Surprisingly, ski club bus trips can be more than just an
efficient way to get to a mountain—the comradery on the bus can be fun—especially
on the way home. Knowing that a pro will
be at the wheel at day’s end means a stop at the base lodge bar does not carry
the guilt of irresponsibility. But on
this day in Quebec, it was the early morning bus ride that brought the bonus.
Riding high off the road, about half an hour outside of
Quebec City, New Haven Ski Club passengers
were graced with AMAZING sundogs
which led the bus all the way to Le Massif!
The seats full of (mostly) senior skiers exploded with childlike wonder at
these atmospheric phenomena which lasted into the afternoon, albeit eventually reduced
to a single “dog.” Formally called parhelia, sundogs are concentrated patches
of light that appear about 22 degrees to the left and/or right of the sun
(sometimes there is only one) and are caused by the refraction of sunlight off
tiny crystals of ice suspended in the atmosphere. They can be seen
anywhere, during any season, but are most common when the sun is near the
horizon and the air is cold. They can be like white mock suns, but sometimes
they appear as pieces of a rainbow—red toward the sun and blue on the outside.
What a way to start a day! Club members had endured an
8-hour bus ride from New Haven, CT and then a frozen shut bus and white-out
conditions that closed most lifts at Mont
St. Anne’s the day before. They boarded the bus that morning chomping at
the bit, anxious to ski! Conditions
turned out to be fabulous, and though negative temps made a chilly day, they
warmed up with rounds of maple whiskey from the shot-ski and north country
beers at the most welcoming of resort pubs!
For sundogs, sunny slopes and shot-skis; Merci, LeMassif!
(with thanks to Jozzi Pizzo)
(with thanks to Jozzi Pizzo)
