Finding Nemo…My quest for a day of skiing after the big storm

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Sheryl Checkman

As a skier, hearing that a huge snowstorm is coming is usually a really good thing — unless of course it is scheduled to arrive right when you would be traveling to get to the slopes. This is precisely what happened this past weekend. I had been looking forward to a weekend of skiing at Mount Snow, Vermont for weeks. My plans were set. I was to drive up on Friday with some friends of mine. Then Nemo hit. On Friday morning it was still only raining in New York City so we attempted to try to make it up. We only got as far as Yonkers when the rain changed over to snow and the roads started to get bad. Not wanting to take a chance of getting stuck for hours or worse, my friends decided to turn around and go home. Maybe we would try again on Saturday. Disappointed as I was, it was the safe and responsible decision to make.

The next morning, my friends, having just gotten back from a week of skiing in Montana, decided to bag the entire weekend and stay in the city. Resigned to the fact that this wasn’t to be I headed off to a yoga class. But, after yoga, another friend called to say they were going to make the drive and did I want in? Drive 4 hours to Vermont for one day of skiing? You bettcha! We bypassed the still snow-covered Connecticut roads and opted to drive up via the NYS Thruway and had clear sailing all the way – a good omen for the next day to come!

We awoke on Sunday to beautiful blue sunny skies, lots of snow and comfortable temperatures — a perfect day to ski! My friend’s condo is right on the mountain so with a short walk across the road, I put on my skis and headed to the lift! It was one of those days that every skier hopes for – sunny, warm, not overly crowed – just great company and quad burning turns. After skiing till I just couldn’t make one more turn, we skied back to the condo and packed up to leave. A short trip, but oh so sweet!

No pain, no gain? Trying to keep balance skiing.

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Sheryl Checkman

A Yard Sale at Mt. Snow.

I went to Mt. Snow, Vermont this weekend to ski, chill out (and considering the frigid temperatures, I believe that I succeded). I’ve been working non-stop on my new t-shirt business so a weekend away, in the fresh air and snow was just the right balance that I needed in my life. Saturday started out as a beautiful, sunny day. It was cold, but without any wind, it was a perfect ski day. Now I am a pretty good skier, although I haven’t skied since the beginning of December and haven’t worked out much in the past month due to a nasty cold. I started my day skiing with friends on intermediate trails on the front of the mountain, terrain I know so well I can almost ski it blindfolded. No sooner did I make my first few turns when I noticed something off about my skiing. I could barely control my skis. Turning on hard pack felt like ice and I could not get an edge at all. Was I so out of shape that my skiing could have gotten this bad? Every turn was an effort and I kept having to stop to rest. This couldn’t be me!

Coming down Ridge Run, I felt my skis cross in front of me and I found my self heading head first down into the snow, hard! My friend Bill stoping behind me couldn’t believe how hard that I fell. Nothing but my ego bruised (so I thought) I got up and continued skiing. My next fall proved to be more of a yard sale. Again my skis tips crossed and I found myself separated from my skis, once again sitting in the snow. So unusual was this for me, that my friend Susan, felt the need to capture this with her camera.

At the end of the day I decided to take my skis into the ski shop and see if it was really me or the ski. When the ski tech took a look at the bottom of the skis after I explained to him what had been happening all day, he told me that it was no wonder that I was falling. It seems that my skis were sharpened too many times and in doing so, the edges were higher than the base, so I was actually skiing on two boards with no edge at all. The skis had been throwing me off balance! Well that certainly made me feel better. I left them overnight for stone grinding, where they grind down the base to match up with the edges, and headed to the bar for a much needed glass of wine!

Life is Balance "Keep Your Edge" Ski and Snowboard t-shirt

The following day, setting out on my newly tuned skis, I discovered that I wasn’t in as bad a shape as I had thought. It was like night and day. I was skiing just like I used to ski – effortlessly! Hallelujah!

It was only when I got home and woke up the next morning, unable to move that I realized just why I don’t like to fall in the first place! Oh well, nothing is broken and the spasms in my back will eventually go away (soon I hope) and I am looking forward to the next time. What I learned from this experience is that while the activities like skiing may balance our lives, it takes well-maintained equipment to stay balanced!

In Memory of Christine

Posted on January 21, 2010 by Sheryl Checkman

Taken Too Young.

I lost a friend this week. She had Lupus but in the end, it was a blood disease (unrelated to her Lupus) that took her life. She was 47.

Christine Stoddart was (I can’t get used to using past tense) one of the strongest, most generous, caring people that I know. She lived her life large. She was fearless. I think she had no regrets. She always said that she knew she would die young and wanted to get the most out of every day. And she did. She was a great skier and an incredible golfer. She was always the first person to buy a round of drinks. She had an incredible smile and the most beautiful blue eyes. Her favorite color was blue. She loved her family. She loved her friends.

In June of 2008 she married her husband Glen who she met on a ski trip to Jackson Hole. I was lucky enough to attend and photograph their wedding in Yellowstone Park. She moved to Vail, CO where Glen lived to start their life together.

When I last spoke to Christine, about 3 or 4 weeks ago, she sounded happy. She and Glen had moved into a new home, she had a job that she liked and lived in a place that she loved. The only things missing were the friends and family she left behind in New York. But living in a ski town, she knew that the distance wouldn’t prevent her from seeing her friends. She had opened her home to her friends in the past and was already planning how we’d all come out to visit to ski with her in March.

She was a good friend who brought light and humor into the lives of those she touched. I will miss her dearly. The world will be a bit dimmer without her.

Keeping her Memory Alive

Christine was an incredible athlete stemming back to high school, where she was awarded the Gold Key Award in her senior year. This prestigious NYSPHASS Award is presented to athletes who have at the end of their high school careers, participated in intramurals, varsity and junior varsity sports and demonstrate leadership skills.

Her family has established an organization, the Friends of Christine Stoddart, to keep her memory alive. The organization will raise money to establish a scholarship fund, and help refurbish the girls’ team locker room at her former high school, Earl L. Vandermeulen High School in Port Jefferson, NY. Donations can be sent to:

Friends of Christine Stoddart
c/o Susan R. Mickel, Chase Bank, 120 Main Street, Port Jefferson, NY 11777