Ski day

Glistening snow slides by under our skis. Happy chatter from my son and daughter breaks the quiet in the spruce and pine forest. My wife admires the perfectly blue sky, robin’s egg blue without even a hint of cloud. We are seriously inexpert on the narrow cross-country skis we’ve rented and the gentle downhill slope leads to several hilarious falls. Eventually, we come out of the woods and ski past a lift that is taking downhill skiers and snowboarders up the mountain. We continue downhill on a track that we have to ourselves, meeting only one group on snowshoes. The track takes us to a lake that is mostly frozen. The more open area around the lake allows the wind to remind us that we are playing in winter’s domain. At the dam side of the lake our track ends. The return trip is uphill and much warmer work. We quickly shed hats and open jackets. Mostly the slope is gentle enough to ski up. We pass the snowshoe group and the ski lift before arriving at the steepish hill where we get a lesson in how to herringbone up. It’s a little tricky and several more falls result but the soft snow makes it all fun. Back at the car our awakened appetites lend zest to our sandwiches. Tired but happy we drive down the mountain.