January 2010.

WOW

It's January and we're having a brief "Thaw". It's not too cold today and the sun is shining. It could be a lot colder and more wintry and I'm glad that it's not. I guess that I'm officially "not a skier anymore."

I remember those days of being disappointed if it got too warm, because that meant that the skiing wouldn't be great for the weekend. In the Januaries of my youth, we never had warm "Thaw" days. Those days came in March or April (spring skiing). It really did snow from October until April in Upstate New York. We had huge snow storms and school was rarely closed because of that. It had to be a big snow event.

Back then...

Everyone skied, even me. I loved it.

My Dad was the person who got our family out and onto the slopes. It was an expensive sport even then--in the 1950's and 60's. He and my brother were training to be on the Ski Patrol. That was very cool and they got patches, if they passed the rigors of the program they might get orange jackets. Ski patrol went out onto the trails first, before the hills opened for the day, to mark the trails and be sure that they were safe. They did this on ski's not by snow machine like they do today. Emergencies were brought down the hill by skiers with cradle sleds.

There were so many great local Ski Resorts back then. For a few seasons we had a Family Pass to Labrador Mountain in Tully, NY.

My friends and I all belonged to the ski club at school. Our School trips took us to all of the best mountains in the area like Intermont and Song Mountain and occasionally to White Face or up into Vermont. We didn't need to go to Vermont back then because there were wonderful snow covered mountains in New York State. Saturday's we skied with the school and Sunday's it was with our family. Our Elementary School even had a rope tow on it's hill for skiing and tobogganing . (Remember rope tows?) That's where we learned to ski our first days out, at East Hill. It was even lit for night use.

We used to get up at 5:00 AM truck off to church in all of our gear, stomping up the isles in our boots and heavy clothes. We'd hit the slopes around 9:00 AM. I don't know how my parents did it. We would ski all day until we were exhausted, stopping only for hot chocolate and bathroom breaks. My mother packed our lunches and we ate them outside on the picnic tables or quickly inside the lodge. I can see the ski racks in my mind this minute- ski's all lined up , poles hanging from the pegs, the sound of boots banging and pounding off the snow on the wooden decks outside the lodge. There was always a fire burning inside.

Learning to carry your own gear was an essential skill. Who remembers hanging your ski's from the straps on your poles and using the poles as a handle?? Anyone ?? They hadn't invented carriers yet I guess. I can feel the weight of my ski boots on my feet even now.

I think that I was an OK skier. I skied with some style and good control. I loved skating on my ski's, heading to the lift line to get in another run. I loved the cold on my face as the lift took you up into the mountain and the lodge became a tiny reminder of warmth.

After long cold days on the ski hills, I can still feel my toes thawing and my face tingling, as I warmed up on the car ride home. All that night in my sleep I could still feel myself skiing down the hills. I loved that feeling. And in 2010 - I miss that feeling.

As I grew up an entered into my teen years the ski hills became more sophisticated. They would have snow making and grooming capabilities that would make "black diamond " runs a new challenge. Huge speakers would blast music up onto the hills that were lit for night skiing. Those times became the pivotal edge of my years on the slope. It was all down hill from there- so to speak.

Real life, a job in nursing, a young family and the fear of not be able to work if I broke something on the slope, started to wear away at my love for skimming over the snow. The cost and the cold were unattractive lights flashing in my brain when I contemplated a day or night on the slopes.

I did enjoy skiing when we were teaching our children. They seemed to like it somewhat. They didn't love it. But there is no snow in Connecticut. You'd have to drive a few hours to find a decent hill. That made the cost rise to a -??? do we love it enough??- point. We did ski as a family and I think that our kids remember it a little.

Maybe I'll be a skiing Gram Gram?? They'll all say, "Who's that old lady out there on the hill?"

FYI- I love this painting.

This picture was taken of a painting that a friend of mine did. She gave me the painting as a gift. I LOVE it. The painting takes me to a warm summer place whenever I look at it - and I look at it frequently.