This past Saturday marked the first (annual?) Championship Mattress Races down the hills at Abenaki Ski Area.
If you don't know about it, Abenaki is the Wolfeboro ski area, started in 1936 by the Abenaki Outing Club, a group of Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro residents.
Abenkai is a great family hill,incredibly wallet-friendly, and it's now graced with professional snowmaking and grooming, thanks to the efforts of the Friends of Abenaki http://www.friendsofabenaki.org
Anyway, this past Saturday marked the first (annual?) Championship Mattress Races. And didn't the idea capture the imagination! "How will anyone hang on?" "How do you steer the thing?" Some people got real smart and figured if they clad their race rocket in plastic, they'd enhance their odds of winning.
Others were more pragmatic and saw the mattress race as a great time to get rid of the old mattresses piled in the basement, and offered generously. (We ARE still Yankees, you know. No need to pay a fee at the recycling center when you can do a good deed and grin.)
All the excitement got me thinking of other downhill stories.
Do you remember Mount Whittier Ski Area? http://www.nelsap.org/nh/mtwhit1.html It was off Route 16 in West Ossipee.
Well, one night after Mount Whittier had been closed in the '80's, a group of teens, apparently well-warmed by libation, decided to canoe down the main trail.
Uh huh. CANOE. Down the main SKI trail.
As I remember, some of the riders made it farther than others; some walked away and some did not. The canoe definitely did not medal in the Smith River Canoe Race the next May.
If you're an armchair adventurer, perhaps you remember Ethan and Maddie's tragic last run of the season in Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. It's a great, fast read. With a very unexpected ending.
Have you seen Glam's riff on the tragic Ethan/Maddie run? http://www.glamourinmudseason.org/shopping Our t-shirt and travel mug shots were taken right at Abenaki Ski Area last Mud Season.
And that brings us back to the Championship Mattress Races. Josh Spaulding, the region's sportswriter, was on hand to cover them. His write-up captures the perfect essence of Abenaki. http://www.newhampshirelakesandmountains.com/Articles-Granite-State-News...
What's your favorite downhill story? (Or maybe you have details to add to mine.) Please share!