It's All Downhill: The perfect mountain

[View web version]( [It's All Downhill] Friday, December 15 [Follow Matt Pepin]( [A winter dream](#) You'd have to drive down a long woodsy road to get to my ski area, if I owned one. It would be in a valley filled with pines and other trees, snow everywhere, and both peaks (it would be two summits that form a big valley in between) would be whitecapped. There one be one giant main lodge, kind of like Wachusett's long hall-style lodge, and the two peaks would funnel into the valley, which would funnel down to the lodge. There would be one ginormous parking lot, and the first ones to arrive would get to park up front. No fee. There would be a giant outdoor fireplace. It would have two eight-person gondolas, one on either side of the valley that would ascend to the top of the valley, then to one of the peaks. We'd never load more than six in a gondola. My dad, an expert on the host-guest relationship, would be the mountain host, perhaps greeting skiers and snowboarders (who would most definitely be welcome), or I could see him hosting fireside chats or reading stories to children in the lodge. My mom would run the bunny slope, maybe even learn to ski it. I'd have a lot of people working lift-line control. Nothing is more annoying than a ski area with chaos at every lift. They do it right at Loon, so I'd probably poach a few of their staff. It would be a naturally snowy place, and the summit would have an amazing view of nearby rivers and lakes set among peaks and valleys. It would be in New Hampshire, Vermont, or Maine. And at the end of the day, the first drink would be free. Good beer, hot chocolate, or soft drinks would be enjoyed by all in a common setting, the kind of lounge where kids can eat and chill and even run around a bit while adults have a little apres-ski. We'd have a nightly toast to Ullr. There would be no night skiing, but the big slope leading to the lodge would be pretty well-lit by the base lighting and an enterprising soul could easily walk up a bit for some night riding. We'd have some slopeside lodging, and I'd have a house on the mountain, next to one for my family, and there would be a village nearby but not too close. I'm not really sure what it would be called. Maybe it's better that way. WHAT A DAY: Faithful It's All Downhill correspondent Jack Edwards, who moonlights as the Bruins' play-by-play man on NESN, sent me about as breathless an email as I've ever received to describe his experience Tuesday at Okemo. "Every once in a while, you get the harmonic convergence and have to ride with it. Midweek. Two weeks before Christmas, a nadir of vacationers. A good base. A pretty-far-north rain/snow line, so there was a ton of energy in this storm, especially for every 500 feet of elevation. And just being in the absolute sweet spot of the storm for accumulation. Bam. It was freaking heroic." "I have had powder days all over North American, a few spots in Europe and Scandinavia and Japan. This stands with the best December days I've ever had." On top of it, he said it wasn't crowded at all. Here's a photo he shared - looking up the World Cup trail. [1okemo_jackedwards] CALL OF THE WILD: As backcountry skiing's popularity rises, so too does the corresponding number of things written about it. I've been keeping eyes out for backcountry stories because I am interested in trying it sometime myself. The latest find comes from Matt Ruby in the New York Times, [who writes about helping to maintain a backcountry ski location in Vermont ahead of the season]( as well as efforts to create more backcountry opportunity in New Hampshire. AMBITIOUS ENDEAVOR: Julian Carr, a professional skier and ambassador for the Protect Our Winters campaign, [launched a crowdfunding effort on Kickstarter]( to buy an ad during the Super Bowl in response to the US's recent decision to back out of the Paris Climate Accord. "Help us create an ad demanding that the US joins Paris agreement and moves towards sustainable energy infrastructure," the pitch on the Kickstarter page reads. LIFE AFTER RACING: Good one [on SkiRacing.com this week about Todd Ligare]( who decided when his racing days were over that skiing was still his primary interest for a career. The story of how he became a freeskier featured in eight Teton Gravity Research films is interesting. FOR THE READING LIST: A new book by Olympic snowboarder Kelly Clark, who is from West Dover, Vt., will be released Dec. 19. "Inspired: Pursuit of Progress" reviews Clark's impressive career. "I have always said that I want to leave the sport and culture better because I was a part of it and this is one way for me to give back and share what I have learned with the action sports community," Clark said. [You can pre-order and see more details on Clark's website](. [Like It's All Downhill? Tell a friend to subscribe](. [Sign up for more Boston Globe newsletters](. About This Email You received this message because you signed up for the It's All Downhill newsletter. To automatically unsubscribe, [please click here.]( If you wish to unsubscribe from all BostonGlobe.com newsletters, [please click here.]( Please note: this will unsubscribe you from the newsletters only. If you wish to cancel your BostonGlobe.com subscription, please call 1-888-MY-GLOBE (1-888-694-5623). 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