To Life! To Life! -- L'Chaim!
For three (almost 4!) years our skiis have been collecting dust - relegated to the dark recesses of various storage areas. This wasn't due to lack of desire, but to life circumstances.
Once upon a time, a single mother with three boys fell in love with a single father with two girls. They each discovered that the other not only knew how to ski but loved the exhilartion and feeling of freedom that comes with flying down a cold, snow-covered mountain slope. They excitedly talked about the breathtaking views from atop different mountains and the feel of icy wind as knees burned with the exertion of cutting into agressive slalom runs.
So they devised a plan. The father had already taught his daughters how to ski even though they lived in sea coast cities for most of their lives; and each of them had pretty up to date ski gear. But the mother had stopped skiing before her boys were even conceived due to the tyranny of her ex-husband.
That Christmas, the new couple outfitted the single mother and her three boys with their very own ski gear. They also purchased an old surburban large enough to lug 2 adults, 5 children, all the ski gear, (and a partriiiidge in a pear tree) to the nearest ski slope, Whitetail Mountain.
Everything was wonderful for the first couple of years. The children seemed to genuinely enjoy thier time together so all the expense, work, and effort involved with keeping up lift tickets, skiis, boots, poles, goggles, hats, gloves, snow pants/coats, long johns, scarves, for 5 children ... was worth it. But then the children became teenagers.
Each subsequent ski trip became worse than the last. The teens griped and moaned. Ski gear was 'misplaced' or damaged. The couple discovered that even though the children were now capable of packing, carrying, and caring for their own gear - it was still left up to the couple to take care of.
Gradually the couple started leaving the teens home, one by one, to ski on their own. But the teens proved untrustworthy to be left alone so eventually the couple stopped skiing. For a while, they tried to encourage the teens to keep skiing themselves by enrolling them into school ski clubs. But that fizzled too.
However - the story doesn't end there.
As the wheel of the year turns, children grow up and leave home one by one. The couple married and now have only one teen still living with them; who has proven to be trustworthy in staying home alone. But more delightedly, this one child actually wants to spend time with the couple ... AND ski! Woot!
So this ski season, the couple took advantage of a specially priced mid-week package at SnowShoe Resort, dusted off their long neglected - but not forgotten - skiis, and made their first run amidst fat, swirling snow flakes and dark green, snow covered pines. Check out Rassayana comin' down the mountain!
SnowShoe is a large resort on top of a mountain which is a reversal from other ski resorts that I've visited where you start at the bottom and take a ski lift to the top. But at SnowShoe, you're already at the top so there's no lift line for your first run of the day ;o)
For the first time ever, we went in style and reserved a room in Highland House which offers ski in/ski out access to the lifts. It even included a ski locker so that we didn't have to lug all our gear to and fro. We could just suit up, walk out the door, strap into our skiis, and off we went down the slope!
Our room was awesome too. It had cathedral ceilings, kitchenette, fireplace, sofa area, queen bed, and a balcony overlooking the slopes (which was Doug's favorite feature since he could conveniently enjoy his evening cigar).
Meanwhile, the other side of Highland House accessed Central Village which is where ShowShoe's nightlife is located. There were pubs, restaurants, boutiques, etc. centered around a village square with a huge bonfire for folks to meetup (or warmup!).
All in all, a very pleasant trip and a wonderful reaffirmation of life. I could almost hear my Dad's voice whispering approval from somewhere close by.
Here are some pictures of our trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21022390@N03/sets/72157603818838995/show/