Winter Storm Damon: Ski Camping in the Killington "Backcountry"

It snowed.
It rained.
And it snowed a bit more.
And snowed again.
Until the mountains turned from a dismal fall
Into a winter wonderland.

And what better way to experience the beauty of winter
Then by jumping into it full force

So I followed him.
The boyfriend.
Up the mountain,
And around the side.
Under trees so heavily laden with snow
that we worried they would break any minute.
Big, fluffy, Dr. Suess type trees
We discovered our own hidden Narnia
As we skinned through the Vermont woods,
Looking for a place to call home.

And we needed to do it soon.
The sun was setting through the clouds
- or so we guessed because the snow was falling so heavily
we could barely see a thing
As we skinned deep into the woods
To find our magical spot hidden amongst the trees.

Then it was time to shovel.

And shovel.
And shovel some more.
We had to dig a space to put our little winter tent,
Needing to make sure that the falling snow
would not drift around our home
And suffocate us while we slept.

Then we pack down what snow is left,
Stomping around in our little space,
First with our skis
And then with our boots.

Only then,
With our snowy platform ready,
Could we throw up our tiny winter tent.

With the tent up
And all our gear stowed safely inside,
It was time for a little ski adventuring by headlamp ...

Followed by a little warm-up session
Of some super yummy dinner
(carrot ginger soup with quinoa and chicken)
And just a little touch of whiskey
To keep us warm on the inside
Under the protection of a nearby stone cabin

Still - we were not tired,
And - still - the snow was coming down...
No harm in playing with those silly skis
for just a bit more
Before it was time to snuggle deep
into our sleeping bags

And so we skied.
And skied.
And skied a bit more.

And then it turned to grappel.
So we went to bed.

It might be a teeny tiny tent,
But it felt bigger this time.
It was just the two of us.
The boyfriend and me.
We just couldn't help but miss
Our dear sweet little Vespi
And how much she would have loved this adventure
❤❤

Morning comes all too soon
When you are freezing your butt off.
Only a few shakes and shivers,
Because we had decided it was going to be "warm"
And had brought our autumn sleeping bags
wrapped in emergency bivvy sacks
instead of our ginormous winter ones.
And one sleeping pad instead of two.
Winter minimalist camping.
Even I thought we were a little "off" this time.LOL

It's all about the adventure,
Taking the small and making it big.
Adding a little bit of magic
Goes a long way in a winter wonderland.
This was our Christmas,
So excited we couldn't sleep
Anticipating the beauty of the morning

As we peel back the tent flap,
The cold air comes rushing in
And the dream becomes a reality.
It really did snow 30 inches over the past two days.
And here we are, buried in the woods,
Not just experiencing winter,
But living it.

Shoving our liners into our ice cold ski boot shells,
Trying to unfreeze the shells on our mitts and our jackets
Even the inside of my helmet is cold as I plop it on my head,
But we do not care.

We do not care
Because just up ahead -
Just outside of the forest,
Is a world of untouched white goodness.
Just waiting,
Waiting for the crazy people
who decided to sleep
at the top of a mountain
in order to ski.

Was it worth it?
Our winter wonderland date?
This shivering and shaking in the cold?

Skiing is always worth it.
Always.

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