Turns All Year year-round skiing                 Year-round skier:  Mark Lengel

How I got started skiing year-round:  During a trip to Aosta, Italy I wanted to see the North side of Matterhorn. I could either drive 4 hours to Zermatt or buy a 36 Euro lift ticket and take a series of trams & gondolas from Brueil Cervinia (South side of the Matterhorn) to the Zermatt summer glacier to get the same view. Unfortunately clouds shrouded the Matterhorn, however skiing in jeans, at-shirt and alpine rental gear in the midst of teenage euro ski team members full of attitude was priceless. Criteria for what counts as a ski trip:  Originally a minimum of 1000' vertical descent, after turning 40 I dropped that requirement to 100 Meters (328'). Snow optional, however so far I have not had to ski sand to keep the streak alive. Biggest threat to my streak:  Disappearing snowfields, severely dislocated shoulder. Type of equipment I use:  Trab skis, both Tele and AT bindings. Strategy for skiing through the low season:  Take advantage of easy access whenever possible, also visit different snow fields for variety. Worst and best backcountry ski trips:  Best: Too many to list - they're all good when face shots are involved. The annual August ski day replete with celebratory wine from Aosta generally provides good memories. Worst: Dislocating my shoulder August '08 at Alta.

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