THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE AIR

After 3 months of misery a new cold season is upon us. Was it really that bad of a summer? No, but I’d rather be dramatic about it regardless. Some people enjoy the warm season. Myself? I’m slamming the door shut and hoping it never returns. Don’t get me wrong, there are great moments every summer, but I grew up in the South and I’ve had enough heat and humidity to last a lifetime. In my perfect world, the snow would never stop.

Coming soon to a mountain near you! Pictured: Whiteface Mountain (2024).

Some of you may be reading this wondering why I’m saying summer is over. After all, the autumnal equinox is still three weeks away. Well, September 1 marks the start of meteorological fall, and for a cold-lover like myself that means fall starts today. Even if you don’t want to use meteorological fall as your marker for when the season starts, there’s no denying that fall has been in the air recently, at least in northern New York and northern New England. The sun is setting earlier, the days are getting cooler and the nights have even been chilly at times. Plus, I can’t forget to mention that football is back, which is a sure sign that fall has arrived.

So, with fall here, I’m writing this article not just to announce that my summer hibernation from writing about skiing has come to an end, but also to alert everyone that the time to start preparing for ski season is now. If you haven’t been physically active much all summer, you’ve got about 8-10 weeks to get into ski shape.

Now’s also a good time time to look over your gear and figure out if you need anything. Me? I for sure need new gloves and a new boot bag. I may even need new ski pants. Over the next two months, I’ll be searching for deals and doing a little shopping. These are things I’d like to have resolved before my first day, so I can hit the ground skiing and not be worrying about gear when I should be skiing.

I’m looking forward to riding a chairlift again. It’s been too long! Pictured: Sugarloaf (2026).

And, of course, we can’t forget about the skis themselves. If they’re damaged or just need a good tuning, I like to get my skis into the shop in early October to beat the rush. If they just need waxed, well, that’s something I’ll take care of at home. Either way, I’ll be pulling them out of storage in the coming weeks and figuring out what they need, if anything.

With all that said, it’s time to formally wave goodbye to the summer of 2026. We’ve finally made it to the other side of the off-season. The good side. You’ve got football, then the fall foliage season, then the first frost, then the first high elevation snow, then the spooky season, and then suddenly it’s November and all is right in the world; we’re back on skis.

Talk soon,

Lincoln