Entries by Phil Johnson

Empire State, the Other Winter Games

Just as the XXV Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina Italy are set to begin February 6, some 2,500 athletes, coaches and officials will be wrapping up four days of competitions in Lake Placid and surrounding communities in the Empire State Winter Games, the largest and oldest continuous multi sports winter event in the US. This […]

Drowsy Driving

Christmas Day: it had been a great day on the hill skiing with my son, then a young teenager: good sunlight, crisp temperatures, plenty of snow on the trails, and modest holiday lift lines that meant lots of vertical. It was late afternoon, time to hit the road and go home for the holiday dinner. […]

It’s Everywhere!

If you have been shopping for cold weather gear lately, PrimaLoft is hard to miss. This ubiquitous synthetic insulation marked by a triangular red shield is now featured in more than 1,000 cold weather brands that cater to the winter wear market. Very likely it is an important part of your winter wardrobe now. What […]

CARPE SKI’EM PHIL

“Carpe Ski’em”,  the seventh and latest in the popular ski themed mystery novels by long time television journalist Phil Baily,  has hit the book stores this month (November 7).   Like his others, Carpe Ski’em ( a take on the Latin phrase for Seize the Day) is a hefty novel of more than 300 pages, this […]

50 Years the Wong Way

Ski the Wong Way! That  was the header on the classic K2 poster of a young guy with long black hair wearing white mirrored sunglasses; in mid air off a mogul;, in the middle of a jet turn. It was the early 1970s and the young Canadian from Vancouver B.C. was the public image for […]

Is A Custom Ski Right For You?

You have decided it’s time for new skis. You walk in to your favorite ski shop and there, lined up against the wall, are 100 pair or more; all from brand name companies you recognize. All are high quality.  But which one is best for you? Since this is a buying decision that likely you […]

Take Care of your Customers

For Bud Heck, the journey had an unexpected beginning. Stopping in for some after ski refreshment after a day on the slopes at Whiteface, Heck and friend Bob Moore struck up a  conversation with a fellow patron. It turned out to be the launch of a 60 year long career in the ski business. Heck […]

Getting Ready for the Next Olympics

If you were like me, you were glued to the TV last August, watching the Summer Olympics from Paris, especially the track and field events where American Noah Lyles became the “Fastest Man on Earth” by winning the 100 meter dash. The thrill of victory by one one thousandth of a second – 1/1,000 — […]

What is the oldest ski shop in the country?

A common answer to that question is Lahout’s in Littleton NH which was founded by Herbert Lahout who came to the US from Lebanon as a teenager and in 1920 started by selling dry goods from a horse drawn wagon throughout the White Mountains.   After World War II. the store, then run by his son […]

CADS: Where Are They Today?

Riding a chair lift last month, I saw them on a skier below. Ten days later, I saw them again, this time at an area 2,000 miles away. CADS…  Constant – force Articulated Dynamic Struts … the odd looking, butt-to-boots device designed to keep skiers with knee and other lower body strength and stamina issues […]

90th Anniversary of the First North Creek Snow Train

There was no Alpine ski racing at the first Lake Placid  Olympics in 1932 – the first downhill competition in the winter games was held four years later at Garmisch-Partenkirchen Germany. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t plenty of enthusiasm for winter sports in the US at the time and it was shared by skiers […]

And then there is Titus

High speed detachable quads, gondolas, six-packs and eight-packs, bubble chairs and heated cushions are all part of the growing race to get us uphill faster, even warmer. And then, there is Titus, an independent family-operated, family-friendly destination near the Canadian border in upstate New York. Titus Mountain Family Ski Center is a 1,200 vertical ski area tucked an […]

Concierge Skiing Comes East

What are your favorite thoughts about that upcoming ski trip? I’ll bet carting ski gear from home to the mountain and back is not one of them.  And sitting in a rental shop at the hill isn’t on the list either. There is an alternative. If you have never tried a ski concierge service, it […]

Slide In with Slide On

There are lots of moments we look forward to every ski season. Chances are, putting on ski boots for the first time each winter is not one of them. Last spring you cleaned your boots and put them away for the summer. Now, after months on the shelf or in the closet, those puppies are […]

The “New” Lake Placid Olympic Museum

Where were you, February 22, 1980? If you were like most of us, you were glued to the television, watching the USA take on the heavily favored Soviet Union in the semi final hockey event at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. Miracle! USA 4, URS 3,  in what Sports Illustrated among many others believe […]