The first signs of snow on the local mountains in the fall looked like a dusting of icing sugar. I admired it each morning as I drove into work, and with every weather report declaring a few more centimeters of snow I got that much more excited to play in it!
…What’s that you say? It’s spring?!?
Alright alright, you got me, but you know what? Traditional folklore dictates that blogs, much like bears and marmots, HIBERNATE over the winter. Truth. So we’ve got some catching up to do.
We started our winter season with a trip to the ski swap, organized by the Ski Patrol, Search & Rescue and a few other local organizations. Hoping to score some decent used gear for our first season, we walked out of there happy as clams. The selection was great, and the volunteers incredibly helpful!
Before there was any skiing to be done, however, we needed to get acclimatized. Testing the new winter tires, I’m told, requires at least one burnout in an icy parking lot to make sure those tires are up to snuff! The inaugural snow angel is also critical, as it ensures that Boreas, the Greek God of the North Wind, smiles down on you and gives you a base of at least 400 cm to ski on!
It’s hard to say what the most difficult part is about winter. Growing up in an town that had 4 seasons made it hard to adjust to the annual cycle of monsoon and non-monsoon on the west coast, but on the other hand I don’t miss the endless months of slush piles and dirty snow in the streets. So… (and my husband will agree I’m awfully good at this – HA!), I compromised. Snow in the morning, ocean in the afternoon. Some wise soul once advised me that life is all about compromise… so what the heck, I can be flexible!
We skiied, snowshoed and played our way through winter. Feeling that the dog might like to try snowshoeing as well, we bought him some little black booties to protect his delicate little paws in the cold snow (I know, what a wimp…). Turns out dog feet aren’t really built to wear boots and regardless, Oscar preferred to race around in the snow, bucking and prancing and reveling in the glory of cold paws. Needless to say, those boots got returned to the store!
On the last, spring-like ski day, it was decided (not by me!) that I was ready to ski down a double-black diamond. For those of you who don’t ski, that’s code for certain death or paralyzation. So, being a god-fearing woman, I decided it was worth a try. After many panicked cries of “No really, I can’t do this!” and a long, painful shuffle down a slope with too many trees and too much slope, I got a congratulatory “See, you made it down a double-black!”
My sheepish response “Well I wouldn’t say I MADE it…”
“Well, you certainly didn’t ski it, but you did make it!”
Maybe next year, my friends, maybe next year. But in the meantime… let’s give a warm welcome to SPRING!!
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