It's Downhill All The Way

I haven't been skiing since January 2004, a little more than a year before my brain tumor was diagnosed. It was something I used to love to do. At one point I was getting pretty good at it. I was paralleling and able to do intermediate slopes - and even a black diamond now and then. There's something about the beauty of snow-covered peaks, silver-tipped firs, and the serene quiet of just me and my skis shushing down the slopes that's very compelling.

So when my friend Deb asked me to go skiing with the girls up at Kirkwood, I almost literally jumped at the chance - after asking hubby if I could have a girls weekend off! He kindly agreed and off I went. We stayed at our friend Joy and Lenny's cabin in Pioneer, driving up about 3.5 hours from home on Friday night. What a wonderful pied-a-terre, about a 45 minute drive from Kirkwood. The weather had been stormy on Friday and I wasn't looking forward to a drive to the mountains in bad weather, but we were very fortunate. The rain stopped about halfway through our trip and, although I was carrying chains, I never had to use them. We arrived at the cabin at about 10 pm, after stopping at the grocery store for breakfast items. Soon we were snug in our beds, with the wood stove fired up and sound asleep.

The next morning, we woke up early, admiring the view from the foothills of the Sierra and making a pot of coffee. I made myself some Cream of Wheat with raisins and brown sugar for breakfast. Yum! We got dressed in our ski clothes - some of us looking more fashionable than others - and drove the 45 minute trek to Kirkwood. Although there was a chain check, we never had to put them on. It was a gorgeous clear day with beautiful new powder on the ground. I'm used to skiing in the hard, wet "Sierra cement", so clearly this was going to be a new experience for me.

I rented my skis, poles and boots for two days. Boot technology has obviously improved since the last time I went skiing. The boots were vastly more comfortable than they had been in the past. When I learned to ski, I learned on straight skis. Shortly after that, they came out with parabolic skis which were vastly easier to turn! Deb opted to learn snowboarding and purchased an equipment/lesson package. I had purchased discount lift tickets at Costco, so I didn't have to pay full price at Kirkwood.

At last, the moment of truth had arrived. Would I still be able to ski without falling down? I wondered. It had been a long time and I still am struggling to lose the weight that I gained when I was ill. I slid my boots into my skis until they clicked and away I went, down to the lift. So far, so good. The lift would be the real test: if I could get off the lift without falling, then I would be fine. I did, and I was.

Lenny went off to do the black diamond and double black diamond slopes. He is an expert skier. My only regret of the weekend was that I didn't get to watch Lenny ski down those slopes. I'm sure I would have been in awe! Joy and I stayed on the green runs, just taking our time and enjoying the scenery and some quiet time together. Deb spent the first part of her morning in a lesson on the same run as us. We passed her, usually on her behind in the snow, on the lift several times. We waved and gave her a good "Woo hoo!"

The lodge was, unfortunately, at the other end of the ski area from us, so we were relegated to a makeshift cafeteria that served cold food that got ever colder as we ate it outside. I didn't really care that much. We sat at a metal picnic table that had obviously had so much snow on it, that the metal seats and table edge had bent from the weight of it.

We had a few more runs after lunch, this time with Deb fresh from her lesson. Our last run of the day was on an intermediate (blue) run. This run was quite bit longer than the green bunny runs, and a bit steeper. Deb took a good spill. I don't think I've ever seen anyone fall so many times and keep getting up. I admired her just for that. I really had to focus in order to keep from landing on my own derriere.

We called it a day around 3:00 pm and drove back to town, stopping at the store to pick up groceries for dinner. We decided on some steaks, baked potatoes, and a nice salad. But first, we got to take a nice long dip in the hot tub. This was really nice for our tired, sore and aching muscles. The only difficulty was getting from the back door to the hot tub, as it was really cold outside!

Afterwards, we got dinner ready. Lenny cooked the meat, and I made the salad and baked potatoes. I employed the Duane-method of microwaving potatoes and they turned out perfect! Lenny made his signature melon balls and I made Irish coffee. The melon balls were absolutely wonderful! We watched some television and then called it a night. We had another day of skiing in the morning.

The following morning, we went back to Kirkwood, this time going over to the main area, complete with lodge. The runs here were longer and more interesting, but also more tiring as there were fewer rides on the lift in between. Halfway through my first run, I got a really bad cramp in my calf, right at the place where the boot buckles. It was bad enough that I needed to give it a rest, so I went to the lodge and got a nice hot cup of tea and watched all the athletes ski down the slopes. I really enjoyed this quiet time. I had a wonderful view of the ridgeline and the double black diamond runs coming off the top. I imagined Lenny must going down those and was amazed that anyone at all could do that. It certainly looked impossible.

Pretty soon I was joined by Joy and Deb and later Lenny. We had a really nice gourmet lunch at the lodge before calling it a day. After returning our rental equipment, we drove back to the cabin and, while everyone else had a nice hot tub, I curled up on the couch and watched the end of a movie I had started to watch the night before. I didn't quite nap, but I did have a good rest before leaving for the long drive home.

What a wonderful weekend! My thanks to Joy and Lenny for inviting us up there!