Originally from this January 25th article in the Union Leader

We Need The White Stuff

"We're seeding North Country tourism," said Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Janice Crawford. "It's a serious situation. We have a wonderful product - the ski areas are making snow, but everyone needs it. So we're doing what we can here and hoping to send some to Boston."

The time-honored adage in these parts is that if it snows in Boston, it inspires people to head north for a weekend - or school vacation - of skiing or snowmobiling, dining, lodging and shopping. Jan25 snow god 220px

At Schouler Park in North Conway, Carlene Sullivan, who owns the Symmetree yoga center, bravely cast off fleece pants and a wool sweater. Bikini-clad and on telemark skis, she offered a series of snow salutation yoga poses toward the sun.

Oddly, to the north, the mountains began to turn gray.

Then she was handed a silver flask, from which she sprinkled drops of water, which began life as snow from Colorado, a place that has had a near monopoly on winter the past few weeks.

It's all in the hope of turning the attention of Ullr (pronounced Ooh-ler), the Norse god of snow, toward the White Mountains.

Crawford threw out her own invitation for winter enthusiasts to head north.

"We're all sorrowful that the (New England) Patriots lost, but why not come up here and console yourself?"

Sullivan is convinced it will work.

"I give it a week," she predicted. "It's going to snow 13 inches next Tuesday afternoon."

And as if in acknowledgment that the plea of the ski resort town was heard and may be answered, a snow squall moved through town less than an hour later.

Snow god must have gotten her message

Bam! Everything's been coming up white stuff since.

"It's just been crazy. That first week I did snow salutations, we actually got 4 inches here, then 8 inches the second week. Now the blizzard," said Sullivan.

What started on Jan. 24 as a publicity stunt for the Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce in the midst of a winter tourism drought has become a daily ritual for Sullivan, who owns Symmetree Yoga in Conway.

"I've been putting my full attention to praising the snow gods, and I'm glad they actually heard me," Sullivan said.

She has integrated the snow salutation - a modification of yoga's traditional sun salutation - into her classes, going through the motions with students three times a day.

"When you count all the people in my classes who have been saluting to [Nordic snow god] Ullr, that's hundreds of us," Sullivan said.

"It's wonderful. I was out skiing today and conditions are just phenomenal," she said.

Although she admits it's all for fun, it's hard not to take her seriously, given her success rate.

"I just got back from Colorado yesterday, and it feels like I brought the snow with me. I'm getting e-mails from my friends there now, thanking me for the snow they're getting," Sullivan said .

There are other e-mails - slightly less enthusiastic ones - coming in from her New Hampshire friends who have spent the day shoveling manna from snow god heaven.

"Here's one, 'Enough with the snow dancing already. We're buried in Chatham.' Same thing from people in Madison," said Sullivan with a laugh.

She has no plans to give up her snow dancing anytime soon.

"It all depends on how much snow we get. If it starts making people's roof leak or causes too many accidents, I will back off. Otherwise, I'm going to keep it going," Sullivan said.

In fact, among the e-mailed messages she's been fielding are several requests to start her snow worship sooner next year.

"Yeah, people are saying I should get busy in November next season," Sullivan said.

She's already marked her snow calendar.

"By no means do I think I have power over the universe. But it's been interesting. In fact, I was actually thinking the other day about what might happen if we had a national salute to global warming," Sullivan said. "Who knows? Maybe we'd have a freeze-over."