An Excellent Day for Hiking!

I've been wanting to get out and hike for the last week or two. It's been warm (upper 30s and lower 40s) and sunny, but I've been worried about hiking on the snow packed trails. However, the recent demise of my trusty elliptical forced me to look for alternative forms of cardiovascular exercise. So I borrowed some yaktrax (like tire chains, only for your shoes) from a fellow teacher and headed out this afternoon armed with my camera, sunblock, and a bottle of water. I felt very comfortable in just a long sleeve shirt, yoga pants, and a vest. I walked along the Galloping Goose trail, which I hadn't attempted since the fall. It was just as beautiful and even more peaceful walking along the river. It was obvious several humans had passed along the trail (the snow was packed, making it much easier to walk on), but I saw no one else along the way. There was also evidence of another kind (it shows up much better in the white snow than on the typical dirt trail!) telling of four legged creatures enjoying the day. The birds singing and the sound of the river water rushing under the ice serenaded me into a meditative state. It felt amazing!

Snow Fest

Snow Fest in Telluride...absolutely awesome! Friday night we were up in Mountain Village watching snow mobiles jumping off ramps and doing tricks, a torchlight parade snaking down the mountain, and fireworks lighting up the night sky.

The guys on snow mobiles were driving off ramps and flying through the air doing all sorts of tricks with their feet legs before landing on a downhill slope and driving on to do it all again(these people MUST be CRAZY). One guy did have to bail in the middle of the jump but remained unhurt. As we were watching the snowmobile spectacle (bundled in our ski pants, down vests & coats, and snow boots) the torchlight parade started down the mountain and the firworks began. It's pretty cool seeing torches (held by skiers of course) snaking down the mountain on a slope where you can't see anything else. And I've never experienced fireworks while heavy snow is falling from the sky either. I didn't know what to watch...there was so much going on!

We called it a night pretty early since everyone wanted to be on the slopes early this morning to catch the powder before it was all skied off. I had another good day skiing and am feeling pretty confident on all the double greens. I've taken a few blues, but my form isn't usually too pretty.

I did have a spectacular fall today... some kid ran smack dab into the back of me while I was making my way down my first blue of the day. I managed to lose both skis and both poles! Luckily some guy skied all over the face of the mountain to pick up all of my things and bring them to me, because it was definitely spread all over. I was a little shaken, but I heard my dad in my head, so of course I had do the run again immediately...after all, I ALWAYS listen to my parents! The worst part about the fall was that I ended up with snow on the inside of my warm clothing, which made it hard to get warm for the rest of the day, especially after the clouds rolled back in.

I can't wait to get back up there on Monday with my kids. Sally has promised to ski with me in the afternoon, so it'll be like yet another free private ski lesson!