A Proper Introduction

Since this is the first of what I hope will be many posts here on the Snowblind! blog, I feel it's best if we get off on the right foot and get to know each other. Actually, I don't anticipate getting to know much about you, dear reader, unless you post a comment, but don't feel compelled to do so just to spare my feelings. It's no biggie and as you'll soon discover, I do enjoy talking about myself.

My history with Vermont, both in terms of skiing/riding and otherwise, is rich and varied. I grew up in the greatest bedroom community in the world -- South Burlington, Vermont -- where I quickly mastered the intricacies of suburban life: knowing whose moms had the best junk food, weaseling out of mowing the lawn, and calculating the dimensions of a perfect wiffleball field. These lessons continue to serve me well.

It was also during these formative years that my love for sliding down steep hills with planks strapped to my feet was born. My first skiing experience was at age 7, at the legendary Stowe Mountain Resort. In the ensuing years I stem christied, garlanded, and jump-turned my way down the venerable slopes of Bolton Valley, Smugglers' Notch, Sugarbush, Jay Peak, and the tiny hill in my friend Danny's backyard. From that very first day, I loved everything about skiing...

... until about 15 years ago, when two of my best friends said to me, "Hey man, why don't you try snowboarding?" They even offered to teach me, which really meant "take the lift up with us and we'll abandon you to your own devices at the top." But I took them up on it, and that was fine, sink or swim (or tumble, as it were), and after recognizing I was actually goofy and not regular (which took several weeks), I got the hang of it -- and I've been riding ever since.

As far as this blog goes, I'll be posting about pretty much everything that captures my attention in the world of skiing and snowboarding. It'll also be fairly Vermont-o-centric (Snowblind! doesn't get out of the state much in the winter.) Finally, if you can't believe anyone would be thinking about winter in the freeking middle of summer, well what can I say?

But hey, you've read this far, I know you're with me.