Played
Yesterday was the official beginning of my 2006-07 winter season. I got up early after a fun Pray for Snow Party and drove up to Crystal Mountain for opening day. Can't say the conditions were all that great, it had rained the day before just about to the top of the mountian. The snow was pretty hard in the early morning, but the sun was out, and the people on the slopes made the snow turn soft in the afternoon. By eleven it was starting to feel more like a spring day of skiing than the first of this winter.
Looking back it was one of the funnest days I've had on snow in some time. Not because of the conditions but more the new atmosphere. It was the first time riding in 6 years where skiing wasn't a job. I always had personal days to go ski, but everything just seemed kind of different. I wasn't thinking about doing laps to get in shape to keep up with pros, worrying about photo shoots, or that somebody was asking me about my upcoming winter plans...
I also skied by myself for the majority of the day just listening to my music, enjoying the view, and getting my groove on. The back that I blew out early this summer didn't hurt at all which was an enormous relief. Come to think of it, nothing hurt, not even my bad knees.
I had a couple beautiful surprises during the day too. I saw this attractive blonde all by herself waiting to get on the chair and figured I should hustle up and join her. I hop on the chair, look over to start a conversation, and it turns out to be Jessica Sobolowski. Jess is a cool woman that I sponsored through HH for the last 5 years and she happened to be in Seattle for the Warren MIller show. She came up to Crystal and we just happened to run into each other. We did a couple laps, hugs, and laughed.
Then I met this guy who was skiing on one leg, with the two arm supports, and was 81 years old. His outfit was from the 70's but his smile and passion for the day was completely current. He told me he hadn't missed an opening day at Crystal the last 11 years and that he should have sharpened his edges this morning. He told me how great it was to be skiing and even if it was raining he'd be having a good time. He told me he hadn't gotten too much exercise lately because his wife fell down and dislocated her shoulder so he couldn't water ski without his wife driving the boat. What an inspiration.
The joy of riding the mountains is timeless and undiscribable to those who've never done it. There's just something about it that you can never get enough of. Glad the new season is here and I'm looking forward to going again tomorrow. I hope to see more people at Crystal tomorrow.
