Where Do the Boots Go?
While skiing with my 6-year-old niece between Christmas and the New Year in the bitter cold East, I ducked into the men’s room to warm her iced-over mittens and helmet hood under the nozzle of the electric hand dryer.
This is not just a trick to warm little girl’s fingers. I have often stood side-by-side with men directing a quick blast of warm air into our gloves and mittens.
I am guessing resorts are not fond of this practice. Electricity is expensive and some areas provide coin or dollar operated glove and boot dryers. There is also the issue of restroom bottle necks around the hand dryers. For the record, I give up my spot to anyone who needs to use the machines to dry their hands.
Catamount Ski Area, located on the Massachusetts New York border, has taken action against the glove and boot warming trick by placing a sign over their men’s room hand dryer, but it left me scratching my head.
The hand dryer is a Dyson AirBlade, designed for hands to be placed from above into a narrow slot. An inside-out glove might benefit from some warm Dyson air, but how could anyone get a ski boot into this contraption?
Catamount Ski Area
Catamount Ski Area has 36 trails on 119 acres on Mount Fray in the Taconic Mountains. The vertical drop is 1,000 feet. Skiers and riders access this terrain via 1 quad chair, 1 triple chair, 2 double chairs and 3 moving carpet surface lifts. They offer night skiing on 15 trials.
Martin Griff is living out his ski bum dreams this winter, traveling around North America, both North and South of the US/Canadian border. A journalist by education and profession he shares his thoughts, impressions, experiences and those things that puzzle him Fridays.
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