This has been an amazing winter. I'm really not that wild about the cold, driving in the snow or shoveling my driveway. However, one thing about winter is really cool. I'm a skier and have been since I was in grade school. In that one respect, at least, winter is prime time.
Do you know how sometimes you spend a great deal of money on a purchase and have a nagging doubt that the money has been wasted? That's how I've felt in the last few months. In October I bought new ski equipment at a ski fair. I thought I would get a deal on used equipment. I wound up in the new equipment area and found myself trash-talking the sales person about my "black diamond" (that means expert) exploits. Not the smartest idea. The sales person really sold me on about twice what I was planning to spend.
So buyers regret set in. As autumn faded and we began to be surrounded by winter an insistent voice began to plague me.
What if it never gets below thirty-five degrees this season?
What if I simply don't have the time to schedule ski trips?
What if I just keep procrastinating and find that I've missed the ski season?
I'm happy to say that the insistent voice was wrong. This has been a brutally cold and snowy winter. I've been unemployed for the last few months, so time has definitely not been a problem. And thanks to a friend who overheard me at a gathering talking about skiing, I've actually gone skiing a few times.
The most recent time was yesterday. I went to Peek'n'Peak in New York State early on a sunny and cold Thursday.
The crowd was non-existent, the snow was incredibly fast and I had an terrific time. I always take it as a personal challenge to master all of the terrain at a ski area. (Note: I'm not a snowboarder, so I don't do the type of freestyle skiing you might have seen on TV at the most recent Winter Olympics.)
Anyway, it was a great day and I got home exhausted. As winter recedes and spring takes over, I'll remember how my ski outings got the better of a legendary winter.
Do you know how sometimes you spend a great deal of money on a purchase and have a nagging doubt that the money has been wasted? That's how I've felt in the last few months. In October I bought new ski equipment at a ski fair. I thought I would get a deal on used equipment. I wound up in the new equipment area and found myself trash-talking the sales person about my "black diamond" (that means expert) exploits. Not the smartest idea. The sales person really sold me on about twice what I was planning to spend.
So buyers regret set in. As autumn faded and we began to be surrounded by winter an insistent voice began to plague me.
What if it never gets below thirty-five degrees this season?
What if I simply don't have the time to schedule ski trips?
What if I just keep procrastinating and find that I've missed the ski season?
I'm happy to say that the insistent voice was wrong. This has been a brutally cold and snowy winter. I've been unemployed for the last few months, so time has definitely not been a problem. And thanks to a friend who overheard me at a gathering talking about skiing, I've actually gone skiing a few times.
The most recent time was yesterday. I went to Peek'n'Peak in New York State early on a sunny and cold Thursday.
The crowd was non-existent, the snow was incredibly fast and I had an terrific time. I always take it as a personal challenge to master all of the terrain at a ski area. (Note: I'm not a snowboarder, so I don't do the type of freestyle skiing you might have seen on TV at the most recent Winter Olympics.)
Anyway, it was a great day and I got home exhausted. As winter recedes and spring takes over, I'll remember how my ski outings got the better of a legendary winter.
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