I was at Whitegrass this saturday and I gotta tell ya, first time on cross-country skis, kinda humbling. And having to look around at all the backcountry stuff right at my fingertips, and not being able to access it - arrggh! The pain!

Really, though, it was a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to improving after all those years on alpine skis. Best of all, my wife, who did not enjoy her only previous trip to the region (to ski timberline), had a blast and is already making plans for us to return in a couple weeks.

John,

There are definitely some tele turns in my future, but I'm having way too much fun with alpine to try anything else right now. With alpine equipment changing rapidly, it's almost as if it's a new sport each year. Got my first set of twin tips, so I've got some experimenting to do.

Besides, I've heard that chairlift rides can be a lot of fun. I only thought that was reserved for trams. And helicopters.