Empty Chair

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2013 David Rocchio

Wind Cloud

Mt. Mansfield has it's own weather.

And now there are the new snow guns at the ski area, adding a human element, creating new weather of our own.

The wind plus the sub-zero cold make this season pretty real.

There is lot of talk just now about the 'polar vortex.'

We just call it winter.

David Rocchio lives, works and writes in Stowe, Vermont. (c) 2013 David Rocchio

Hut to Hut in Slovakia, plus other details you may find helpful ....

In my last post I expanded on my Backcountry Magazine piece on travel to Slovakia. In this post I outline some hut to hut opportunities for the totally daring and insane. I then list some other helpful info for the uninitiated. What follows is the nitty gritty for those truly going. (And you will not regret it.)

Writer's-Cut: Backcountry Skiing in Slovakia

          I wrote an article about alpine touring in Slovakia for Backcountry Magazine's December 2013 issue. The Backcountry team did a great job on the content, the photos and the layout of both the article and the entire December issue, the Photo Annual. It is beautiful.  You can buy it here and subscribe to Backcountry here. 

High Tatras in Strednica

           I love how they presented the article, but I am a writer, which means I have more to say, and exploring Slovakia, a relatively new country with a long past, meandered far away from the skiing. So read on for the 'writer's cut' of the story. (And click here for another post full of details on hut to hut adventures, average snow fall, where to go, and other details for the truly dedicated.) Enjoy.