rod with the bob trailer directed me to this link

epic ski

it is fun to daydream that I lived close enough to this sort of stuff that the word backcountry could be part of my vocabulary

at this point I have to settle for the term ski lifts
ski lifts with long lines taking me up to short runs that consist of dirt, rocks, and ice
and maybe some corn snow
that wonderful poor man's powder

fun can be had
just be cautious about the patches of dirt, the occassional rock, and the massive sheets of ice
maybe this winter we will take a vacation in the rockies
but before that I most certainly want to go local
maybe even whitegrass

but until then we will have to be open to the local options
the local options that were always disadvantaged by being east coast are stuck in a warm winter trend
a warm winter trend that may very well be effected by global warming

it may have always been the nature of the east coast climate to have an occassional warm day in the winter months
it most certainly seems to snow less frequently and in lesser quantity
or did I just chance on a few snow filled winters as a child?

the temperature has been moderate for the last week in washington
quite pleasant really