A walk across campus one week after the winter solstice reveals large patches of bare ground. This was the warmest December in recorded history, but the Pond has a thin cover of ice. All is quiet.

Quiet, that is, on the north side of the Blackwater River. Just a quarter of a mile across the valley from this vacant campus, snow guns are roaring, and the low sun never rises above Blackwater Hill.

Indeed, The Blackwater Ski Area offers a tiny micro-climate of mid-winter shadows, cold air and flying snow to hundreds visiting every day. Ski jumpers from across the state are here.

Dozens of aspiring ski racers are training through the Buddy Werner program, and Concord High School is training on the state's only cross-country trails in operation. This is the lift line at the rope tow:

Nestled under its own swirling clouds of water vapor, The Blackwater is a world apart. At a recent meeting of the Board of Trustees, resources were allocated for significant improvements, including wider upper trails, enhanced snow-making, more lighting (over cross-country trails) and the installation of a replacement T-bar lift.

We are proud of all Proctor athletes who go on to compete at the collegiate level, as many are today. The accomplishments of Jerome Dyson '06, however, deserve special attention. In his freshman year on U. Conn's basketball team, Jerome currently leads the Huskies in scoring, three pointers, free throws and steals. Named Big East Rookie of the Week, "Rome" has been nick-named "Slice-em Dyson" by the national media.

At the Big East Pre-season Press Conference, Jim Calhoun observed, "I know that Jerome Dyson over the last several days has done some very special things that only a few guys in the history of Connecticut have been able to do as a young player." Catch Jerome and the U. Conn Huskies on ESPN2 Saturday at 2:00 PM.