Lists are helpful reminders detailing things you want to do but have not yet done. Sometimes the mindless pursuit of lists can become inane, especially when lists are arbitrary or contrary to stronger underlying desires. In outdoor pursuits, lists can drive us to explore new and interesting locales that might otherwise be completely off our radar. This pursuit of new and different experiences is central to my way of life.

With this in mind, I made a list of New England ski areas I have yet to ski. At one time, I thought it would be an interesting goal to ski every open ski area in New England. I have since realized that would be an arduous task; more of a chore than an enjoyable pursuit given the quantity of small feeder, family, and community areas.

So I arbitrarily set a vertical gain minimum of 1150 feet within New England. Why that number? Because no mountain below that threshold ignites my interest excepting Middlebury College Snow Bowl, Dartmouth Skiway, Whaleback, and Suicide Six, which I have included. All ski areas above that threshold spark my interest enough to ski at least once in my lifetime.

I have shamelessly omitted Jiminy Peak which claims 1150′ (but this site says 1140′). Not that it matters. Several Northeastern ski areas outside of New England are included. This list does not include backcountry destinations. I am looking forward to exploring some of these mountains this season.

New Hampshire

• Balsams Wilderness — December 31, 2010
• Bretton Woods — March 4, 2012
• Cranmore — January 7, 2011
• Dartmouth Skiway — March 11, 2012
• Mount Sunapee — March 11, 2012
• Whaleback — March 9, 2013

Vermont

• Ascutney — Doh
• Middlebury College Snow Bowl — February 20, 2011
• Mount Snow — January 1, 2011
• Okemo — March 19, 2011
• Stratton — March 17, 2012
• Suicide Six — March 9, 2013

Maine

• Big Squaw — Doh
• Black Mountain — February 17, 2013
• Shawnee Peak — January 13, 2013

New York

• Gore — April 10, 2011
• Hickory Ski Center
• Plattekill
• Whiteface — April 9, 2011

Quebec

• Le Massif de Charlevoix
• Le Massif du Sud
• Orford
• Owl’s Head — February 19, 2012
• Sutton

I write rather poorly. This is not a talent deficiency that should be suffered by a blogger. My hypothesis is that TheSnowWay.com is read despite the quality of writing rather than because of it. Quality of content and subject matter carry the web site, not the prose or writing style.

That may be an exaggeration. I write at a higher level of proficiency than average. And I write well enough to entertain and engage. But I do not attain the highest levels or artistry with words that I desire nor what better than average writers are capable of. My opportunity to improve my style is significant. And my current level of proficiency is concurrent with my effort, or lack thereof, to improve upon it.

My pre-collegiate English and grammar classes generally filled me with disgust. Whether bad teaching or lack of aptitude and natural talent were the cause, I don’t know. Likely a combination of both.

My collegiate Composition classes further failed to instill good writing habits. Instead, my Composition instructors in college focused on their favorite pet subjects in lieu of teaching good writing. My two biggest take a ways from Composition I were the definitions of connotation and denotation. My two biggest take a ways from Composition II included a profound appreciation for e.e. cummings and redefining my understanding of Robert Frost’s The Road Not Taken (“I shall be telling this with a sigh…”).

My writing skills, as they are, were developed primarily in writing research papers in College and in writing emails in business. Both learning environments have created a tendency for overly long and excessively wordy writing. Neither environment produced stylistic writing but both get the job done effectively and were practical.

In my undergraduate classes, page count was of ultimate importance. I learned how to effectively stretch sentences. Excessive usage of multiple prepositional phrases within each sentence often accomplished this goal. Overly wordy sentence structure was key. Incorporating complex words and spelling out their definitions was a must. And I was rewarded for these poor writing tactics with good grades. Here is Calvin on academic writing:

Business writing exacerbated an already terrible style. My email writing is always thorough, complete, and detailed. I attempt to cover all the bases and answer potential questions before sending a message. My emails become technical documents in and of themselves. If a communication is really that difficult or causes concern for misinterpretation, a telephone or in person call should be used rather than an email.

In both cases, as with all writing, less is more. Last year I read a great book called Letting Go of the Words by Redish. This book was more about web site design, navigation, and code styling than actually about how to write. But the principle is still the same with writing: Less is more. Another lesson I have learned is eliminating conjunctions in favor of periods.

I continue to struggle. But my writing is improving. As a result, hopefully the quality of this web site and your reading experience are also improving. During this online epoch of 140 character limit Twitter Tweets and quick hit Faceook status updates, I will continue to flesh out subjects and trip reports in depth and detail. Less is more stylistically. But I find this online epoch of social network communications to be at a point of diminishing returns.

Seasonal goals can be helpful in expanding horizons. In general, I find goals troubling. Much like the infamous New Year’s Resolution, most goals are whimsically made and lack planning. Goals made without planning are rarely reached, stretch goals even less. So I hesitate to make goals without making plans.

Even without planning, however, goals can be helpful in fleshing out exciting new adventures for an upcoming season. During the 2009-2010 season, I completed several goals including finally getting to Smuggs, skiing off the Chin via Hourglass to Hellbrook, skiing Mount Abram, skiing off the summit of Mount Washington, skiing the western side of Washington, more fully exploring Killington and Mount Ellen, and finally returning to Sugarloaf after half a life time.

Considering that my opinion of the 2009-2010 season was marginal, that is quite an impressive list of accomplished goals for a sub-par 33 day season. With the understanding that I can not accomplish all of my goals in one season, here are some of the things that I am planning for the 2010-2011 season and beyond:

• Ski in the Eastern Townships of Quebec (Sutton, Orford, Owl’s Head)
• Ski New York (Whiteface and Gore, perhaps some ADK backcountry)
• Ski the Chic Chocs
• Ski The Balsams
• Over 50 days total
• Over 15 days earning turns
• Ski more personal firsts at mid-sized mountains such as Dartmouth, Whaleback, Black (ME), Middlebury, and Suicide Six

Perhaps my most important goal this season is regaining technique and trying to rekindle some joy for skiing in marginal conditions. For years, I pounded hard packed bumps from open to close before discovering the powdery joys of Northern Vermont. My technique over the past four years has slowly but steadily degraded because I hand pick the best days and only ski until I can not find high quality snow. My efforts to ski new areas works in conjunction with rebuilding my technique by skiing more days that are less than ideal. It gives me something to look forward to even when conditions are sub-par.

Take the AlpineZone Summit at Sugarloaf last year. A two day event that saw most people bummed about the hard pack groomer only conditions. Me? I was just super stoked to be back at the Loaf. My only previous experience at the Loaf was half a lifetime ago as a kid on a family vacation. Returning to the Loaf and reliving those memories was better than some powder days despite conditions being limited to hard packed groomers. I may have enjoyed the conditions more than anyone else at the Summit. Because for me, that weekend was not about the skiing itself but rather the rediscovery of a mountain buried in memory.

Perhaps instead of specific goals detailing places I want to ski and things I want to do, I should rather set a general goal of discovery, rediscovery, and adventure. That this season might be remembered not for the epic conditions but rather for the epic adventures and new explorations. And for the people I shared those adventures with instead of skiing solo so often. A season in which I never wake up and think that I might go skiing if not for the less than perfect conditions. But rather, that less than perfect conditions open up possibilities of exploration that I might not have otherwise considered.

Ah, spring time. Long days, warmer temps, closed lifts, Mount Washington calling my name… and injuries. Always injuries. Prior to my broken elbow four seasons ago, I had never had an injury that effected my season. Since then it seems like an annual occurrence. This insidious streak is particularly prevalent in the spring. My monthly stats back this up: I have more ski days in July (3) than in June (2).

This year’s injury dates back to the epic dump during the last week of February. Magic Mountain got the goods but the snow was particularly dense and heavy. My tips dove and I hyperextended my knee when my bindings didn’t release as my body tried to go over the handlebars.

My knee seemed fine at the time, just a little sore, and I kept skiing. I kept skiing right through March and April, despite increasing tension and pain, especially when descending stairs or weighting my left knee heavily. These days included a few open to close bump days during which I surprisingly had little pain while skiing.

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March 2010 can suck a big fat one.

It has essentially not snowed in a month any where in New England. During what has historically been a month of big dumps. Two years in a row March has not only failed to deliver but this March is full of fail in the most epic of proportions. Put this March in the record books for all the wrong reasons and let us never revisit the subject again.

At least April will begin with a big fat weekend of sunshine. But even after recovering from a deluge, we go from famine to excessively gorged heifer with temperatures forecasted to be pushing towards nearly eighty degrees at bases making for a big fat slushy mess and melting snow without a corn cycle.

Seriously?