With the holiday season upon us and many of us traveling to visit family, we must take time to consider gratitude. Where does it come from? How is it sustained? How do you show it when you are feeling it? What can you do to find more gratitude? How does it affect us and others…

Sports were my greatest concern growing up, to the detriment of almost every other activity. I never considered choir or band or scouting or anything else. I was all-in with my sporting interests, which varied in degree between basketball, football, baseball, and track.  My personality was completely defined and characterized by my involvement in athletics.…

The first extreme skiing The ski school constructed an upward-sloping ramp in front of the Snowshed Lodge observation deck. We blew snow on it to maintain the right amount of surface needed to create a perfect ski jump. Two daredevils, Herman Goellner and Tom LeRoy, figured out that they could get enough speed to hit…

In the cold October air, my classmates and I gathered around the square oak board placed on the ground more than a year earlier. Carefully, we lifted it and peered underneath. Against the dark brown soil, two shiny lines caught our attention: salamanders. Both were Eastern red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus), the most abundant salamander species…

Grief is the price you pay for love. War is the price you pay for peace. Discipline is the price you pay for freedom. Nothing in life is free. Few people are willing to pay the price for what they want. Do they even know what they want?  People think they know what they want,…

Jacques Audiard’s musical thriller can’t achieve its lofty ambitions but still offers more than most films Acclaimed French film director Jacques Audiard delivered one of the best crime films of the past 20 years in 2009’s “A Prophet.” Audiard returns to the crime world once more, but this time, he travels from the French prison…

Standing on the berm of a small pond, I watch the resident beaver leave its lodge, a silhouetted nose moving through the water. It disappears briefly and returns with a branch in tow. The beaver clambers over the edge of its dam along a muddy path, a branch bouncing along behind. Despite the muddy trail,…

“December is a month of enormous potential. It’s a time we can all give and receive. A time when the spirit of humanity shines the brightest,” said Michael Josephson. Thanksgiving weekend 2024 was one we will not forget. At least 18  inches of snow, along with the excitement of World Cup will create stories for…

We floated along Upper Royal Flush, enjoying the fresh, all-natural snow beneath our feet. It feels so good, this marvelous gift of nature. Soft, rotary turns as we kept our skis flat on the snow. Using lateral ankle flexion, we can adjust our edge angle to the terrain, letting our bases float over the snow.…

I have a friend who lives just outside of a major city in the South. He’s done well for himself; he drives a nice car, has a lovely wife and kids, has carved out a successful career in the insurance world, and lives in a beautiful home. Recently, we had a conversation about getting older…

One of our employees wrecked our panel truck. The truck was totaled, but we were able to salvage the engine and transmission. We decided to mount them atop the lift house as auxiliary power for the new Snowshed #3 lift. We connected the engine to the main drive shaft with a chain link connector. A…

Some things can’t be hidden, such as the Moon, the Sun, and the stars. Try as it might, the truth also cannot be hidden, at least not forever. This is very much about this new era. As the systems and structures embedded in society’s fabric increasingly reveal their irrelevance, we will all handle this period…

By James Kent Catholicism and its many mysteries and secret rituals are on full display in “Conclave” (in theaters and on-demand.) The pope is dead. And the process of transferring the powers of God from one human vessel to another begins. Depending on one’s faith and knowledge of the subject, that process, the subject of…

The holiday season is upon us. Thanksgiving through New Year’s is a busy time for most people. Was it like that back in the ‘50s? Let’s take a look! Preparing Thanksgiving dinner took a lot more time and effort back then. There were no microwave ovens to heat the various components of the meal. Usually…

We’ve been riding the same chairlift up the same trail looking at the same trees for weeks now. We all talk about whether or not to choose Trail A or Trail B and then our minds are blown when Trail C opens up!  It’s a snowmaking miracle, giving credit to the combination of Mother Nature and…