Back in the day, there were two types of skiing — on-piste and backcountry. You were either skiing on lift-serviced trails at a resort, or you were hiking for your own turns on unpatrolled, often unmaintained slopes. In recent years a third option — sidecountry, or “slackcountry” — has been growing in popularity.

Professional team sports often generate intense opinions about player skills, and myriad statistic tables about pro ballplayers can support a claim one way or the other.

Each year the Alaska State Fair holds a moose calling contest, dubbed the “Moose Calling & Tall Tail Contest.” But across the Lower 48 states, nowhere but Maine appears to hold an annual moose calling contest.

The fishermen who gather at the Western Maine Fly Fishing Expo in Bethel next week will come together for more than a fishing festival.