Believe it or not, there is a problem when the first 2 days of skiing are powder days: too sore on day 3!  Luckily day 3 only reached 8 degrees, so there was not one bit of guilt making it a short, lazy ski day– ok, maybe a little guilt.  I did learn a few new things about myself though…

1)  I have always known that I am very dependent on the sun for my happiness.  I tend to get a little bit of the wintertime blues which never seem to hit in the summer.  What I learned is that sometimes, gloomy and snowy is much better.  When are those times?  When I’m skiing in the mountains.  When I’m in the mountains, I want it to snow non-stop.  I want to go out to be in the snow, and I want to stay in and be cozy and watch it fall.  I don’t want it to stop, and I want to be everywhere all at once.  So, yes, sometimes snow is better than sunshine. 

2)  I’m a bit of a fair weather skier.  I don’t really like waking up at the crack of dawn to beat traffic, only to arrive and have to push beyond that dreaded moment of putting on my boots in the cold, to then carry my gear to a bus that eventually takes me to the base.  It’s so much better to gear up in a heated room, and walk right out onto the mountain.  Hmm, I know, spoiled.

3)  More on this fair weather thing… if it’s too cold, no thanks.

4) Even more on this fair weather thing… powder is so much more fun than ice.

5) And lastly, I don’t like to quit.  If I am there, and I am on the mountain, I will suffer through the cold and the ice until my denial dissipates and I am forced to confront the fact  that I am suffering.

On day 3, that happened.  I suffered through the cold and was so sore, I could barely move.  HOWEVER, the snow was so good, I could not give up.  I pushed on, but eventually went inside with the promise that tomorrow would be warmer, and I would be in less pain.