SallyCat

I figure wherever you live, city or country, your local hospital is about to become overwhelmed. It's going to be a nightmare everywhere. At least here in VT it's easier to spread out and we're not all touching the same subway pole. Plus the locals here aren't exactly being responsible all the time, either. I was booted off the Backcountry Touring in the Northeast FB page for saying that shredding trees in the backcountry isn't ok just because you are "local." If you're hurt you'll still need to be rescued by people who don't have adequate protection, you'll tie up an ambulance for hours and take already-exhausted staff away from other patients. Some dude said all the naysayers were just "jealous" of everyone who was "getting some", and I was like hey brah, I don't want to drown in my own lung fluid because you can't stay home for a few weeks. I don't regret saying it and don't really care about being booted, but I hate that there's a whole FB group saying it's ok to be selfish and irresponsible if you're a local.

I hate that "locals vs. outsiders" mentality; I mean the state's biggest economic sector is tourism after all. There are tons of people here in my town waiting this thing out in their vacation homes; I don't blame them and haven't heard much of any local griping about it either. They're ordering take-out from local restaurants and supporting our general store. I think it's just that whether you're local or a visitor, try to make good decisions and don't unnecessarily create a burden on the system right now.

Winter wonderland up here, but it's falling on bare ground. Resort trails still have snow, but obviously it's not being groomed so it can be pretty bulletproof depending on the weather. There's been a push to discourage people from skiing at closed resorts or in the backcountry, the logic being that if you hurt yourself you'll be a drain on medical resources and cause more exposure. Our hospitals and grocery stores are small and wiped out and even Dartmouth-Hitchcock is asking people to sew masks for them because they have no protective supplies. There is definitely a strong current of hostility toward people coming up from out of state to play outside up here. I don't have a dog in that fight, but just be aware that people may not be happy to see you driving around Vermont with Jersey plates and skis in the car these days.

Shoot, if any of my current juvenile-delinquent students came as close in their spelling as "tracks" I would throw them a f-ing Mardi Gras parade. My standards have dropped.

Didn't ski at Jay alas. I ran a 5-day ski safari for a group of five kids and we went to Gunstock, Cannon, and Bolton x2. By the end of the day Thursday they were pretty spent and the temps were brutal Friday, so we decided to end the week with the waterpark. The skiing at Bolton was phenomenal. We had fresh snow both days and there was tons of tree skiing available; I really love that place. I'm not a confident woods skier but I loved the ungroomed trails that bumped up a bit. Sounds like @mbike-ski is doing a killer beer safari, too! Jealous!

Oh god the waterpark. Took some students there yesterday and still haven't recovered; so loud...so crowded. But really my biggest complaint was that I had to be sober because I was working. 😪 The flow rider looked really fun! Why are water park hot tubs never hot? The view of Jay and the Greens coming in from the east was worth the whole trip. Spectacular. Happy shredding!

If you want to come to NH/VT by car or plane, go for it. Your Peak Pass is good at Crotched, Mt. Snow, Attitash, and Wildcat. That would make for a good North--south driving safari. Mt. Snow probably has the best snow of all four right now. It's been a grim winter up here so far unless you like boilerplate and holiday crowds. Vermont has WAY better beer than NH, but any ski area is going to be reasonably near a brewpub. If you need nightlife beyond that you haven't skied hard enough. BUT: if you fly in and rent a car, it won't have winter tires and trust me, you want winter fucking tires up here. Don't believe anyone who tells you that AWD with "all season" tires is fine. I spend a lot of my free time treating those people after they slide across oncoming lanes and/or into ditches and trees. But I kind of agree with the fly-out-west argument, maybe with a couple of short connecting flights to break things up and some medical help to relax. You may not want chemical assistance, but also nobody wants to be on a plane with someone who's hysterical, so just have a big ol' pot gummy before you get on the plane and wean yourself off the drugs as you get more used to flying. Flying is an irrational act; there's no moral victory in "toughing it out" sober when there is help available to overcome your perfectly reasonable fear.

Me, too! I would see anything with Will Ferrell and JLD. It's just funny to imagine a comic American remake of Force Majeure. The original was brilliant because it was SOOOOOO quietly, painfully awkward. Will be fun to compare the two.

Also, good god, are those will Ferrell's real bottom teeth?

^ That's a remake/ripoff of Force Majeure.

Opening day at Cannon yesterday. I recognized the conditions right away: "Mid-January Poconos After a Freeze-Thaw Cycle". By 9:30 am the upper trails were scraped-off boilerplate in and out of deep shadow, and the trails that actually had snow were horribly rutted and covered in chicken-head scree. And it was super crowded. Gosh, I was almost homesick! 🙄

Yep. Tuition is $80,000 a year, but if you enroll in January you'll get a bargain 50% off!

A big, ugly, cinderblock pig.

I can't believe I didn't know this, but Bretton Woods has night skiing on weekends until 8pm. I'm super psyched, because that means I can ski on Friday afternoons/evenings. Also, we have three "elective weeks" at my school throughout the year, where you can teach an eclectic class or do something outdoors (mountain biking, rock climbing, etc.). So right away I submitted a proposal for the February electives week: "Ski every day, all day. End of proposal." It was approved!

Nice! It's gorgeous here right now. The humidity broke about a week ago and it's been clear days and crisp nights ever since. There were some yellow leaves on my front step this morning. Next time I go to Brownsville for the weekend I'm going to bring my skis back with me. Cool thing about living on campus is that if there's a snow dump, I can get up early and get in a skin-and-ski on the small mountain right across the street.