EIA Outdoors Online
The Winter Revels: Unusual Cold-Weather Passions

A winter summit hiker on Mt. Eisenhower, NH. Photo: Ken Stampfer

AMC Outdoors, January/February 2002

By Madeleine Eno and Katharine Wroth

On a bright winter day, as snowflakes drift outside your window, you start daydreaming about getting outside. But to do what? Sure, there's skiing and sledding and snowshoeing — all fine activities that get the blood pumping and put color in the cheeks. But when winter winds start to blow across the Northeast, small pockets of adventurous souls celebrate in less traditional ways. These folks load on the layers and gather their gear — dogs, bait, ice axes, long-bladed skates, hot coffee — to do what they love. We spoke with four — an ice fisherman, a dog-sled musher, a Nordic skater, and a winter peakbagger — to see what fuels their passion.

Editor's Note: Click on the links below to learn about these sports.

 

Winter Revels: Intro  |  Cross-country Skating  |  Dog Sledding  |  Ice Fishing  |  Winter Peakbagging

Photo: Ken Stampfer