A weekend of ski racing just so happened to coincide with February’s Snowmaggedon. The snowfall report was 24 inches in 24 hours. An epic tally like that promises the kind of over-the-head blower powder shots that you’ll be telling your grandkids about. But there I was in a car with […]
What’s in Your Pack?
April 9, 2017 by Leave a Comment
It’s handy to have a backpack full of snacks, water, and sunscreen on the slopes, but is it safe to ride the chairlift with a pack? The story has already achieved legend status. In January at Arapahoe Basin, a skier wearing a backpack got snarled up on the lift […]
Head in the Snow
March 23, 2017 by Leave a Comment
The best way to spend Trump’s Inauguration Day was to ski powder with a posse of hard-charging women at Breckenridge. This blog is rarely political. However, I must admit that one of my favorite days on the slopes this season was the day Donald Trump was inaugurated. You know how […]
Crested Butte: Big Drops and High Speeds
March 17, 2017 by Leave a Comment
I was standing on the vertiginous slopes of Crested Butte’s double-black North Face with my son and his ski team this past February. Accessed off the North Face T-Bar, the area is like an enormous rumpled-up sheet, filled with steep cirques, cliffbands, benches, ledges, and chutes that plunge through […]
First Descents
December 4, 2016 by Leave a Comment
The first days out on snow don’t always go so smoothly. More than once, I’ve made it all the way to the lift only to discover a thick layer of storage wax on my skis. One season, my husband showed up at Copper with no ski pants. There he was, […]
Escape to Crested Butte
April 17, 2016 by Leave a Comment
When life gives you lemons, sometimes the best course of action is to pack up the car and head for Crested Butte. On Christmas night of this year, my 83-year-old dad had a seizure. It had been—unbeknownst to anyone, least of all him—precipitated by a raging gall bladder infection. His […]
P is for Panda
March 31, 2016 by Leave a Comment
There are five things I love about Ski Cooper: Pandas, powder, platoons, close-in parking, and prime rib nearby. It’s the perfect place to learn to ski and snowboard, get a dose of history, have an untracked adventure in a low-key way, and cap it all of with a mighty steak. […]
Loveland: Where Gore-Tex Meets Good Vibes
February 14, 2016 by Leave a Comment
A weird day makes for high adventure at Loveland Ski Area. Over the holidays, I had one of my strangest days on snow, including a cosmic run-in with a Buddhist monk from Fort Collins. This day will also remain, I’m convinced, one of my most memorable days on skis with […]
The Perils of Course Crew
February 13, 2015 by 1 Comment
At a ski race, whether it’s the 2015 World Championships or a Youth Ski League race at the local hill, spectators tend to focus on the ski racers. Naturally. But what of the volunteers who prep the course? It’s harder than you think. A few weekends back, I crashed in […]
What Bode Miller’s Crash Has To Do with Parenthood
February 11, 2015 by 2 Comments
Bode Miller crashed horrifically during the Super G race at the 2015 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Beaver Creek last week. He was having an sensational Bode-style run that put him 0.56 seconds ahead of the leader at the splits. The run would have landed him on the podium […]
2015 World Championships, Don't Miss It!
February 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment
16 Reasons to Drop Everything and Head for the 2015 World Championships…Right Now! There are still 5 days, 19 hours, 16 minutes, and 45 seconds left before the closing ceremonies of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Vail and Beaver Creek. Which means you would be wise to call […]
The Fudge Factor
March 1, 2014 by 4 Comments
Making good on a promise meant a very ridiculous day for this mom. There’s a very good reason I was skiing a week ago at Copper with an enormous stuffed bear on my back. Over the summer, when it was time to sign our kids up for ski racing programs […]
Breaking the Mold at Aspen Highlands
February 17, 2014 by 7 Comments
The irony of the ski race is that kids don’t ski. Much. But at Aspen Highlands, the terrain demands a new plan of action for race day. The last time I boot-packed up Aspen’s Highland Bowl, I was pregnant. I was skiing with my then boss, who insisted […]
Soccer Mom, Not so Much
May 7, 2013 by 19 Comments
Ski-Racing Moms: Support Crew with Benefits. Horse moms, swim moms, and soccer moms have nothing on ski racing moms. The proof is in the powder. A friend was recently telling me about the perils of being a horse mom. A corporate executive by weekday, she mucks out horse poop from […]
Lunch with Lindsey Vonn
April 4, 2013 by 2 Comments
A recent day at Beaver Creek meant girl power, inspiration from a World Cup ski racer, and a serious overdose of pink. When your child is having a pivotal life-changing moment, you wouldn’t necessarily know it. You probably won’t find out until much later. Certainly when they ask for money […]
11 Ways to Keep Little Hands Warm on the Slopes
March 22, 2013 by 1 Comment
Keeping kids’ hands warm is the Holy Grail of temperature regulation when skiing and snowboarding. When your little chickadees have toasty fingers, they’ll stay out longer and ski more—which means you get to ski more. It’s win-win. Try these tips, and if all else fails, wrap small hands around a […]
Need for Speed
February 4, 2013 by 5 Comments
Better than Band Camp: Steamboat’s Speed Camp for Ski Racers My tweenage son, who weighs in at a willowy 70 pounds, recently was clocked at 59 miles per hour. He was not in a car. Or on a bike, for that matter. He was balled up in a tuck, sliding […]
World Cup Ski Racing is for Kids
December 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Little Chickadees at the Birds of Prey If you and your kids have never watched a World Cup ski race live and in person, you need to add it to your family’s To-Do List. In early December, I spent the day at Beaver Creek watching a men’s GS race on […]
My Job as a Ski Tuner
May 14, 2012 by 10 Comments
There is a blob of red wax on my black leather Dansko clogs. This is my fault for not wearing work boots, I suppose, but still. The wax blob represents the indignity of my new job as a ski tuner. I can now add that to my resume, which currently […]
A Day in the Life of a Ski Racing Mom
March 13, 2012 by 12 Comments
Or “Why I sent out my holiday cards in March” There’s a good reason I mailed my Christmas cards in March. Really there is. This season we can count three ski racers in our brood. And as long as we’re counting, consider these numbers: Our 11 year old has some […]
