Earn Your Turns: Gulf of Slides Spring Edition

The snow is melting
The access trail is gone
But there is snow to be skied up top
It sings to me a sexy sweet song

Like a siren, we hear the snow calling
But it seems so freaking far away
My skins are practically useless
Well hopefully (maybe?) for at least part of the day

So we weigh our packs down,
With more and more and more gear
Ice axe, crampons, beacon, shovel...
Good god, it's carrying all this damn weight that I fear

For the first part is mud,
Where my pole sinks in with a crrepy gross squish
I can't be that heavy -
It's the skis & boots on my back - Yeah right, I wish.

But we keep dragging ourselves upward,
Hearing our poles clickety clack as we go
Because somewhere up there In the mountains
there must be some sexy soft spring snow.

The scorching sun comes out
And it is beating me to death
I am a freakin' winter girl -
And this warm weather is hazardous for my health!

I slowly feel myself wilting,
From my 800 pound pack and the heat,
And my legs are all cut up and scratched
From my knees to my feet

Thank goodness that's when we see it
About 3 to four hours from now
The first patches of snow just there, up ahead
It's white and dirty and just - oh wow!

But we didn't bring skins
Gosh darn it and damn
So now we're post-holeing through a wintery hell
And pretty close to tears I am

Now it's snow rashes & sun burns
I've added to all the leg scratches
As i post hole crotch deep
Through yet another one of these damn rotting snow patches

Gingerly we step,
For what seems like yet another hour
Why the hell are we doing this?
Have we lost all our brain power?

Then we come around the bend
And we see it, it's there
And suddenly my life
doesn't seem to have a worry or a care

Cause every step has been worth it,
Every mud suck, every scratch, every bruise
The ravine looks gorgeous and stable...ahhhhhh
It's Soft Spring Corn we're gonna cruise!!

Because the mountain is there
Covered in all it's white glory
And I'm sure you already know
the moral of this struggling story

But we haven't topped out yet,
There is still the final ascent to go
So it's axes and crampons
For the final ladder in the snow.

The ladder is so huge,
And the pitch so very steep
That some steps I have trouble
And self-doubt into my mind begins to creep

But we push onward and upward
And relish the beautiful view
Because we are skiers, this is snow
And there is just one thing we can do.

No matter the trials, the burdens,
Throughout the days, the months & years
The hike is always worth it,
So stop those crybaby tears

There is nothing so special
As a turn that's been earned
Which is what we'll remind ourselves
As we hike out for the long, long return.

And so we'll hike this route again
And search for more crazy places
Whether for tight sexy couloirs
Or wide open spaces

Because we are skiers
And we follow the snow
So it is off to the mountains
With my skis I shall go.

May You Find the Spirit of the Mountains Within You,
Merisa & Vespi