Skiing Accident

Accident. On my way to skiing, just 5 miles from the slopes. Accident, Maryland is a sleepy town in western Maryland. And an infinite source of sign comedy: "Welcome to Accident". "Accident Fire Department". "150 Years in Accident". You can't make this stuff up.

But back to skiing. I was returning from a business trip, and had a day of conference calls ahead before my flight would depart. But by now I had grown weary of the insides of my hotel, and wanted out. I decided to rent a car and have the calls on the way to the slopes. I only got an hour and half on the slopes, but I think the road trip was still worth it. Also, just the driving in Virginia and Maryland is interesting, once you get out of the downtown DC traffic jams. The roads go through hilly countryside and forests.

I visited Wisp, a small ski hill three hours from DC. The weather was snowy, cold and windy. The forests around Wisp had 10-20 cm of untouched, soft powder. Why is it always the case that in small hills no one skies off-piste? The base was a bit rocky, but the it was still fun. The ski area has prepared some of the forest areas for skiing; the rest of the forest was pretty thick. I particularly liked the trees around The Face, a steep run straight from the top towards the lodge. But there were also woods to the skier's left from Squirrel Cage. As you near the lodge at the bottom, however, the forest becomes impassable.

Wisp has 213 meters of vertical, and an amazing 12 chairlifts and 32 runs. Amazing, because I did not see as many runs, and only one chairlift. But in the weather it was difficult to see. And, interestingly, I didn't actually succeed skiing a single official run on my visit.

The lodge was a positive surprise for such a small ski area. There was a large cafeteria area, but also a proper restaurant with menus and waiters. And a hotel, on a small ski area! A sign outside advertised local drinks and local skiing. I can only agree to that.

Nice small ski area! Recommended. A small minus for lack of an open wireless network, however.

An interesting thing also happened during my visit that made me think about what my attitude to skiing is. I had sent an SMS "skiing is good" from the slopes to a friend who was on her way to the same flights and had joined the road trip. For some reason, maybe due to an error in international roaming, my message kept being repeated. She asked if there was ever a case that skiing would not be good. Probably not. On this blog at least I've never complained about skiing, no matter what the weather or snow or grass situation was. Skiing is always good.

Funny signs from Accident:

 

 

Ski local - drink local? Great principle!

 Lighthouse somewhere in the middle of Maryland? WTF?

Photos and videos © 2013 by Jari Arkko. Tämä artikkeli löytyy myös suomeksi.