Last Sunday’s paper contained an obituary that sent me to the bookshelves in my office.
Although many Maine skiers have read the words of Morten Lund, I suspect few know that he was from Maine. He grew up in Augusta and learned to ski at an early age. I used to think I was the most prolific ski writer from Maine. It was a reasonable assumption for one whose work includes over 1,000 pieces in six or seven different newspapers, seven magazines, and three different newsletters along with a couple of books.
Then I learned that Lund was from Maine.
Mort Lund started writing in 1954, almost 20 years before my first words appeared in print, almost 30 years before this column started. He wrote for Sports Illustrated, moved to SKI magazine in 1962, joined the new magazine Snow Country in 1985 and in 1993 founded Skiing Heritage along with John Fry, which he edited for 15 years. His 14 books covered sailing and skiing and I dug out one of my favorites, “The Ski Book” which he put together along with Bob Gillen and Michael Bartlett.
The stories in this book were written by a variety of authors, some easily recognized as ski writers and equally as many with no seeming connection to the sport. How about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? Did you know that the creator of Sherlock Holmes introduced skiing to the Swiss Alps? Other works include those of Robert Frost, Percy Bysshe Shelley (Did you know his wife wrote Frankenstein?), Ernest Hemmingway, John Updike, Art Buchwald and Leon Uris. Of course, there are names well-known as part of skiing, John Jay, John Henry Auran, Dick Dorworth, John Fry, Hannes Schneider, Warren Witherell, Nicholas Howe, Jean Claude Killy, Doug Pfeiffer and Dick Needham.
The opening piece by Lund is an insight into his gifts as writer and to his deep feelings about our sport. The opening lines of “The Mystery” read, “There is a mystery here, the mystery of a different world, and the mystery of an inner world, too — of the body and its fabulous capacities for quickness and compound movements, a final gift of the gods. There is magic in instinctive responses to terrain flowing underfoot, and in the confidence to leave earth and to experience time expanding in indelible seconds of flight.”
Every skier should read this entire treatise, as many will relate to his descriptions of our sport and the feelings we get when carving turns down a mountain, flowing with the terrain allowing gravity to propel us ever lower, yet always aware that we must control its pull with our technique. Morten Lund expresses these feelings in a way that few writers can match.
“The Ski Book” should be in every skier’s collection. It’s out of print but I checked Amazon and found it along with other Lund books. The Ski Book $4.68, Ski GLM $2, The Skier’s Bible $4.41, Skiers’ World $1.72, Skiers’ Paradise $4.49 and The Real Skier’s Dictionary $3.92.
I never had the pleasure of getting to know Mort Lund. I talked with him by phone a few times in 2010 when we inducted him into the Maine Ski Hall of Fame. At 84 he was unable to make the trip from New York and his brother Jon of Hallowell accepted in his place. Of all of us who write about this sport here in Maine or anywhere, none contributed more than Morten Lund.
HOLIDAYS WINDING DOWN
Now in the final days of this year’s vacation week, we are looking forward to the transition from early season to more regular operations at our ski areas. Nearly all of our areas have a high percentage of trails and lifts in operation, and that will increase almost daily as snowmaking continues.
Tomorrow night will kick off the rest of the season, and most areas will have some kind of entertainment. It will range from some music in the bar for apres ski to full dinners with bands and dancing. You can check the various ski area websites for details and to learn if reservations are required. Calling ahead is always a good idea.
As for New Year’s Day, it’s usually a good day to ski. Coming at the end of the vacation, many skiers will be traveling home. Other who celebrate too late to greet the New Year will be late-arriving on the slopes, and many will leave early to watch football. Those factors usually make this the quietest holiday on the slopes.
GETTING WITH THE PROGRAMS
Now that January is upon us we’ll be into a number of programs and special events. Racing programs are getting underway, both junior amateur and corporate for adults.
At Lost Valley, the Baxter League starts Jan. 3, and Skier’s Edge GS on Jan. 6. Multi week lesson programs get underway Jan. 8-13.
Mount Abram has a number of events scheduled, the most interesting the Ski 3 program for “Never Evers.” You will have to check this one for details, but it’s a season-long program with incentives to stick with it and comes with a season pass for West Side so new skiers can practice their skills between lessons.
Shawnee Peak has a long list of events, including its corporate evening races getting underway. Both Sunday River and Sugarloaf have College Snowfests and Children’s Festival weeks on the calendar. Look for special learning deals Jan. 11, for National Learn to Ski Day. Obviously, offers will vary, so check the websites. The big weekend in January is always the three-day Martin Luther King weekend, Jan. 18-21.
In addition to the various promotions, weekends find many areas with bands and entertainment for apres ski. It would be impossible to list them all, but most ski area websites now have good calendars so you can pick your favorites.
Finally, set your New Year’s resolutions. As always, mine is to ski more, with a goal of three days a week and 30 days by the end of March. Happy New Year.
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