virtualDavis

Lake Placid shows up in the Winter 2010 Gorsuch catalog, right up there with Zermatt, Sun Valley, Vail, etc. Is Lake Placid sexy again? The 1932 Winter Olympics and the 1980 Winter Olympics pushed our Adirondack alpine wonderland into the spotlight, and maybe it’s happening again.

By coincidence, this morning I received an email notice this morning about Whiteface, the Olympic downhill ski mountain in Lake Placid:

“Whiteface will open Saturday, December 5, 2009 for the 2009-10 winter season. Mother Nature was off to a slow start, however, it looks as though the tides are turning back into winter! Our snowmaking crews are making snow 24/7 as temps permit! We will open with Excelsior, Summit Express, and Upper Valley. Over 1.5 miles of terrain. Beginner terrain will not be available. Cloudsplitter Gondola and Little Whiteface will be open with downloading on the Gondola, lower mountain will open asap.”

By then I’ll be in Mumbai, but it’s good to know that we’ll be able to start skiing when we get home!

So how’s everybody coming on the NATO Phonetic Alphabet? Next time you book your airline tickets, read your confirmation code back to the attendant employing this new tool and she just may be so impressed she’ll give you your tickets for free. Maybe…

Just returned to the North Country after a couple of groovy skiing escapes. First a short week at Stratton in Vermont for the Philips US Open 2004 with my brother, and my buddy who works for Burton. He had volunteered us for the banner crew which meant we helped prepare all of the marketing banners, signs, etc. for the competition each day. And we skied. And skied and skied. We received plenty of fresh snow, and we threw ourselves into it like it was the last chance of the season. And it almost was. Except…

The following week I headed off to Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia with MHD for another short week of skiing. Spring conditions the first couple of days, but amazing snow since it had dumped just before our arrival. Then some base rain which was snow on the mountain. Skied the hell out of both hills including both glaciers. Visibility wasn’t always so great, and the bottoms of both mountains tended to mashed potatoes, but everything else was amazing. And hardly no lift lines since we went the week after most spring breaks. Then a stop-off in Chicago for several days to take a seminar on e-publishing at the University of Chicago. Also a chance to catch up with a couple of old high school buddies which was great fun. Then back to NYC and a long drive back to the Adirondacks where spring is arriving ahead of schedule.