Day Three theme: joy
After the exertions of the last couple days, I was looking forward to a relaxing day just focused on having fun and remembering why I love skiing so much. And so that’s what I did.
In the morning, I focused on runs that were well within my capacity; runs where I could focus on the feelings of skiing, rather than on trying to stay upright and not moving too fast. Runs like Powder Bowl, a blue run dropping steeply from Northstar’s East Ridge into a swooping tree-lined alley. Or Axe Handle, another snaking and sinuous blue off the West Ridge; wide open with so many choices of lines to be taken.
Taking runs I knew I could do without any trouble really let me experience the thrill of skiing with no special exertion or fear to overcome.
Noticing feelings like the weightless moment where one turn becomes the next.
Or the sensation when you just
know the line the mountain wants you to take, and the turns it’ll take to do it.
The moment you notice your focus point on the next crest slow its motion across your vision as you reach the apex of a turn, and then accelerate in the other direction as the next one begins.
When the snow beneath you falls silent under the roar of the wind, and you’re no longer skiing; you’re flying.
Reaching a momentary crest, legs compressed beneath you, and then expanding them downward again as the ground falls away.
Skiing through a crowd of others, almost knowing what they’ll do before they do it, and changing your plan and your motion as they change theirs, flocking together.
These are the kinds of things I noticed, and these things are why I love skiing.
The afternoon brought a different kind of joy.
@kiranbot, a dear friend who introduced me to this forum, was in the area, and we met up to ski together in the afternoon. After the long isolation that COVID’s caused, it was bliss just to be in the same place, doing the same thing.
Conversation and silence on the chairlift; leading and following down familiar and unfamiliar slopes. Castle Peak. Sierra Grande. Challenger. Washoe. Prosser. Drifter. Sharing time and space with someone I care about, doing something we both love.
Last year, COVID came in and disrupted lives with little warning. Being near the people we love; doing things we enjoy, became risky and dangerous. It’s been a very long year; almost like last winter never actually ended. But today felt like the start of spring: a hint of joy starting to be realized. I can’t wait for the summer to come.
One picture from today (amazing how ski slopes let you pretend height differences don’t exist):