I LIVE FOR THIS!

Today, I rode the lift.
And I skied. And skied. And skied.

As I loaded the car with my skis, boots and poles, I could feel the excitement building. In fact, I really hadn't slept at all last night in anticipation of the greatness that would be today.

As any good resort skier knows, self-presentation in the parking lot is extremely important. Just for this day, I had chosen a cassette tape that I had treasured as a young girl. I had dreams of skiing like Scott Schmidt & Glen Plake - what skier from the 80s didn't? My warm up music today? The soundtrack from Greg Stump's masterpiece, Liscense to Thrill.

First up the gondola, soaking in the easy ride to the top. Even though I have played in the snow many times already this winter, today felt like my first time. Like a winter virgin, I strove to sneak a peak at the manmade winter wonderland that awaited just at the top of the canyon: That fall skiing mecca of the Glades Triple.

And then I was there. Well, sort of anyways.
The section of Great Northern down to the triple had to be one of the most grustrating sections of trail. Past the fleet of groomers awaiting the 4:20 work call, past the new cascade pipeline...I just wanted to make a turn, to feel my feet dancing underneath me, to not just glide but to move, to sway, to ski...

Standing at the top of Lower East Glade, I knew my moment had come. I pushed with my poles, took a few skates and rounded the hump toward the pitch. Left, right, left, right...diving my tips down over the moguls, caressing them with the balls of my feet and then my heels.
I was skiing again.

Run after run, I banged out slalom turns, cranked GS turns and just let the fall time almost slush take me where it would. There is nothing quite so wonderful as feeling the slow glide underneath the base of your ski as you float down the mountain.

With my iPhone streaming No Doubt, even the lift didn't seem so bad. As the fixed grip Glades Triple slowly made it's way up the mountain, I took the time to soak un the scenery. I love this mountain, its beauty, its wonder...the Green Mountains all laid out for us to see.

And then it would be time to raise the safety bar, take a deep breathe and skid around the exit ramp. Should I take the smooth or the bumped run? The choice of two different styles of skiing presented themselves to you at the top - neither one evil, but both just absolutely wonderful in their own way.

You bore witness to how much work the resort's snowmaking crew has accomplished - building up the same section of trail over and over again to put forth a quality product each and every weekend since the end of October.
But that wasn't why I was here today.
I was here to ski.

And ski I did.
Oh my. it was wonderful. Every turn felt like home, so comfortable and glorious, like I was rocking myself to sleep but instead rocking myself futher and further into the groove.
The ski groove.
i once heard an instructor describe skiing as making love to the mountain.
Well, then.
I felt like I rocked this mountain's world today.

She definately rocked mine.

And as I headed back up the Stairway to Heaven, skis over my shoulder and poles getting caught on every other stair because I just wasn't paying attention. I thought.
I thought about how blessed we are to have such a wonderful sport, where we can enjoy the mountains and they us, whe winter can be celebrated and enjoyed rather than bitched and whined about.
A sport where we can ski, and laugh, and love.

And then it was off to Sushi Yoshi, for beer and free general tsao's wings.
Now THAT is how you end a perfect ski day.

May You Find the Spirit of the Mountains Within You,
FemaleSkiBum