Date:         Mon, 30 Dec 1996 17:33:38 -0500
Reply-To:     Eli Baker <ebaker@MAIL.MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         Eli Baker <ebaker@MAIL.MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Subject:      Blue squares
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Hi -- I spent two weeks skiing this month: one week in heaven, the other in
hades.  Of course, this is because I'm a blue square skier and my heaven
seems to be hell for the majority on this list, and my hell is actually
their heaven.
 
I spent a week in Sunday River with the Elderhostel.  Great deal, good
company, and instruction.  The best thing about instruction is that the
teacher takes you where you would never go otherwise (for Blues).  The
conditions were fabulous.  We arrived after the snowstorm on Dec 8th and by
the morn of Dec 9th the brutal groomers had transformed most of the
mountains into paradise.  We made first tracks on Risky Business and
American express, floating down on cloud nine, and felt like real skiiers.
That first day the teacher took us down Tempest without telling us it was
partly black -- no problem.  The next day he took us down Air(something), a
nice long black next to norther lights and it was (trying to find another
synonym for fabulous).  I've come to a great discovery: to be comfortable on
blues one has to ski a few blacks; to be comfortable on greens one has to
ski a few blues; to be comfortable on blacks one has to ski a few double
diamonds.  I guess this discovery is not original but there it is.  After
airsomething skiing the blues was great; not always easy but just great.
 
After the week at SR we went to Smuggs.  Lousy grooming, so-called natural
trails, and s-l-o-w lifts.  We've been to Smuggs before and it was fair; but
not this time: the trails were icy, the weather was lousy, and the grooming
sucked -- perfect conditions for an expert -- but not for me.  Even the
instruction was inferior to SR.  Only a few trails were open and they scared
the hell out of me.  Even the greens were scary.  It's not that the pitch
was different, or the trails themselves.  It's just that even when groomed
the trails felt unsafe underfoot -- it needed a better touch than I could
supply.
 
I'm going back to hell in the spring and again next year -- I don't like
being defeated.  but until then its Kmart and Sunday River for me.
 
Thank you Scott for your intercession with the gods and if you want that
trail map give me your snail mail address.
 
BTW any flames or responses should be sent to my new address: ebaker2@juno.com.
 
 
Good skiing
 
Eli