Skiing Adventures
Souris Striders Trail Map
Originally uploaded by blue_william. I drank a Rockstar in hopes of being able to write, but it’s really just helped me to avoid the labour of narrative in a more flighty, jittery way. Instead, here are some skiing adventures.
The other day I went around the perimeter (6km), and that was fine, and I got down all the hills without falling - skiing downhill with cross-country skis is much more difficult than it is with downhill skis, also you tend to have wider trails and more margin for error anyway. I even made it down one that was poorly tracked, where my right ski flew right out of the track and I had a heck of a time keeping my balance. I did fall, but it was on a fast, tight curve on a relatively flat stretch.
Today I did the complete trail (8km), and the conditions were superb - I needed the sticky white wax because the temperature was hovering above freezing, but I didn’t backslide much, and it was easy to stay warm - I even took my mitts off!
Naturally, on the last hill, there’s a sharp curve leading into it, and it’s poorly tracked and almost impossible to stay inside. I started the hill flailing and ended it with a face plant. In the course of the impact, I cut myself on my left thenar eminence, but it’s nothing serious. =) I guess I should have kept the mitts on, or put them on for the hills. Anyway, the worst part was watching the next two skiers whiz by me as I stood off to the side and wiped the snow off my coat and glasses.
I plan to ski at least every other day, weather-permitting, as it’s a good thing to do while listening to podcasts on my MP3 player, and Aunt Shirley says I need to go at least six more times to make the membership pay for itself. =) I like going alone, too, as I can go at my own pace and not have to worry about where my drive home is on the trail. There’s even a lit part, so you can go at night without a light if you wish. For a small town, it’s all pretty sophisticated, really.
Uncle Shane is currently in El Salvador; I have to keep track of his location so that I know how to answer the phone when people call looking for him. It’s a lot of fun to say things like, "Sorry, he’s in Honduras." Also, I am using his skis.