With snow covering the ground for the last few weeks, a Nor’Easter come and gone and last night a Bomb Cyclone winter storm striking a large portion of the US and leaving our area with temps in the 50’s yesterday and rainy/windy, essentially washing away most of the snow, followed by an hour of snow and then temps plummeting to a brisk 4degrees F. Our area was pretty lucky. Too bad the rain wasn’t snow!!! Wild. For sure. Winter is crazy like that. I now get to experience a completely different side of winter than I am used to.

As we watched the weather and saw what was coming, it was time to break in the skis while we still had snow on the mountain!

It’s been 23 years since I’ve skied. I was a cautious and slow skier, just happy to be on the slopes taking in the beauty. So, it’s been a minute since I’ve done this and I was fully expecting a learning curve as I brushed off the rust.

I didn’t expect the curve to start with just putting on my boots! GoodNESS!!!! Part of the problem is when I’m in fully gear, I feel like the stay puff marshmallow woman and navigating the extra layers AND snapping my boots on….oof. Humble pie. It was a lot easier when I tried these on this fall in shorts, tank top and socks. Anywho…..

Eventually I donned my boots and skis (also a comedy of errors) and skated/skied somehow made my way to the bunny slopes to re-learn the basics and prayed that muscle memory would kick in.

This is the point where I might as well have just been starting from scratch because my muscle memory appeared to be on permanent vacation and it was beginning to look like a long and painful day ahead.

I’m being generous. It was looking like a loooong winter ahead.

Poor Hubs.

Fortunately, at some point, my muscle memory showed up and remembered what to do. I sent Hubs off to do a few runs so that I could just practice, practice, practice before actually getting on the quad and committing to a run.

Things were looking up!

Once Hubs returned, I felt ready.

One of my favorite things about skiing is riding the ski lift—so peaceful, and a great opportunity to look around and enjoy the beauty of the mountain.

Of course, I had to actually get ON the lift first AND exit before a ski run could commence. Happy to report, this went smoothly.

PHEW!

For the most part I did well. It was the only green run open, therefore also the most populous run. Anyway…..ever slow and cautious, I was so happy and enjoying every second. And then I hit the last turn. A little narrow spot, slightly icy, and it took me a lot longer than I would have liked to get through it, but I did.

And so, we did it again!

And the second time down, it took me even longer to get through the turn—even came out of my skis. I was able to get them back on (after a few choice words) and finished the run. I demoted myself back to the bunnies for remedial turn work and sent Hubs off to ski some more.

Win-win.

The bunny hills are my speed. My form is fabulous. I’m able to scoot around newbie boarders and practice my stops with ease. So I finished my day there and we were both pretty happy.

The next day was a bluebird day and the mountain was calling. My calves had happily stopped screaming at me and so off we went, Day 2.

We opted for a blue trail that was very wide and much less populated giving me a good opportunity to not feel rushed and take my time and not feel so stressed about the narrow turn on the green run.

The Quad ride was gorgeous.

The beginning of the run was great. Swoosh. Skis down, turn, skis down, turn, skis down, turn. Stop. chat. Repeat.

The we hit the last stretch of the hill.

Sigh.

Let’s just shorten this up and say, that I caught a little more speed that I liked, fell a few times, had to put the skis on many times, and came away mentally bruised following a fight with my brain on my abilities and let fear take over.

When fear shows up and takes up residence in your head, that sucks.

And so, in the time that it took for me to squeak past fear and get down the hill, I saw at least one skier do the run twice. And that’s pretty accurate. And funny.

Sigh.

but I finished it. And I headed back to the bunnies for more practice.

Sadly, one of my falls tweaked my knee (although I didn’t feel anything happen) and I ended up putting the skis away for the day and people watched from the lodge while Hubs skied—with my full blessing.

(Mom, it will be fine.) Ice, Alleve, elevate, brace. I’ll just keep that up until I can get on the bike and start some strengthening exercises.

All in all, it was still amazing. I’ll definitely do it again when my knee is stronger. Until then, I’ll absolutely enjoy watching from the sidelines.

Y’all stay warm!

Peace