Eleven DCSki faithful gathered on Sunday, February 24, 2008 for a beautiful late February ski day at Pennsylvania’s Blue Knob Resort. The weather was perfect on a windless 35-degree day under brilliant blue skies and abundant sunshine. Twenty-nine ski trails were open; virtually everything they have at Blue Knob except the all-natural glades, Lower Shortway and Route 66.

The snow conditions on the slopes ranged from very good to challenging hardpack. The company was great with all in good spirits. The roster included JohnL, Jimmy, the Laurel Hill Crazy Family (Rob Kathy, Eric and Jess), August West (Gerard), Rod Smith (aka TeleRod), MikeC, Jim and Vince Kenney.

We had some very nice group dynamics all day, skiing en masse early and late, while also splitting into subgroups based on terrain tastes and preferred lunch break times. Very light crowds at Blue Knob made it quite easy to reconnect during the day. It was a memorable and photogenic mountain event.

Early morning DCSki Gathering at the Blue Knob summit, 2/24/08: Left to Right; Jimmy, JohnL, Mrs. Laurel Hill Crazie, LHC Jr, LHC, Gerard (August West), JimK, RodSmith.

Jimmy’s Atomics are nice, but Rodsmith’s mono-teleboard is a real rarity.

Mrs. Laurel Hill Crazie (Kathy) elegantly leads a swarm of DCSkiers down Jack Rabbit trail.

Gerard (August West) on Expressway showing how the over 50 crowd can ski with grace.

JohnL blazing the trail beneath Stembogen Bowl.

Jimmy charging another sharp Stembogen turn.

Jimmy, JohnL, VinceK, and MikeC just before tackling demanding conditions on Extrovert.

RodSmith displays fine telemark form on upper Extrovert.

RodSmith, Jess (daughter of LHC), Laurel Hill Crazie, and MikeC strike a pose above narrow Edgeset trail.

A big thanks goes out to the Laurel Hill Crazie family (Eric, Rob, Kathy and Jess) for coordinating a great ski gathering that just might have the makings of a DCSki tradition.