Sun and Ski Day and Carl Johnson Memorial Race at Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center

Pinkham Notch, NH—On Saturday, March 10, 2007, Great Glen Trails Outdoor Center will hold Sun and Ski Day and the Carl Johnson Memorial 5km Freestyle Race.

Sun and Ski Day is a daylong celebration of sun and snow full of wacky games and contests ideal for the entire family.

Sun and Ski Day is the perfect day to remember Carl Johnson, a great friend to Great Glen Trails and a lover of all things skiing. Carl passed away last year of ALS. This new race is being held in his honor, and all proceeds from the race will be donated to help find a cure for ALS. In the spirit of fun Carl brought everywhere he went, this race will not only feature prizes for the winners but also a mystery time contest and prizes for the loudest tights—Carl's ski wear of choice. Great Glen Trails will also be selling wristbands to support ALS research.

Sun and Ski Day Schedule:
9:30 - Ski Pole Javelin
10:15 - Snow Golf
11:15 - Ski Limbo
12:15 - Wacky Beachwear Judging
12:30 - Chubby Bunny
1:30 - Carl Johnson Memorial 5km Freestyle Race

About Carl Johnson:
Carl was born on May 24, 1934, in Staten Island, New York and passed away on June 6, 2006 at the age of 72 after a yearlong battle with ALS.

Carl loved being outdoors and physically active. Excellent at all sports, he was an avid cyclist and the ride chairperson for the Central Connecticut Cycling Club, through which he met his wife Christine. Carl was a licensed racer for over twenty years. He was most proud of winning the Connecticut State Road Race and Time Trial as a Master. He also competed in the Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hill Climb seven times, winning his category once. His love for Mt. Washington and the Valley led him to take early retirement in 1989, when he and Christine moved to Conway.

As Carl would say, he then “played for a living,” as a river runner for the Saco River Recreational Council in the summer and a cross country ski patroller in the winter, first for Jackson Ski Touring Foundation and then for Great Glen Trails. He loved working with the tourists and helping them have fun while being safe. After a couple years, Carl finally truly retired and fully enjoyed bringing family and friends to the White Mountains to play. He loved skiing, hiking, camping, canoeing, kayaking, and bicycling and wanted everyone to know how much fun could be had without motors. He was a natural born teacher/camp counselor. In fact, Carl and Christine’s home was known by many as “Camp Chrissy Carl.” Carl loved life and advised everyone he could that “Life is not a problem to be solved but an experience to be enjoyed.”

About ALS:
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed. Yet, through it all, for the vast majority of people, their minds remain unaffected. There are currently no treatments that fully reverse the affects of ALS nor is there a cure.