I skied today at the Craftsbury Nordic Center. Conditions were
generally good, with only a few obstacles here and there. The only
really serious obstacle I saw was on the "Grand Tour" trail, if you were
going counter-clockwise, on the switchbacks on your final descent into
Craftsbury village. Fortunately, for some reason today I was going in
the recommended direction, clockwise, so uphill over the obstacle.

Ordinarily I'd snicker at a trail name like "Grand Tour", but the loop
from the touring center to Craftsbury village absolutely deserves the
title. You have dense coniferous forests and wide open spaces, calm
flats along the river and (especially in the counter-clockwise
direction) a couple of screaming downhills, tidy trailer homes and
splendid country estates. Plus, you're actually going somewhere, not
just screwing around and around within the maze of twisty little trails
near the touring center.

This has nothing to do with anything, but it occurred to me today that I
have been neglecting to pad my fact-filled trip reports with enough
silly crap. Today, I found myself constantly singing the radio jingle
from a very, very dumb ad I heard last week on the way to or from
Killington for a company somewhere in Vermont that installs remote car
starters. To the tune of "Jingle Bells":

Car starters
Car starters
Press the button and go
Start your car
From oh so far
Melt up all the snow
(repeat ad nauseum)

Now you, too, can sing this, during your next grand tour. It helps if
you have a really bad singing voice.

I feel compelled to add that I do not endorse the wasteful practice of
leaving a car engine running long enough to melt up all the snow.

Lew Lasher
Stowe, Vermont and Cambridge, Massachusetts