Surf's up (and cheap)
Let's go to the beach. Summertime means paddling, sailing, rowing, and doing it safely. Second choice: hiking, walking, climbing -- all good, easy-to-get-to options for lots of people ... and cheap.

J Small
exegete@ime.net

Take a hike
After a long week at my desk-related job, my wife and I enjoy hiking whatever trails are closeby. News and information about day hikes would give us options we would not have known about.

BOB LEVY
rlevy@concentric.net

Take a bike
You asked, "What after skiing?" It was a short skiing season and that was disappointing, as I am an avid skier. However, I am also a 'regular' biker (as opposed to mountain). I have ridden many beautiful, dedicated bike trails in Ohio and Pennsylvania. I would be glad to contribute information/directions, etc.

Dorothy Yonker
Dortalina@msn.com

"Clikes" -- not a candy bar
Ski season is not over here in New England. There should be some interesting stories from Tuckerman's ravine on Mount Washington.

Anyway, the hiking season starts as soon as the snow clears (which is NOW). Challenging hikes (not just putting one flat foot in front of the other) are always fun to hear about. There are lots of interesting hikes with easy climbs around, and I'd love to hear about them. Maybe they should be called clikes.

Aleks Engel
engel@mit.edu

Mule Days and fish
I think you should do some stories on fishing in the Eastern High Sierra (Bishop, California).

Also, this area supports many trails, foot and horse, back country. There are motorcycle events, and of course, Mule Days. Bishop is the MULE CAPITAL of the WORLD. Many hang-gliders visit this area in June.

Thank you for your time.

Kim McWithey
kemba@mail.telis.org

The outdoorsy type
How about doing some reporting on great out-of-the-way places to do some boating, kayaking, camping or canoeing (or whatever suits your fancy for "getting away from it all?"

Faye E. Booker
FMACSIN@aol.com

Look in your own backyard
I think that too much emphasis has gone to escaping the confines of the United States in order to fill out the summer vacation season. Lately, I have been taking a step back from the town I live in and noticing all of its charm and beauty. The restaurants and commercial centers that not only bustle with business life, but are, in turn, pieces of our own world and a collage of all of the people we don't bother day to day. And equestrian vacations are always nice too.

xxoo
kevin

...Across the North and South to Key Largo
Pick a state a day and offer something to do in that state -- like camping, shopping, hiking, etc. Give detailed information on the event 'to do' -- such as how to get there, how much it costs, when is the best time to go there, what should I bring to do this, the usual questions people have about something new.

For instance, State:Oregon; City: Grants Pass; To Do: Jet Boat Rides. Or State:New York; City:New York; To Do: Tour the Statue of Liberty.

Do this everyday, so people can get an idea of what to do in every state. This will give them a variety of options, versus the usual ones of going down South to California and Florida.

Just a thought!

Mike Weigel ;)
Portland, OR

Keep it outside
Keep the questions to outdoor topics (Best B&B's does not fall under this). Question on mountain biking, full suspension or not?; How do you hydrate?; Anything on camping/backpacking (where to go, favorite trips, best equipment). There are enough possibilities to keep you busy until next ski season and beyond.

'Free your heels'
Open your minds. Ski season continues year round, if you include backcountry telemark skiing and ski mountaineering. Educate the public on this topic, or ask me, and I'll write an article for you. Telemark skiing allows access to incredible terrain, untracked skiing, endless adventures, and it's cheap! Free your heels, and your mind will follow.

Best dive shops
Enjoyable page. Think one of your topics for this season should be scuba diving. The sport is really growing. There are a million little dive shops around the world, and some really are better than others, and that information can make the difference between a great trip or a great disappointment. Possible question to ask, "Where was the best dive shop/organization you've used?" If you think about it, most people already know where they are going to dive (For instance, I live in Northern Italy, so I will dive either the Med or Adriatic near Italy). What I don't know is what shop or organization I will use when I get to a dive location. If I knew one was better and cheaper than another, I would use it. Now, the only way is word of mouth or trial and error.

King of the hill?
An interesting topic, especially nowadays, to be discussed at the end of any ski AND snowboard season would be the progress of skier and snowboarder relations, attitudes and on-hill ratio of one to the other.

Not through skiing yet
The skiing season actually never ends. From up here in the North, it continues right down under.... Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Chile, New Zealand, and South Africa are a few places where skiing will start in a few weeks. And if that wasn't enough, there are lots of places where skiing is still going all over the northern hemisphere. Alpine Meadows, Arapahoe, Bachelor, Mammoth, Snowbird, or Whistler are a few North American locations where skiing continues to make good sense. If you prefer Europe, there's a lot of skiing left in Austria, France, Italy, Norway, and Switzerland. Now if skiing should be mothballed for the next six months, why doesn't this column switch to hiking, mountaineering, or mountain biking? As for me, I'm far from done with skiing. I just skied today in Park City and with the cold spell we now have it was just great!

Going to the greens
Golf! I'd like to know more about the best public courses in different areas of the U.S., such as their difficulty, fees, accessibility, beauty, etc...Also. questions answered about equipment, the same way you covered ski equipment.

p.s. love your website!

Parabolics power?
The latest rage in skis are the parabolics. How about requesting comments from those who tried them? I am an average, certainly not expert, skier who spends most of his time on steep blues and I was very disappointed in them. They were incredibly slow and required poling as soon as the slope was less than 45 degrees. Yet ski shops indicated to us that, next year, that is all they would offer. I'd be interested in comments from others - not just the manufacturers' hype.

See Mike's Hikes
Consider helping people find resources on hiking and backpacking. The best place to start would be the Backcountry Home Page. Or even my site, "Mike's Hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park."

Mike Molloy

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