Water, Water Everywhere And Not A Drop To Drink

Some of us like to just wing it, especially if we’re lucky enough to live near the beach.  We just throw our boards in the car and hope for the best, looking for the thumbs up (or down) as we pass other boarded vehicles along the way.  If we get to the beach and there aren’t any waves, we’ll try again tomorrow.

Most people these days, I think, prefer to check surf reports (either online or by good, old-fashioned tele) before journeying seaward.

I guess I fall in between those categories, at least with regards to surfing.  With skiing, I optimistically gamble.  As I sat at the kitchen table this morning, fully dressed in ski pants and a crazy-thick sweater, I listened to the chilling wind outside.  I found myself deviating from my usual shot-in-the-dark strategy and wondering if you could, say, call up the local ski shop and get a real-time report of mountain conditions, as we do at the beach.

As it turns out, the snow equivalents of Magic Seaweed seem to be SkiReport.com and OnTheSnow.com.  They have about the same information on both sites, but On The Snow has a more comprehensive weather report, wind included, which I like.  If you don’t have a computer at your disposal, check with 411 because most resorts do have hotlines for the latest trail and lift info.

Okay, I know you probably knew this already and I apologize, but  I can only hope that it helps some poor sap, like myself, who finds the unknown kind of romantic, and occasionally just wants to know what she’s getting herself into.