Cross country skiing can still be done on the cheap and provides unparalleled enjoyment for millions of folks every year. Most people opt to stay with skinny skis and leather boots. The options are many: You got your ultra-lights, skate skis, race skis, carbon poles, and special gear enough to make you blush and broke. I entered the free-heeled world from alpine skiing. I like my heavy boots, that feeling of being locked and loaded, of carving tight turns and skiing glades. I also love solitude. While I could find plenty of adrenalin downhilling, untouched powder and quiet were hard to find.

Skiing regularly with an expert telemark skier, I was convinced it was time to make a break for the backcountry. A confident and very competent skier on alpine equipment, I was eager to strut my stuff on the wimpy slopes at the neighboring Nordic venue.

I opted for Karhu 10th Mountain Division backcountry skis over the skinny skis and had some burly Hammerhead binding slapped on. I paid about $200 for some high end Alpina backcountry leather boots. Going up wasn't too bad. I was grooving. The skis and boots were weightless. Granted, they felt a little flimsy. Ok, a LOT flimsy. As we switchbacked up on a green trail, I knew this was a sport for me. So quiet. Beautiful, pristine wilderness and not a lift line or a snowboarder in sight. This is IT.

Two sweaty hours later, I slid none too gracefully onto the summit of Bald Knob. I was now ready to cash in on some turns I had earned. "This," I thought, "is where the fun begins."

Not so much. Leaning forward in my flimsy boots with a free heel brought about predictable results. Superman I.

I gathered myself and my dignity up and adjusted. I leaned back and promptly fell flat on my tail.

For the next hour and a half, I weebled and wobbled all the way down. On greens. Groomed greens. No fresh pow for me. I couldn't even stay in a set track. I reverted to snow plowing and prayer. And I kept falling. The real workout for me was in getting up 20 or 30 times.

Wait a minute. I ski expert slopes. Bumps. Trees. Steeps. And I can't do this???

Let us bow our heads for a moment of silence in remembrance of my hyper-inflated ego. I made it back physically uninjured, snow covered and exhausted. I struggled to free myself from the tele-bindings. Even that's harder. After several moments of self-pity and self-flagellation, I traded my Aplina boots for some Garmont Excursion, hard plastic boots.

And I went out again the next day. The beefier boots gave me a modicum of control and much more importantly, confidence. The next weekend I took my stuff over to the downhill resort and started again. And again and again. I took telemark pointers from my husband. And I fell some more. After a few weeks I managed to ski a two-mile green without falling, linking wobbly telemark turns the entire way down. I wasn't finding adrenalin, but I was punching my tickets for freedom. What I gave up in adrenalin was more than replaced by finding endorphins and satisfaction.

This year, we passed on buying season passes at the alpine resort and saved several hundred dollars with season passes as a Nordic ski area which actually offers more vertical than the neighboring downhill venues. This is the year that Ullr, the Norse God of Skiing, has blessed us with epic powder. I am now skiing back country powder clumsily and haltingly, but I'm doing it. And every successful tele turn is as sweet as clover honey. I am now rewarded with both adrenalin and endorphins. I still strap on my alpine gear for some flawless runs at lift-serviced resorts, but there's nothing sweeter than earning a turn. Nothing.

So the Beginning of another season and I can only dream it's gonna be a good winter. The weather so far has been somewhat normal,I wish it was a lot colder and the snow guns were firing away everywhere. With that said lets move on to the subject at hand. The Boston Ski and Snowboard Expo at the baside Expo Center. I will be attending this Saturday Nov. 21st. It runs from Nov 19th to the 22nd.

I went last year and grabbed a bunch of discount and free lift passes, not to mention I won a free trip to the berkshires. It is not just for northeast resorts either, there were canadian resorts there, Tahoe region, and Colorado. I brought my 2 and 4 year olds and they had a great time. I cannot say enough good things about the Expo. All I can say is if you are a serious Skier or Rider you needto get there for at least one day. You'll save alot of money in the long run and have a blast while your there.

SO if your in the Boston area this weekend and want to see the hottest new gear, grab some killer gear discounts and possibly lots of free stuff, stop in. You won't regret it.

See you on the slopes folks Bryan

In the off chance you aren't familiar with Red Hat Society, it's an organization of fabulous women who have declared they will not go quietly into the night. Their gatherings are easy to spot...smiling jovial women sporting flamboyant red hats and vivid purple clothing. The founder, influenced at least in part by the poem, Warning, by Jenny Joseph knew instinctively perhaps that joy has its roots in play and breaking out of molds.

A refresher of the poem:

Warning by Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me. And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter. I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells And run my stick along the public railings And make up for the sobriety of my youth. I shall go out in my slippers in the rain And pick flowers in other people's gardens And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat And eat three pounds of sausages at a go Or only bread and pickle for a week And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry And pay our rent and not swear in the street And set a good example for the children. We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now? So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple. ###

I feel a kinship to all those who have declared that age represents freedom and fullness, where playfulness is our earned right and when we quit being ruled by the expectations of others and start living to our own desires. I'm all about that.

My "beef" is that most of the RHS meetings are lady's luncheons at tony restaurants. Forgive me if that doesn't strike me as actually breaking out of any "proper lady" societal constraints. I'm recruiting women who are interested in living a different life, not just the equivalent of a spectator "buying a t-shirt."

I'd like my own society of fabulous women...one that spontaneously meets at ski resorts and bike races and other places where we play hard and push harder than "they" say we should. And where we don't worry about sucking in our tummies, we focus instead on sucking in enough oxygen for the next run, wave, jump, or hill. I know you're out there...wanting to stretch your wings and quit being the chauffeur for everyone else's lives. Take a stand, claim your space, strap on your bucket (a/k/a helmet), and connect with your sisters-in-spirit. Look for the other women, especially those sporting huge grins. Say hi. Say, "Can you show me?" Say, "You new in town?" Say, "You wanna play?" But above all, say "Yes!!" to your own journey.

Look for Bucket Society gathering at your favorite venue.