Merry Christmas!!!

Have you ever heard the scream on the old Who song Won't Get Fooled Again? Well, that was the sound of my internal scream at 5:30 on Monday morning when I trudged out into the snow and wind to walk the dogs in well below zero weather. It was not a surprise, but it hit hard nevertheless. The wind had howled a January howl all night long, rattling the lid on the barbecue and whistling around the corners of the house. The wind had died down by morning but it was still nostril freezing cold. And I was off to a ski race.
I climbed up the hill to the bottom of the race hill dressed in a long underwear shirt, a Duofold zip turtle extreme cold shirt, fleece vest, fleece under jacket and shell. My hat was in my pocket. I don't like hats. It was grey and cold; cold and grey. The snow squeaked under my shearling boots (that are not as warm as they look). I was headed for the timing shack. The as yet unheated timing shack. There is heat, but it has to float up, and it was not floating fast. Oh, well. My thermos coffee was hot, and the company was good. I got to learn how to work the computer that keeps track of times and racers, and how to pace the race,although someone else did that. We had a view of the race that alternated between great and almost totally obscured depending on the sun and cloud cover. We took turns wiping the window which, when we arrived, was frozen and required scraping, but as the heat floated up required Bounty drying and a squeegee.

First runs over. Lunch and break time. The sun was out, the sky blue blue. Still cold. Second run began, and the heat had, most assuredly, floated up. The sun was shining into the timing shack, and we were wearing sun glasses and shielding our eyes. I was down to vest and the two shirts. Then down to the shirts, my hair and neck drenched with sweat. Encased in our little heat bubble it was hard to believe it was somewhere around 0 outside. We opened the door and windows to cool the small room down. It even felt good to go out and cool off, sort of like jumping in a cool lake from a sauna.
The next morning my husband asked if it was cold when I got in from walking the dogs. I told him no, it was quite nice out. He went out to start his car and returned to report that it was 2 degrees. Everything really is relative!!

The week progressed to warm breezes--well, really, it rained. All our snow was gone, then yesterday it began to snow again. The snow was predicted to start at 4 pm, but was late; around 9 or so it was finally snowing steadily. I woke up this morning to several inches of snow on the ground and, once again, rain. Real rain, not sleet or something in between, real rain. Heavy rain. The trees soon glazed over. The snow crusted, the bird feeders outside the window were encased in ice, as was the once rattling barbecue. Wind switch returned the rain to snow. Yet again walking the dogs: We broke through the snow's ice crust, and listened to the trees crackle. The sun broke through, glistening sliver across our ice world.
Love winter, love it!!

First Chair Hangs in the Balance

So, about an hour after my son left for the mountain the phone rang. Good. He arrived safely. "Hey, Mom." Something
Lift, mid winter, long after first chair.
sounds not right. Reject that! He called. "I'm at the mountain." Whew. "Ummmm..I'm locked out of the car."
Oh grief. "I don't have another key. Is your stuff in there?"
"I have my skis."
"So your boots are in there."
"Yeah, but Z is lending me some boots. He went home and got them."
Good. His friend is there with him, still in the dark, locked out of the car. I have AAA, he doesn't. I only got AAA for the people who have cars. "Okay, I'll call AAA." I don't want to drive up there. And do what???
Call AAA. They can add him right away. They are calling someone to go and unlock the car. Will he lose his place in line?
"AAA is coming. Keep your phone on so they can call." I'm assuming he'll be in the lodge waiting. What am I thinking???
"Well, how long will it be. Can I take a few runs?"
It is still at least 2 hours until the lift opens. "I guess so, keep the phone on."
I called AAA dispatch back a while later and found out it would be probably within an hour but no less than 30 minutes until lockout rescue arrived. Called my son again to tell him, and suggest he wait with his friend in the lift line and maybe get someone to hold his place if he has to leave to get in the car.
Husband wakes up and calls son to say he'll drive up and wait for the lockout rescue people. "Thanks, Dad, but no. This isn't your problem, I'll take care of it." Yay!
Phone rings. Son on the line. "Hey, mom, they came! It took about 2 seconds and I'm not locked out any more!"
"Great!" It is after 8, lifts open at 9. "Hope you get first chair!"
"Yep. Thanks."
He did get first chair. The lifty saved his place since he'd been there so long. And...while he and his friend were in line or getting ready to ride the lift when the college TV station came along and did a feature on them!
So, once again my son and his friend got first chair. Whew! Hope it's a good ski season. First race Monday.

First Chair

Not even 6 am, still night dark, and my son is out the door with his ski equipment to get first chair. It is opening day at the mountain--what snow they have to ski on I don't know!--and it seems like the last time I wrote the snow had just melted. I guess I'll have to fill in that pretty big blank so you all don't think the summer really is just the "bad ski season."

First chair. My son went early last year and rode the first lift chair, thus "first chair," to carry skiers up the mountain for the season. He goes up, changes in the empty lodge, and sits out on the snow by the lift to ride that first chair. The mountain opens at 9. A cold, long wait, but he'll have the lifty to talk to after 7. There is at least one challenger, a person who said he'd be there before my son this year. We'll see if he gets there.

At the end of the season there is of course, last chair, which he also got last year. He waited in the lift line to get the last chair along with a couple of people who always get last chair. When the time came the last chair regulars had to accept him onto the chair, he said. A small and funny sort of a club. Really small since the lift only takes 4 people per chair.

In between there are daily last and first chairs, none of those worth waiting for unless there is great new snow and then it is first chair and first tracks! He doesn't strive for those, but they are great if they happen.

So, let's hope it is a great first chair, first tracks and overall great ski season. If there is snow I might go later in the day. First chair after lunch?