Thank you very much bring attention to those of us who sometimes use our backcountry ski gear to "uphill" at downhill ski areas. However, after briefly mentioning one New England resort, you incorrectly stated that "the scene is tiny or nonexistent at Eastern ski areas." Actually, "uphilling" is so popular here that the list we have compiled of formal uphill resort policies (http://www.ussma.org/resort-uphill-policies) includes 19 (and counting) Eastern ski area that explicitly allow uphilling (with many more of the "don't-ask/don't-tell" variety). We also have a three-event rando race series at Western Massachusetts and Southern Vermont ski areas (http://www.facebook.com/NERandoRaceSeries) with three more races held at Jay Peak, Mad River Glen > Sugarbush, and Saddleback (http://www.ussma.org/events). And although the Winter Wild series (http://www.winterwild.com/) attracts multiple travel modes, many skiers participate: the first race of this season was won on AT gear, out of 169 competitors (all 169 of whom showed up to ascend and descend a ski area at seven in the morning, sixteen minutes *before* sunrise that day).