locusts. On my first pair, the foam that seals them to your face became damaged from putting them up and down on a helmet. An email to Revision got an instantaneous, extremely apologetic reply. They were well aware of the problem, had thought this older design had been cleared from the pipeline. They immediately sent a replacement pair. The new seal has a soft cloth layer over the foam and, after a full season of use, is showing no signs of wear. Good companies make great products; GREAT companies make great products and stand behind them when something goes wrong. Kudos to Revision on this one!

Our only remaining complaint is that the storage bag that comes with the goggles is, um, not user friendly; it works, but it’s a pain in the neck.  An extra quarter inch added to all dimensions would make it a lot easier to deal with (hint, hint, Revision…).

Not every product is right for everyone, and the Desert Locust Extreme is no exception. If you don’t wear a helmet, don’t waste your time; they simply won’t work. And, it’s likely that they won’t fit some helmet/face combinations…but we haven’t found any yet they haven’t worked with. If you’re a backcountry/sidecountry addict, we can’t imagine anything that will make you feel more confident in the trees than a goggle that survives bullet impacts. While that level of protection isn’t necessarily needed on the slopes, we’ve seen enough shattered lenses after crashes to take comfort in the durability of these. Besides…even if the Desert Locusts can’t make you look badass, there’s gotta be some street cred to wearing bulletproof military goggles. Paging Mr. Rambo…

You don't have to be young—or even an experienced skier—to try snowbiking at Pats Peak! (Tim Jones photo)

Though we occasionally write stories for EasternSlopes.com, we are also loyal readers of this publication. We enjoy looking at the many different ideas for getting outdoors and having fun. Some of the things other people do hold little interest for us. But surprisingly often, we find ourselves inspired to do something we thought we had given up, or even to try something totally new and different.

Now, neither of us are skiers. Warner has done some cross-country skiing in the past, but very little in recent years. Edie has never really skied much. But we still read the stories about ski gear, and downhill ski resorts and, when we read Tim’s story on Snowbiking, we both thought that looked like FUN! Most things that fit in the fun category are illegal, immoral, fattening – or dangerous! However, snowbiking looked like it might be interesting and FUN, without being any of those no-no’s listed above. Well, the jury was still out on “dangerous.” FUN or not, taking into account our advanced ages and with our limited ski experience, we both also questioned whether or not we could try snowbiking safely. But one thing EasternSlopes.com has taught us is to never say “never.” So we contacted Tim, who responded with his usual enthusiasm, saying “Yes! Of course you can! ”  And, suddenly, we were committed to a snowbiking adventure.

Once we had our helmets and ski boots, we were ready to be fitted to our snowbikes. Instructors Ben and David made the process easy and fun. (Tim Jones photo)

On a warm(ish) day in late March we found ourselves at Pats Peak in Henniker, NH. We’ve visited a few downhill ski areas before in winter, but only as spectators. This was our first time as participants, and we both have to admit we were feeling some trepidations. However, we found it hard to hold onto any nervous feelings, given the atmosphere we found on the hill. They were celebrating spring with a Hawaiian-themed weekend, and the place was a madhouse. The staff was running around wearing Hawaiian shirts, grass skirts and leis (and some had on shorts!). A little chilly for us, but whatever floats your boat! Everybody was having such a good time. Everybody means a TON of people. Seemed to us that it was much more fun than actually going to Hawaii!

Our first stop was to get fitted for ski helmets. Neither of us had ever had one on our heads before and to our utter amazement they were truly comfortable. Well, that was a nice surprise! Now we understand why both Tim and David insist that everyone should wear helmets on the slopes. They are so comfortable you quickly forget you are wearing them, and with other people whizzing around you on skis and snowboards, there’s a definite safety benefit.

Then we got fitted for rental ski boots. Different story entirely. Miserable things! We saw people actually walking around in the them, and a couple of kids were running! We, however, could just barely walk, and we mean barely. Warner likened walking in ski boots to being a robot with stiff legs and iron boots. However, once the clunky things got buckled into the little tiny “footskis” you wear when snowbiking, they were fine and we (almost) forgot how clunky and miserable they felt when walking.

Riding up the carpet lift was the hardest part of snowbiking to learn. All you had to do was remember to get your little "foot skis" onto the moving carpet with the rest of you . . . (Tim Jones photo)

Suitably attired, we went outside and met our wonderful instructors, Ben and Dave. They were so nice to us! First, they fitted us to the Snowbikes–which look exactly like kids bikes with skis where the wheels would be. There’s a front ski attached to the handlebars so it pivots like a bike wheel, and another one under the heavily padded seat. As already noted, you wear little “footskis” so you can use your feet to stabilize yourself as you slide. Sitting on the flat snow without moving, the whole incongruous setup felt surprisingly stable and comfortable.

Of course in order to have FUN we had to move, and that meant learning how to steer and stop. The instructions for learning a snowbike are very simple, and the movements natural and comfortable. As a result, we learned the basics very fast. The obvious and instinctive way to steer would seem to be to turn the lead ski with the handlebars, but that’s not how it’s done. Instead, you steer by turning your head to look in the direction you want to go. The body naturally and instinctively leans very slightly in the same direction without you even having to think about it, and the bike goes in that direction, almost like magic. To stop, you simply turn your head farther to look backwards up the hill. It’s that easy! Snowbiking turned out to be safe, comfortable and, yes, FUN! With both feet firmly on the snow on their little footskis, and seated comfortably on the snowbike, there’s little chance of falling. In fact, neither of us took a spill while coming down the hill. Even if you did fall while going down the hill, tipping over onto the soft snow from a low sitting position is hardly something to be concerned about.

It only took a few minutes of instruction before we were ready to try the bunny slopes—our first experience at sliding down a ski hill! (Tim Jones photo)

The hardest part of the whole experience was getting on and off the carpet lift. It’s like a flat escalator, or those moving walkways in an airport and it conveys you slowly and comfortably at ground level up to the top of the gentle beginner slope. The only problem we found is that the “moving carpet” is quite narrow and you absolutely have to remember to get your footskis on the carpet part. If you don’t, you fall over—which can be a little embarrassing with people watching. Edie fell once on the durned lift, but even she admitted it was more funny than scary–more of  a slow-motion tip-over than a real fall.

Like anything else, snowbiking requires a bit of practice in order to get the hang of it. Warner found it difficult to remember to keep both arms extended straight rather than bending his elbows. However, after a few runs he found himself doing better at that, and correcting himself whenever he realized his arms were bent. You also have to remember to keep both knees clamped firmly against the padded seat of the snowbike so your feet and their little skis don’t splay out to the sides. That was far less difficult to remember than keeping the arms straight.

With Ben’s careful instruction and watchful guidance, in a few minutes we were making swooping turns down the bunny slope, getting right back on the carpet lift and riding up to do it all over again. It was both exciting and exhilarating and, yes, just plain FUN.

Once you are on the hill, it's time to refine your technique. Warner had trouble remembering to keep his arms straight! as our instructor is demonstrating (Tim Jones photo)

As we were learning on the bunny slope, we  had little kids whizzing around us having a great time. Watching the kids was part of the fun. One little girl in pink (she looked to be about 5) went flying straight down the hill with her father chasing after her  yelling “Wait! Wait!”. She arrived at the bottom, stopped neatly, and turned around to look back as he was racing after her as if to say, “What is your problem?”

By the time our hour lesson was over we had both made a goodly number of runs. We could have stayed longer, but we were both tired by then, and felt we’d made a good start on learning to snow bike. In fact, we even got a license that says we can do the bunny slope without supervision! Aren’t you impressed?

It’s almost December now, there’s snow on some of the ski hills and we’re looking forward to getting down to Pats Peak again, refreshing our snowbiking skills and wooshing down the slopes again. Maybe this time we’ll even take another lesson  and go up on the chair lift! Since neither of us has ever ridden a chairlift, we definitely want an instructor along for that. By the way, if you think you are too old to try something new like snowbiking, keep this in mind… Warner is 77, Edie is 76, and if we can do it so can you. Really, you will have a wonderful time, even if it isn’t Hawaiian weekend!

It was Hawaiian Weekend at Pats Peak and even this tiki statue seems to approve as we proudly display our new "Snowbike Licenses." (Tim Jones photo)

With 14 year old Daniel moping around the house, which we knew would make US cranky, we decided to head for Sunday River. We knew there were only two trails (T2 and Upper Sunday Punch) open for the day since Mother Nature has been totally uncooperative recently. Still, Sunday River’s snowmaking has saved the day before…and at least it would get us out of the house!

One benefit of heading for the mountain is that it gives you an excuse to go out for breakfast. That’s enough to improve anyone’s mood, even if diner coffee reminds you of the last time you changed the oil in your diesel F150. Plus, it fuels you for all that hard work you’re going to do on the steeps, right? Well, it sounds good, anyway, and it’s an excuse to eat all the stuff you usually don’t allow yourself (sausage gravy over a biscuit, anyone?).

Runners in shorts on the slopes, skiers coming DOWN on the lifts...this is supposed to be skiing weather??? (David Shedd photo)

Fueled, we headed for Barker Lodge. Sunday River is one of a limited number of mountains that has a lift with a mid-station, and it’s what makes this early-season skiing work. Get on at the bottom where people in shorts are running along the brown slopes; head up, and suddenly halfway up the mountain there’s SNOW! It’s colder up there, so they can get away with making snow and having it actually last. It makes for shorter runs…there’s no such thing as top-to-bottom…but the fact that there’s snow to play on is pretty special.

Up at the top, it almost looked like normal winter, as long as you only looked down the center of the trail. And T2 was acting like a winter trail. Hard as rock on the top, it softened nicely through the morning through the steep section down to the mid-station. Better still, the trail gnomes had created a rail garden on the left side, a natural magnet for the teens and near-teens. That freed up parents to go ski and pretend they’re normal adults, creating an atmosphere that was light and happy.

Mother Nature owns the woods, but snowguns take control of the trails (David Shedd photo)

That was a good thing, as the one fly in the ointment was the lift lines. The nature of the mid-station routine is that the skiers not only have to come UP on it, and that people who have completed runs have to wait for a free chair from the bottom that they can jump on to head back up, but also that skiers have to go DOWN to the base on it. Since the lift can only carry 10% of the skiers down that it can up, and has to be slowed down each time to pick up the people headed down, you’ve got a recipe for long lines and longer waits. Typical waits to go up were 10-15 minutes during the middle of the day; going down, those times could double. Still, people were remarkably calm about it…Since the only alternative was to NOT be skiing (and to be hanging around with the whiny kids or crabby parents at home), standing around in a lift line on a gorgeous, sunny day wasn’t so bad.

After a few runs on T2, we decided to head over to check out Upper Sunday Punch. We’d heard people on it as we passed it on the lift; scratchy, scratchy, scratchy. But, it wasn’t as loaded with skiers, so it was worth a try.  And…yup, it was scratchy. Hardpack. Boilerplate. Icy patches. Fun? Somewhat, particularly if you had sharp edges and like to ski fast. My watch said 12:30, and my head said “come back in a few hours.”  We headed back to T2…it’s early season, and we didn’t want to push our legs too much. Note, though, that there was nothing about it that said “don’t even think about skiing this”; I wasn’t having any problems with getting an edge in (yes, my skis were recently tuned).

Back on familiar ground, we found that the moguls on skiers’ right were growing, and were soft and cushy. A couple of runs through them, and the burn in our legs started becoming permanent…yup, it really IS early season. And, as 3:00 approached, the snow that made those soft moguls started getting pushed off the side of the trail and into the woods. Time to go over and see if Upper Sunday Punch had softened?  Nah. We could feel that we’d had our runs, and if there’s anything we’ve learned over the years it’s to NOT push the envelope on the first days out…that’s when you get hurt!

Teens give new meaning to "rail jam", and give their parents some quality time in the process (David Shedd photo)

Down we headed, and back home.  Daniel slept in the car…hard to be cranky when you’re asleep! We chatted easily, having enjoyed being out and doing something we love on a gorgeous day. To make it even better, lift tickets are cheap this time of year; the cost per run is probably lower than in midwinter when Mother Nature is paying a lot of the bills. Not a bad deal at all!

How To Make It Work Best For You:

The key to getting the most out of Sunday River’s early season is to game the lift system, particularly until they can get snow to stay in the Barker base area. Use it when other people aren’t. Obviously, you can’t kick them all off the lift, so you have to outsmart them.  Here’s our best advice:

1. Get there EARLY. Be waiting in line for the lift to open, and get up to the skiing area as quickly as you can. Once you’re up there, the lift times aren’t so long, even when the lift lines are long.

2. Do NOT come back down unless you absolutely can’t avoid it. Each trip down and back up costs you an hour of skiing, possibly more. If you can take a pack with your lunch, great.  If not…

3. Go down for lunch BEFORE everyone else does. Head down at 11; it’ll be close enough to lunchtime by the time you get down there, anyway. Make it a short lunch; you had that big diner breakfast not that long ago, anyway. Try to be on the lift back up by noon.

4.  Get back up, and watch everyone stand in the line to go down for lunch while you’re skiing into the short line to head back up for another run!

5.  As the end of the day comes, watch that line for the trip back down. We came down on one run, looked at the LONG line, and decided we had another run in our legs. After that run, the line heading down was half as long. If it had been longer…well, we’d have headed back up for another one and taken our time with it!

6.  Once you’re down, avoid the bars and head for home. You may be more tired than you’d expect; cozy in at home with your favorite beverage and a good movie, and enjoy the evening!

Read carefully. Some of the requirements for getting a pass are a little weird— for example, getting a Higher Ed Pass requires a letter from your school’s registrar’s office with a raised seal. Every pass requires a school ID with a photo, preferably of you. Also, don’t forget that a sales tax applies to some of the prices.

Other deals are out there other than the season passes. Try bookmarking Liftopia on your Internet browser and checking in regularly to get last-minute discounts on lift tickets. Liftopia also lets you search for discounted lift tickets in advance both by a specific date or a flexible date range.

Tear ‘em up this season!

Passes to multiple mountains

College New England Pass
States: Maine and New Hampshire
Mountains covered: Sunday River (Newry, ME), Loon Mountain (Lincoln, NH), and Sugarloaf Mountain (Carrabassett Valley, ME)*Bonus! Discounted lift tickets at Boyne Resort’s Western Mountains (Michigan)
Price: $349 until November 30
Requirements: Must be carrying 9 credits or have a letter from the registrar’s office.

SOS Pass
States: Vermont and New Hampshire
Mountains covered: Stratton (West Wardsboro, VT), Okemo (Ludlow, VT), and Sunapee (Newbury, NH) *Bonus! 25% discount on multi-day lift ticket rates 7 days a week at Crested Butte (Crested Butte, CO).
Price: $299 until December 19.
Requirements: Full time college student between the ages of 18 and 29.

Triple Major Pass
States: Vermont
Mountains covered: Jay Peak (Jay, VT), Boulton Valley (Richmond, VT), and Mad River Glen (Fayston, VT)
Price: $289 before November 7. $429 after.
Requirements: Letter from the registrar.

College Breakout Season Pass
Mountains covered: Wildcat Mountain (Pinkham Notch, NH), Gunstock (Gilford, NH), and Sunapee (Sunapee, NH)
Price: $259 until December 18.
Requirements: Must have a college ID and a signed and sealed letter from the registrar.

Higher Ed Pass
Mountains covered: Mount Snow (West Dover, VT), Attitash (Barlett, NH), Crotched Mountain (Bennington, NH), Wildcat (Pinkham Notch, NH), Jack Frost Big Boulder (Blakeslee, PA)
Price:$319 until December 12.
Requirements: Full-time student carrying 12 or more credits. Must bring a letter from the registrar on a school letterhead (with a raised seal).

Young Adult/College Full Season Pass
Mountains covered: Whiteface (Lake Placid, NY) and Gore (North Creek, NY)
Price: $385 until November 15. $475 after.
Requirements: Must be a student age 22 or younger.

4-NH College Pass
Mountains covered: Bretton Woods/Mount Washington (Bretton Woods, NH), Cannon (Franconia, NH), Cranmore (North Conway, NH), and Waterville Valley (Waterville Valley, NH)
Price: $289 before November 30. $309 after December 1. *Bonus! $50 for a Nordic Excursion Pass. 10% off resort retail outlets, and save $15 on one full-day, Bretton Woods all-mountain lift ticket per day.
Requirements: Proof of full-time enrollment.

Single mountain passes

Catamount Ski Area (border of South Egremont, MA and Hillsdale, NY)
Price: $239

Jiminy Peak Resort (Hancock, MA)
Price: $299 for full-time students. $239 for part-time students for twilight skiing. Buy before October 15. *Bonus! This pass comes with too many other great discounts to list!
Requirements: Class schedule.

Killington Resort and Pico Mountain (Killington, VT)
Price: $352
Requirements: For full-time students carrying at least 12 credits during both the fall and spring semesters.

Pat’s Peak Ski Area (Henniker, NH)
Price: $339 before November 6. $389 after. *Bonus! Discounts at Mount Sunapee in NH, Burke Mountain in VT, and Jay Peak in VT.

Seven Springs Mountain Resort (Seven Springs, PA)
Price: $299 for weekday skiing (excludes Christmas week).

Shawnee Peak (Bridgton, ME)
Price: $199

Smugglers’ Notch (Smugglers’ Notch, VT)
Price: $279 before October 31. $399 after for full-time students. *Bonus! Check out the website for extra discounts on equipment rentals, lessons, etc.

Stowe Mountain (Stowe, VT)
Price: $399 for full-time students. $599 for part-time students.
Requirements: Signed letter from the registrar, embossed with the school seal and stating your status.

Sugarbush Resort (Warren, VT)
Price: $319 for students. $219 for Mt. Ellen only. Buy before November 1.

Wachusett Mountain (Princeton, MA)
Price: $199 buys UPass; night skiing any day of the week, and full-day skiing during weekdays. $10 off lift tickets on weekends and holidays.