On a given day on the ski hills, I go through such a wide range of feelings: excitement to be enjoying a gorgeous day in the mountains with friends; happiness to make it down a hill unscathed; pride when I improve my turning skills; an adrenaline rush when I'm suddenly careening downward faster than I'd anticipated; panic when I get lost on a mountain or the only way to the bottom is down a very steep decline; exhausted at the end of a day fighting the mountains; pain when my legs are tired of being pushed to their limit ...
This weekend in Fernie, an amazing ski resort in British Columbia, I attempted my first blue runs (the next step up from green), and got high enough in the mountains and deep enough into a mental ski zone to understand what all the fuss is about. The views and sense of peace up high in the Rockies are incredible. It would be difficult to reach such a height and such serene quiet by any other means than a high-speed ski lift - and even if you viewed the mountains from below, or gazed at a photo, or even flew overhead, you could never experience the same sense of wonderment that comes from standing on the side of a mountain with nothing but yourself to get you to the bottom.
I understand now that zigzagging through snowcapped pines on a quiet hill can be a zen-like enjoyment once you become comfortable on skis or a snowboard, and I'm looking forward to reaching that stage of my love affair with skiing!
Here's a quick video that Ben shot while we were going down the "Shooting Star," one of the longest ski runs around at 5km, and one of my first blue runs! Our friend Almudena is in the white - she has a bit more experience and is starting to look like a real pro. I'm in the red, going just a *bit* slower and very cautiously. This mountain was steeper than it looks!!
1 comment:
Hey Jen and Ben its blake!I recently heard
about a cool calgary band that you just might like, or not, who knows? They are called "the women"... i don't know much more about them but pitchfork said their song black rice was number 18 of the top songs of 2008... So if your interested they are playing friday at the Hare and Hounds, which I assume is a bar or venue, in Calgary. You can listen to their songs on their myspace: www.myspace.com/womenmusic
My dad just sent me a link to your blog, and I must say its good to hear about your life up there in the frozen north. I am having a rather different experience here in the 80 degree spring of LA. Apparently winter means fire and rain and some 40 degree nights in LA, but not much else. I am impressed by the fury of the cold you are living through...I'll be reading.
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