A Day of "Rest"

Apparently my feet can handle 5 days in a row in my ski boots.  Yesterday was day 6.  As I limped my way towards the bathroom this morning I decided against a day 7.  The lack of any fresh powder and the 5 degree temperature outside helped secure my decision.  Glancing outside I noticed the western ridge of the valley starting to take on a faint glow.  Grabbing my camera and accompanied by my trusty companion, Tucker, I stumbled outside just in time to fire off a few exposures.  I find the one above particularly appealing.

Later in the day I dug out my snowshoes and Tucker and I headed down to Sand Run Lake for a little trek along its shore.  Here are a few images.

Video Post - Alyson Skiing

Here's a video of Alyson skiing down White Lightning.

Meet Alyson

Alyson is the 7-year old daughter of the director of the kid's ski program at Timberline.  She was my skiing companion for today.

Alyson likes to go fast.  Very fast.  No trail is beyond her ability.  Our second run of the day was down Off The Wall (a double black).  She fell a couple of times, but shrugged the falls off and kept going.

Her favorite trail is White Lightning.  I shot a video of her ripping down the trail which I will attempt to post.  Here's a still shot lifted from the video (note the snow flying up off her skis from behind).

Near in the end of the day shadows had crept across the trail hiding the bumps along the edge of the trail.  As she sped across the trail she strayed into the bumps and shot into the air.  Landing on the second bump both skis came off.  She came to rest on the third or forth bump.  When I caught up to her she smiled up at me and said, "How high did I go!:"

Snow and More Snow

Today was the first day in well over a week I could see across the valley or the top of the mountain.  It has been snowing almost continuously for over 6 days.  Wednesday of this past week was the best powder day I can remember at Timberline.  Knee-deep western-quality powder covered all the trails.  Out-of-bounds tree skiing was particularly spectacular.  Each subsequent morning we were met with fresh powder and the opportunity to cut first tracks.

Today the sun came out.  Still cold.  But beautiful.  Here's a shot from the top of the mountain looking back towards our home.  Our house is in the clearing just above the frost line (kind of explains why we call our house Frostline, no?)

The next few days look to be a slight warming trend (we might actually get above freezing), then a return to colder temps and (hopefully) more snow.

Those People

Canaan Valley is a recreation destination, as such people come here on vacation.  There is something about being on vacation that causes us to act differently.  We all do it.  When we're on vacation we tend to check-out a bit mentally.  Some of us become less aware.  Distracted.

This past holiday season was our first where we were residents and experienced the effects of the grand influx of vacationers; or one friend refers to them, "Those People."   

Those People don't know how to drive in snow.  Those People don't know how to control their dogs.  Those People don't seem to know where they are going.

As I reminded my friend, it is because of Those People we enjoy living here.  Those People make the ski areas and local state parks possible.  Those People cause the restaurants and quaint small shops to exist.  Those People even make it possible for us to live in the residential area we enjoy because so many of them own vacation homes.

I met one of Those People on the day after New Years at a local gas station.  I pulled in behind them while they were pumping their gas.  After the pump clicked off one of the passengers hopped out to return the nozzle and put on the gas cap.  A couple minutes later the driver climbed out and wandered into the store returning a good 5 minutes later.  By now there were 3 cars behind me, all waiting.  Half-way back to his car the driver spun around and went back to the store returning in another 5 minutes with a cup of coffee.  Now there were a half-dozen cars waiting.  Reaching his car he placed the coffee cup on the roof and then proceeded to retie his boots before getting into his car and eventually driving off.

Ah, Those People make it so nice to live here.  Especially when they leave.

A Walk in the Winter Woods

I expect the title of this posting is likely to be repeated in the future.  You can expect to see titles such as "Another Walk in the Winter Woods,"  "More Winter Woods Walks,"  Etc.  Sorry.  It's winter and I live in the woods.  Today's challenge is to determine if these shots are in color or B&W.

Meet Milly

This past week I have been blessed with the opportunity to spend time with another woman; and my wife has been fully supportive.  Meet Milly.  Milly (real name Amelia) is a 5 year old spitfire that I have been granted responsibility to teach how to ski.  

Day One was a group lesson with several other children; Milly quickly stood out as the most eager to learn (but not necessarily the most able to listen).  Day Two consisted of a smaller group (all girls) - again Miss Milly demanded (and received) the most attention.  Days Three and Four were private lessons, just Milly and me (no more competing for attention, but still demanding).  Within these four days Milly progressed from the practice area to the Bunny Hill to skiing the easiest trail down from the top to being able to follow me down a double black (most difficult) trail.

I wish I could share the video I shot of her skiing with you, but the video posting feature on this blog is not working for me - so for now you'll have to settle for a snapshot.