On the coldest days, curls of vapor dance above the lake's surface , painting a watercolor mist. While riding Lutsen's Moose Meadows charlift last month, I spotted a freighter moving slowly past the shoreline. Six lift rides later, it was still in sight. This is the heart of Minnesota's North Shore, a region that attracts huge crowds of tourists each summer, but is quiet enough in winter to foster deep introspection and self-restoration. Mountain, the tamest of Lutsen's four elevations.
Kids have their own real estate, too.
The goal is to give families a place where everyone can ski together, a slick trick on a hill that's only 350 feet high. All skiers are welcome to use the park with or without taking ski school classes. The stalk, which comes down from the cable at a sharp angle, is placed between the victim's legs, with the wooden disc resting upon his or her derriere. The advancing cable stretches a spring within the stalk to its elastic limit, at which point the transportee is yanked suddenly and viciously up the hill in a series of hilarious lurches. Instantly, male victims can yodel higher than ever before.