I consistently keep forgetting to take a camera anywhere. This is too bad because, for two weekends in a row now, I've been skiing through fairytale-pretty winter landscapes with a little bit of fresh powder on groomed trails. Skiing is the only way I really enjoy this, because it's also been biting cold - not just temperature wise, but it's been constant wind. Skiing makes my core temperature go up so much that I don't mind, and the cold has the advantage of keeping me going because I'm from sweating to shivering in about two minutes if I'm at the gym so imagine what a minus many windchill does.
I should point out: I still suck at the whole cross country skiing thing. But I can make it up and down the hills and not fall (though I did eat powder when I fell over while standing at the side of the trail watching one of the spandex demons skate by. No doubt he took that as admiration of his skill more than innate clumsiness.) I am slow. I don't mind this, probably because the only person I've managed to convince to ski with me so far is Lorenz, and since his last phase of cross country skiing involved covert smoke breaks, he seems to be ok with my pace. And he seems to be ok with the whole cross country thing, too, because after our 15km loop on Saturday, he bought more breathable outerwear at the pro shop. If you invest in gear, you have to keep doing the activity!
Speaking of gear, I got a hardshell case for my skis so I can take them on planes more easily. Last time I took them, I bought a padded lunch bag at Canadian Tire and stuck that to the tips of the skis and duct taped it in place, and then I shoved all that in a soft case and in my paranoia duct-taped spare clothing to the bindings, and still I worried.
Now that winter is here, and has been here for some time, and is real winter, I'm back to being happy with the climate I live in. It was hard, from November to January - not warm enough outside to want to do anything but not cold enough for snow fun, and endless dreariness. I think a trip out of the northern latitudes during that November-December gloominess is something I should plan (I've *tried*, a couple of times, but it never worked out. I have a better idea for next year.)
I've been endlessly busy and stressed out with a million things, and all of that is just not something worth talking about - hence the silence. I'm planning a trip to Chile, and I'm hoping to make it more than just work. I have a lot of unknowns for the coming summer, and that makes me irritated - I'm avoiding making firm plans because then I might have to bail again (like I did this past weekend, on the Silent Lake yurt thing) and that pisses people off. There is so much I *want* to do.
Posted by Johanna at February 12, 2007 07:39 AM