We were kind of lulled to sleep this fall with the unusually warm weather. The ski areas struggled to get some slopes open in early December and then all of a sudden, the arctic fronts started to move south over an unusually warm Lake Erie. Record setting snowfalls(7 feet and counting) up in Erie, Pa. buried the city right before Christmas.The Laurel Highlands, east of us, have felt the cold weather and natural lake effect snow fall, contributing to really good ski conditions here in Western Pa. People are excited again for a real winter with cross country skiing, alpine skiing, skating and snowshoeing. In fact as the pictures testify above, this is the first time I have seen pond hockey in our area in a long time. Kids loving it, parents and coaches loving it. Winter has returned despite all the doom and gloom of global warming. But it has come with a price- record setting cold temperatures.

Now I try to look at the bright side, not just a skier and lover of the winter, but as a positive person making the best of what some would consider really cold weather. My friend the Shark always says, ” no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing choices.” It is true that if you bundle up, you can enjoy the winter. Take my pal Jaime here. Jaime just moved back here from Switzerland with his sweetheart of a wife Melissa, and has found a new resolve to start skiing again. He has not missed much since the cold started and has a smile on his face despite the frigid conditions. We both marvel at the “hero” snow where you can lay an edge down in a pressurized arc and feel the ski carve. The turns feel good, we smile on the way down, we both yelled ” Hero at Zero”. Hero snow at zero degrees F. You have to like winter in those temperatures, but Jaime Thompson and I have the place to ourselves up at Laurel Mountain. It is like our own private club and our name is not even Scaife or Mellon. And we are skiing the longest and steepest run in the State.

I am no stranger to cold weather. Teaching skiing in Maine like I did back in the day, I was used to waking to -40 degree temps. If you did not have the electric heated dip stick in your oil reservoir, your car had no chance of starting. I first skied with my best pal Eric Durfee up at Mad River Glen in Vermont one similar day when they were selling single lift rides because of the arctic weather. When we got to the window, Eric said, ” two day passes please.” The crusty old Vermonter in the ticket booth looked at us with his steely eyes and said, ” did you hear what I said, bub?” Eric said, ” I heard you. Two day passes please” I knew it was going to be a long cold day with this determined Vermonter, Eric Durfee, seen here second from left.

I experienced -40 in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan one winter when I accompanied two of our visually impaired skiers at the National Blind Skiing Championships. Due to the cold and the attrition of guides, I was eventually in charge of 13 skiers, helping to set the race course, and basically anything else that the promoters needed help with due to the weather. A hard week with hard temperatures. – 40 without the wind chill.

Nothing is colder than the Adirondacks in New York State, or Vermont in the middle of winter. Many days at Killington were spent with Eric and also our friend Mark Hutchinson who is a native of the Green Mountain State. The cold is one thing, but accompanied by howling winds on those peaks takes fortitude to withstand and ski. But again, we like winter and we like to ski, so you do what you have to do.

So, it is all in perspective. The single digit temperatures around here are not as bad as -40. It probably will mellow out a little here in a few weeks, but we all hope that this winter stays/continues like the winters we all knew and loved as a kid. If you have not skied, skated, tobogganed, ridden a sled, gone snowshoeing, ridden a snowmobile, maybe this is the winter to try it out or be like Jaime and become born again. Embrace the winter. The snow, the crackling fires, the smell of wood smoke from the wood stoves, the gorgeous views in the mountains are are beckoning you to come. Make the effort to start a new sport or rekindle an old passion like Jaime. Be a hero at zero. Thanks for reading.