The sun is just starting to rise.
A few inches of snow have blanketed the ground, and while much of the world is covered in white, life outside feels more colorful. It's early enough that few, if any, other people are out, and everything is still and quiet.
That's when Tom Gross most enjoys finding his stride — cross country skiing in his favorite, secret spot in York County.
Gross, a York Suburban graduate, has been cross country skiing for about 50 years. But he started out on downhill skis.
"I got to a point where I wanted to go where it was really good (downhill) skiing, so I moved to Colorado in '74 or '75," Gross said. "I was single, and I just picked up and left."
He planned to get a job in Boulder, Colo. But then a friend of a friend invited him to visit Telluride. …show more content…
It was there, in the downhill skiing mecca, that Gross was introduced to cross country skiing.
"Believe it or not, you downhill ski so much (in Colorado), you get tired of it," Gross said.
He loved hiking and getting into the backcountry. Cross country skiing was the way to access those places in the snow.
"There are 14,000-foot peaks in Telluride," Gross said. "But there are also big mesas that cover hundreds of square acres and they roll right up to the base of the
A few inches of snow have blanketed the ground, and while much of the world is covered in white, life outside feels more colorful. It's early enough that few, if any, other people are out, and everything is still and quiet.
That's when Tom Gross most enjoys finding his stride — cross country skiing in his favorite, secret spot in York County.
Gross, a York Suburban graduate, has been cross country skiing for about 50 years. But he started out on downhill skis.
"I got to a point where I wanted to go where it was really good (downhill) skiing, so I moved to Colorado in '74 or '75," Gross said. "I was single, and I just picked up and left."
He planned to get a job in Boulder, Colo. But then a friend of a friend invited him to visit Telluride. …show more content…
It was there, in the downhill skiing mecca, that Gross was introduced to cross country skiing.
"Believe it or not, you downhill ski so much (in Colorado), you get tired of it," Gross said.
He loved hiking and getting into the backcountry. Cross country skiing was the way to access those places in the snow.
"There are 14,000-foot peaks in Telluride," Gross said. "But there are also big mesas that cover hundreds of square acres and they roll right up to the base of the