17 Year Hiatus

I can't tell you the last time I went skiing, but I know it was at least before I got married 17.5 years ago. I remember sitting on chairlifts at Alta next to old guys who would tell me that they hadn't skied in 15 years. I would nod politely and think, "How does that even happen?!" 

My group at work had a "Snow Day" last week. They provided a lift ticket, rental skis, and even lessons to everyone. How could I pass up on that?! I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I was so excited that I actually found it hard to sleep the night before. I even had crazy dreams of sleeping through my alarm and also nightmares of forgetting about the outing and showing up to work to find I was the only fool there. Happily I did not miss my alarm and was ready on time when my friend Kate showed up with her husband Mark to give me a lift to Sunapee.

I didn't get concerned about the whole affair until after my skis were strapped to my feet and I was well on my way up the mountain looking at the terrain. There was an eastern "black diamond" run under the lift that looked pretty manageable to me. Then the thought occurred to me that I possibly could have "lost it" over the course of the last 17 years. I managed to slide off the lift without any problem and just gulped and headed straight down the black diamond course. It just takes confidence, right? I've always made it off the mountain, even after spending a day following Uncle David outside the gates into some pretty treacherous ungroomed bowls. I wasn't going to let some hill in New Hampshire stop me.

There were actually several really fun glades of trees to ski through. There was a dusting of snow the night before and the temperature was in the high 30s and sunny. The conditions couldn't be beat.

Here's a pic of some of the group.

I'm the kid n the snow suit from 1995.

And here are Kate and Mark. They pretty much live to ski (and snow board). I get that. I was grateful to them for letting me tag along all day. I told them that I would go down anything, it just wouldn't always look pretty. They took my word on that! They really pushed my rusty skills. I was trashed by the time it was over, but what was I saving myself for? A big day of screening on Thursday? Seriously, this is the most fun I've had in a long time. I love winter again.

Thank-you Kate for the lift to the lifts! This day will go down in my memory as one of the great ski days of all time! We spent the return trip plotting our trip next year to a Keystone conference, either Big Sky, Montana or Lake Tahoe, Nevada. 5 days of skiing and a little biology? I'm in.