A Rumor of Angels

N AT I O N A L R E V I E W/A P R I L 7, 2008 had no interest in the subject, but could not resist the Master’s prose, nor help admir- ing a man who had already been skiing for 21 years yet was still a keen reader of ski- ing textbooks. (Of those prior to the Evans book, Bill had no high opinion: “What is . . . ignored in textbooks on skiing is usable material on how to ski.”) I have never read a ski book nor taken a lesson. I suppose I should do the one or the other, or both, but it hardly seems worthwhile for such occa- sional outings. And then, something about old dogs and new tricks.

Our family ski trips are, like the rest of our lives, conducted on a modest suburban scale. A friend boasts of having been heli- coptered to the summit of a peak in the Andes, to ski down for hours through long miles of virgin powder. I have no such boasts. These busy northeastern resorts are all I know, and I am happy with them. The ingenuity and efficiency with which they cater to time-starved suburbanites is comforting evidence that a civ- ilized mass society is possible.

About the Author

John Derbyshire

Mr. Derbyshire is a former contributing editor of National Review.

N AT I O N A L R E V I E W/A P R I L 7, 2008 had no interest in the subject, but could not resist the Master’s prose, nor help admir- ing a man who had already been skiing for 21 years yet was still a keen reader of ski- ing textbooks. (Of those prior to the Evans book, Bill had no high opinion: “What is . . . ignored in textbooks on skiing is usable material on how to ski.”) I have never read a ski book nor taken a lesson. I suppose I should do the one or the other, or both, but it hardly seems worthwhile for such occa- sional outings. And then, something about old dogs and new tricks.

Our family ski trips are, like the rest of our lives, conducted on a modest suburban scale. A friend boasts of having been heli- coptered to the summit of a peak in the Andes, to ski down for hours through long miles of virgin powder. I have no such boasts. These busy northeastern resorts are all I know, and I am happy with them. The ingenuity and efficiency with which they cater to time-starved suburbanites is comforting evidence that a civ- ilized mass society is possible.