So, about the title- I will get to that in a minute. But first, let me tell you, the opening day at Timberline down in West Virginia this past week, was nothing short of spectacular for a first day out on the slopes. I met my crew- Porter, Craig, Chris and John down there and we all rode the fabulous high speed 6 pack all day. One thing about skiing with friends with whom you have skied most of your life is that you know how they ski. No surprises, each person has his own style, line, and no one gets in the way. I have skied with Porter and Craig for over 50 years and John a little less. Chris I just started to ski with, but we all have that infectious enthusiasm for the sport.
Porter and I talk skiing all year round, even on mountain bike rides. We talk about the World Cup races, new equipment, technique and other various topics, but his enthusiasm is so very similar to mine. It is gratifying to have such friends who share a very important pastime in our lives.
So, last Thursday, I left the house at 5:55 AM and put on my Pandora, Morman Tabernacle Choir Christmas station and got in the spirit for the 3 + hour drive south. This is my favorite time of the year especially when there is snow on the ground. The Christmas lights, the decorations, the music, all get me going and the drive down is so peaceful with my music surrounding me. I pulled into Davis, WVa. just before 9 and headed 7 miles down the road to Timberline Four Seasons Resort. So, the post title? It outlines not only the conditions of the place, but also the name of the family that invested 15 million to bring this gem of a ski area back to life several years ago. The Perfect family is from mid-west and operates two ski areas there- Perfect North in Indiana and Swiss Valley in Michigan. Now, you would not think that these places are much for skiing, but there are record numbers of skiers who go there. In 2019, the Perfects invested in Timberline and it has been a huge success since.
Timberline has a lot going for it. First of all, it is about 1300 feet above the elevation of our Laurel Highlands. So oftentimes, more natural snow falls there and it is a little colder due to the altitude. Secondly, for skiers around the mid-Atlantic, it has over a 1000 vertical foot drop which give us just a little more elevation per run than all the runs in the Laurels. With a high speed lift, multiple trails open, and excellent snowmaking and grooming, we were able to rip off close to 30 thousand vertical feet with roughly 1000 vertical feet per run. The snow was so good I even broke out my new pair of Stockli Stormrider 88s and really enjoyed the way that they perform. It is not often that you break out a new pair of skis on opening day, but the area makes great snow, lots of it, and grooms to perfection.
Some of side features are things like the food. We went up to the bar to order some specialty sandwiches for lunch and lo and behold- they had a lobster roll on the menu. Now just having returned from Maine this fall, I had my share of New England lobster rolls. So I was a bit skeptical eating one in a ski area in West Virginia. But I have to tell you, it rivaled the ones we ate in Maine and I told the kitchen crew the same. Davis is a cool little town. Lots of neat little shops, eateries and breweries. It also has one of the best bike shops in the region- Blackwater Bikes. Davis is a great town for those looking for adventure all year round. Challenging mountain biking and also really good skiing at Timberline. White Grass Ski Touring Center is nearby for those who like cross country skiing. The Lodge at Blackwater Falls State Park is an excellent choice for lodging and all in all, you can’t go wrong taking the trek from Western Pa to Davis.
Our crew will be back and can’t wait to once again enjoy the challenging slopes at Timberline. And I can’t say enough about the friendly employees who are happy to share their mountain with you. And, if you can be with your buddies with whom you have skied most of your life, that is an added attraction. People wondered who those old guys were ripping up their mountain, but the friendly conversation with the lift operators, ski instructors, and the general skiing public was welcoming and encouraged us to come back often- which we will do.
If you want take a good little road trip, look no further than Timberline. It really is Perfect with no pun intended. Think snow and thanks for reading.
You know, you meet some real characters along the way when you have skied as long as I have. My friends from skiing are special, and I always look forward to reconnecting with them when the new season arrives. Some of them I see during the summer from time to time, and I always give them my tired old greeting…..” hey I didn’t recognize you with your clothes off.” But we laugh and catch up and can’t wait to see each other during the upcoming ski season.
I have also made some friends over the years by introduction from other friends. Like my friend from Vermont, ( now Tahoe), who introduced me to his friend from Vermont whom I always called Todd the Dairy Farmer. Todd skied with us at Killington from time to time and we also took him to Tuckerman Ravine back in the day. Todd was a big guy and kind of dressed like he was still working the farm in Vermont. Flannel shirts, baggy ski pants, and changed from cow patty stained work boots into ski boots. He didn’t say much, probably because I dominated the conversation like I usually did. But he was quiet and unassuming. But man did he ski fast. I learned in a hurry not to get in Todd’s way.
Now when you paired up my friend Eric, ( from Vermont and now Tahoe) with Todd, it became an unsaid race between the two and I always followed behind because you didn’t want to get caught in that fray. All of us in those days had 207 GS skis and never wasted any time flying down Cascade and Superstar at Killington, and all points skiers left and right. Eric, as I had always known, was very competitive. He still is. Todd always took up the challenge. The best part about Todd, aside from his competitiveness with Eric, and his lightning fast turns, is that he had already put in a full day on his dairy farm before he had met up with us. He told us his day usually started at the wee hours milking the cows, feeding them, cleaning the barn, with most of the work done before the sun rose. So, when Eric and I thought we were the tough guys being there at the crack of dawn drinking coffee before the lifts started, Todd had put in a full day. He was now ready to rocket some turns before he had to return to the farm. He didn’t say much, like a lot of Vermonters, but when he clicked into his bindings, it was game on.
We usually got a lot of runs in before most of the crowd made their way to the old K chair, and it is no wonder. I was always leary of someone coming out of a side trail and meandering out into our way. The closing speed would have been devastating to the approaching skier, and I always tried to be careful. But those two would never look and run after run, it was a race to see who could get to the chair first. Again, nothing was said. Even on the chair, it was small talk about the farm, life in Bethel, and in general conversations that had to be drawn out of Todd. I had no problem telling them my tales, but these Vermonters were pretty close to the vest. Then it was game on again as we rocketed off the chair lift.
We took Todd one time to Tuckerman Ravine and he had no problem with the camping, or the climbing to ski. I was not certain whether he had been there before or not, but Eric and I gave him our tips and perspective. But as soon as we climbed to the top and were ready to click into our bindings for our run, Todd was off and Eric chased him all the way down to Lunch Rocks where we stopped and got ready to climb again, and again. We thought maybe Todd would tire out with all the climbing, but we underestimated him not only for his fitness, but his toughness and skill, skiing lap after lap on very challenging terrain. Todd didn’t stay as long as we did during the week, because he had to make it back to his beloved farm. But he made his mark at Tuckerman, and with us, who totally respected the big guy.
It has been years since we have skied with Todd, and I asked Eric this past season if he keeps in touch with him. He said that he had not, but wanted to find out how he was doing. We talked about him on the chair at Diamond Peak, and rehashed the old stories of Todd. He was, and still is, kind of legendary in my mind. It is another example of people that you meet during your life in skiing. Sometimes the stories are embellished. But I have to say, with Todd, my memories of him are pretty accurate. I am hoping he is still skiing and still has his farm. Native Vermonters tend not to ski so much and leave a lot of it to the tourists. But Todd was an example of a native who loved his skiing and always put it out there in a big way with us.
I think of a lot of the people who I have met skiing. Interesting people who can’t wait for winter, like me. I can’t wait to see them soon. I have my locals, but also friends spread out all over in ski country. It gives me the incentive to go see them. Hoping we have a good season and remember to ask me to tell you some Todd stories on the chair lift. Thanks for reading and think snow.
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” Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him and praise His name.” Psalm 100:4.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin
My friend Pete always laughed and said that ” Pat rides a bike to prepare for ski season.” And in many ways that was true. I wanted to ride to be able to have strong legs for skiing. And although the ski season is fairly short for us in the mid- Atlantic, even with our trips, it still requires physical preparation to execute what you need in skiing. It is even more important for people my age, because we can’t just ski ourselves into shape anymore. Nothing worse than going on a ski trip and your legs fail you. All the time and effort is lost if you are not in shape. Buying the passes, making the air and lodging arrangements, schlepping the bags through the airports, driving to the area in the dark and snowy conditions. All is lost if you are not prepared physically. Same with skiing locally. The excitement of that first run and the rest of the day can be tempered if you have not prepared.
So fall is here, and for us, the best riding and hiking of the season is upon us. Yes- my crew rides all year with lights and in all kinds of weather. But it is important to keep the legs strong. I always wonder how the first turns of the season will go and if I can still execute after 8 months off. But usually I am confident that with a yearly riding schedule, and hiking mixed in, at least my legs will be strong enough. That gives me confidence when I push off for the first time.
This time of year, I start to get excited because I know the leaves have fallen and the first frosts of the season are upon us. As much as I like the fall season with the colors, the anticipation starts to get to me and I start monitoring the weather more closely. There seems to be a more urgent need to do my stretches in the morning, do my pushups, and keep riding so as to be totally prepared when the opening day announcement is made. As I have always said, it is good to ski locally to get your ski legs ready for trips out west or to New England. People who say they only ski out west really are missing a good time locally. And they only ski 5 days out of a year or maybe a little more. They are what I call people who ski, not necessarily ……….skiers.
Preparation is key so when you do travel, you click in and you are ready. You are not trying to find your legs the first few days of a trip. You would be amazed at the fun and progress you can have at a mid-Atlantic area. And talk about enthusiasm, just look to the mid-west to Michigan and you will see some of the most rabid skiers in the country on hills with vertical drops smaller than we have. They are second to only New York State in total operating ski areas. Skiing is fun no matter where you go. You can always make a fun day as long as you are turning and breathing in that cold winter air.
So we are all waiting patiently, or not, and hoping for the best this winter. Pete is probably right. I ride to ski and perhaps if you have not prepared the way you would have wanted, it is not too late. Enjoy the upcoming season. But remember what Ben says. Thanks for reading.
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So, a couple of weeks ago I posted about getting my wife Janet a new bike. She hadn’t had a new one for 30 years and it was high time to get her into the 21st century. She never rode all that much, except at the Jersey Shore, but with the new bike, she said” If I knew how much I like this bike and how much more comfortable it is to ride, I would have ridden more.” Lesson learned and now with a new bike rack as well for the Jeep, we have been taking advantage of the nice fall weather and riding a lot of the rails to trails systems around Western Pennsylvania. Jan has been enjoying her bike, and the early Christmas present is paying off.
So, one of the funniest things I ever heard Janet say was a couple of weeks ago when we were riding up at one of our favorite rails to trails- the Butler Freeport Trail just north of us. After the ride, I asked her how she liked it and she said” truthfully, it was an out of body experience.” I laughed at that one, but what she meant was that it didn’t really feel like she rode. The experience on the new bike was so comfortable, that she said she hardly felt like she was riding. It was………….an out of body experience.
I can relate to that when you are in the zone. Sometimes everything clicks. On a ride, sometimes you feel like you can ride anything and you are just floating along in a perfected state. I have felt that skiing too, when everything seems to be going right and your turns come easily and smoothly, and you feel like you are hardly trying. Equipment helps and finely tuned skis or a new bike that is set up perfectly aids in the feeling that is well,……. maybe out of body? Kind of a funny remark but in some ways, again, I can relate.
One of the things I have to hand to my wife is that in many cases, she is game. She may not ride the rocks and roots in the woods on her bike, she may not ski the steepest runs at an area, but she enjoys a pleasant day on the rails to trails and on the slopes. I joke that sometimes I have to crowbar her out, but she doesn’t like to miss too many things, and she is game to try. Once she is out there, she enjoys it and always says that she is glad she made the effort.
My friend Sue Haywood, the former professional mountain bike racer for Trek and Davis, West Virginia resident, once said to me that she wishes more guys would take their ladies out to ride and not try to hammer them. Nothing worse than having your lady come with you, only to struggle to keep up. Guys – keep the ego in check and encourage your lady. I try to dial it back a bit on the rails to trails and also on the slopes when I am with Jan. I want her to enjoy herself and come back the next time. Not too many miles, not too many difficult slopes, and the end result is a satisfying day and the willingness to have a go at it again. If you can make her first, you will have a wonderful experience together. Like I always say, ” no one is going to the Olympics.” Dial it back and enjoy your time with each other.
Looking forward to many more ” out of body ” experiences for Janet. Thanks for reading and think snow.
“In the end, it is not the years in your life that count, it is the life in your years.”- Abraham Lincoln
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