It's All Downhill: Ski companions

[View web version]( [It's All Downhill. The latest from the slopes of New England and beyone by Matt Pepin] Sunday, December 23 | [Follow Matt Pepin on Twitter]( GAME ON Right after the holidays is when ski season really gets going for me. I usually get in one early season outing each year, then wait for my favorite month to ski, January. That has me thinking about the people I'm going to be skiing with. One's a boarder, and a pretty good one at that, hard to keep up with. My ski (and golf) buddy. My family. There's nothing I look forward to more than my annual buddy trip, usually just a couple days of eating indulgently, drinking good beer, and fast skiing. Family days are likewise so euphoric, from the alarm clock to the apres-ski beer. We always celebrate my daughter's January birthday on the slopes of her choice (or sometimes the most logical/economical place to go). There are races, and there are slow strolls down easy groomers. An often amazing family lunch. Last chair. Acquaintances are a whole other kind of skiing. Pseudo-business meetings at a lodge followed by some runs together can be a very effective way to connect on a professional level. I've run into old friends at New England mountains, I've skied with colleagues to take our conversations beyond the office, and I've re-connected with other family at mountain meetups. One of these days I'm going to catch up with Jack Edwards at Killington to make up for the day we both were there, one of the best days of the season last year, and failed to recognize it until afterward. There are others: Random lift companions, the crowd in the lodge, the staff, the denizens of the lift line. They all make a ski area come to life, give it a vibe, give it life. That's what really enhances skiing so much for me. Man, I can't wait. Happy New Year. CLICKING IN KIND OF A BIG DEAL: The first 8-passenger chairlift in North America debuted this week at Big Sky in Montana. Tyler Allen has all the details [in a story for the Explore Big Sky website]( including video, and he provided the photo above from Bay Stephens for use in this edition of It's All Downhill. The Ramcharger 8 lift is part of a massive and expensive plan to upgrade Big Sky, which is very high on my list of places I want to visit. I'd think an 8-passenger lift with a bubble like this one, which also has heated seats, would be preferable to cramming 8 people into a gondola. TOUGH RUNS, PART 2: The second installment of Eric Wagnon's look at the toughest ski runs on North America [is up on Liftopia's blog](. Killington's Outer Limits and Smuggler's Notch's triple-black diamond run Black Hole are mentioned. NOT COOL: Two Vermont men [were charged with grand larceny after allegedly stealing snowboards at Sugarbush](. It's surprising that ski and snowboard thefts happen considering there are cameras everywhere these days. I always try to put my gear in view of a security camera, but I also lock my skis at lunchtime because they're new. Kudos to the Vermont State Police for their work on this case. GROWING THE BUSINESS: Mount Sunapee's plan to expand was "re-approved," [according to New England Ski Industry](. The new approval was necessary following Vail's takeover of Sunapee. A GOOD LAUGH: Check out [the footage from a frenzied powder day at Snowbird in Utah from back in February](. Teton Gravity Research's post has both the skier point of view as well as a wide-angle view from below a basin about to be ripped up when the ropes are dropped. A GOOD START: The US Ski Team is enjoying plenty of early success this season. It doesn't hurt that Mikaela Shiffrin is one of the world's most dominant athletes right now. [She notched her 50th World Cup win this weekend]( in a giant slalom at Courchevel, France, becoming the youngest to reach 50. Meanwhile things are trending up for the US men's downhillers, most notably at Val Gardena, Italy, where [Bryce Bennett, Steven Nyman, and Travis Ganong finished 4-5-6 in the Saslong downhill](. GIFT GUIDE BOSTON GLOBE SUBSCRIPTIONS: Allow me to suggest this if in need of a gift for someone who appreciates fine journalism. [There are deals available at our gift subscription page.]( Thanks for reading the Globe. [Subscribe to BostonGlobe.com]( [Like It's All Downhill? Tell a friend to subscribe.]( [Sign up for more Boston Globe newsletters.]( [Like It's All Downhill? Tell a friend to subscribe.]( [Sign up for more Boston Globe newsletters.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( About This Email You received this message because you signed up for the It's All Downhill newsletter. To automatically unsubscribe, [please click here.]( Please note: this will unsubscribe you from the newsletter only. 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