The winter solstice on December 21 brings us our shortest day and longest night of the year, marking the official start of winter. With the pandemic making gyms and team sports difficult, many people took up walking, running or biking to stay active. But now it’s cold and dark outside, we talk with outdoor enthusiasts about how to continue exercising safely in winter, and maybe even pick up a new sport. And we visit the "home of the world's worst weather," the Mt. Washington Observatory, to find out how summit observers cope.
Airdate: Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020
GUESTS:
- Jay Broccolo - Weather Observer and Meteorologist at the Mt. Washington Observatory.
- Jay Davis - Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Students at Dartmouth College, where he directs the first generation student programs. He is also Head Coach of the Ford Sayre Bill Koch League Nordic Program in the Upper Valley.
- Liz Durant - owner of Affinity Fitness, a fitness and nutrition company providing online personal training, nutrition and lifestyle coaching.
- Jessyca Keeler - executive director of SkiNH, a statewide association representing 30 alpine and cross-country resorts in New Hampshire.
How to keep kids active as the weather cools and the pandemic rolls on
Some resources from listeners:
- A listener posted the photo below and mentioned "here’s alist of all the groomed XC ski trails in NH, from big systems like Jackson or Waterville to community trails across the state, and with crowdsourced condition reports. I can report there’s good snow near Monadnock!"
- Trailfinder.info is a free public website that features over 700 publicly accessible trails in New Hampshire and Vermont. The Upper Valley trails Alliance manages the website in cooperation with a number of public and private groups. All trails are trail manager and landowner approved. You can search by activity type, location, and difficulty level.
- Another listener mentioned theGranite Backcountry Alliance an organization focusing on reviving glades and expanding backcountry skiing responsibly in N.H. and western M.E.and NENSA, the New England Nordic Ski Association, an umbrella organization for Nordic skiing events in the region.
