We begin a New Year with our usual look back into the archives. The theme for today is an easy one to figure out, it's all about skiing. Dan Urbanski took us to the Porcupine Mountains with a shot of the Ski Lift back in 2001. Here's what he had to say about this picture:

I was excited to give my new Olympus E-10 a whirl this weekend. It was a crystaline winter wonderland for skiers at the Porcupine Mountains, with rime ice on the trees at the top of the mountain. The ice needles were reportedly 1-1/2 inches long. I didn't get a picture of that because I don't have a lift ticket and had only enough energy to ascend half way up the hill. Next time I'll have to borrow one of the Park's snowmobiles, and frighten a few skiers with my lack of riding skill.

If you could wait just a few minutes, I have to fix the page format here before posting begins.

There... now it's ok to post in the New Year. Always some kind of complication as the calendar turns over.

Happy New Year from the Pasty Central family.

Excellent pix, commentary and video...all fit for a "HAPPY NEW YEAR"!

When I was a young teenager I had a pair of home made Finnish skis like the young one 3rd from the left. They only had a leather strap to hold your foot on. I used to cut an inner tube to make a sort of 'binder' elastic that you put on your foot first and then stretched it from your heel
to under your toes in front of the leather strap. It would keep your feet in the straps pretty well.
It was sort of hard to make any short turns with them, but I had lots of fun with them.

I too had a pair of those long skis. My dad made them. I had lots of
fun in the winters with those skis. I never could get used to properly
fitted store bought skis. Those were the days! (Darn, now I got that
song stuck in my head). :-)