I blogged earlier today about the center of gravity in American society shifting away from rural, northern places like ours.

That was sort of the wonky, intellectual take on things.  The more gut-level aspect of seeing our nation transform into a sun-centered culture is that we hold-outs realize just how much they're missing.

I'm thinking, of course, about Saranac Lake's just-finished Winter Carnival, which was the best and most memorable of my thirteen years here.

This isn't just a way of enduring winter.  It is a celebration of it, a delight of ice and frost and companionship and music.

It didn't hurt that we had brilliant weather this year, with the slush and rain holding off until the day after Carnival wrapped up.

It also didn't hurt that we had a great theme — Medieval Madness — which meant knights on horseback riding in the parade and some of the coolest costumes ever.

Every so often as we watch the rest of America drifting off toward their beaches and their 120-degree summers, it feels good to be able to point to our traditions and say, On a lot of days, it really is better here.

The Adirondack Daily Enterprise reported yesterday on two men forced to spend the night in a snow cave on Dix Mountain.

When darkness and heavy snow arrived, they built a snow cave and spent the night. In the morning they skied down the drainage to the South Fork of the Boquet River.

The search for the men began early Sunday morning after they were reported missing at 12:30 a.m. by a friend who said the pair hadn't returned from a skiing trip to the Dix Mountain slides.

Meanwhile, the New Market Press is reporting a record number of skiers going lost this year at ski resorts in Vermont.

On Jan. 31, at 1:32 p.m., the VSP Search and Rescue at Killington finally located Gustavo Oascar Iriarte, 45, of Lyndhurst, N.J.

Iriarter, one of eight skiers reported missing and later found within the past week, was found in Mendon near Brewers Corner. The skier, suffering from some exposure, was found on a snowmobile trail. He had been missing approximately 12 hours.

Iriarte reported that he had suffered from cold hands and toes. He was transported to Rutland Regional Medical Center for medical evaluation.

WCAX is reporting that a ninth skier had to be rescued at Pico Mountain.

Vermont State Police say 24-year-old Greg Zagar, of Clinton, N.Y., was skiing with a group of friends at 12:30 on Thursday afternoon when they went out of bounds off Upper Giant Killer and he got lost.

A friend notified ski patrol that Zagar was missing at 2 p.m.

I guess when there's this much powder, people just can't help themselves, right?  I skied into Avalanche Pass two days ago and conditions were as good as I've ever seen them.  But then…I had a back trail to follow home.