fonixmunkee's Blog

Well, my soul must have sold. Because we got snow. And a lot of it (for the Midwest).

13" dumped on Spirit Mountain, my local resort. Although I'm not sure all of it stuck around, what with the 50+ MPH wind gusts that were occurring at the same time. But enough did accumulate to permanently cover up the icy man-made base that had glazed the runs up until this point. Now it's just nice, soft, corduroy to rip on. And even--get this--for a day or two, fresh pow pow. Yes, selling my soul seems to have paid off, finally. Especially considering that my season isn't over yet....
I'm heading back to Utah in about a week, for another 5 days. It's going to be a blast, no doubt, but I'll be sad as we won't have our full compliment of crew going with this time. It will just be my friend who originally got me into skiing and myself, joined by a friend who lives in Salt Lake City. No matter though, as it will surely be 5 days of beautiful skiing as we approach the waining days of the season.

I'll also be heading up to Lutsen Mountains this Friday, to get some crucial last-minute turns in before heading back out West. Lutsen has always been one of my favorite places to head to. It's a great little resort, with good terrain, and the drive up there is spectacular. Sure, Lutsen is lacking in a lot of areas, but there's something about the old-school vibe that is felt at too many other ski resorts in the area.

Lastly, we'll try and make one more pilgrimage to Mount Bohemia in Michigan's UP. The terrain is too good to pass up, and we always have a blast apres ski when we head up to the UP. We have season passes, too, even though we've paid them off, but why not make some money out of them?

As I make my final trip out West, and start to consider Lutsen over Spirit Mountain, I'm reminded that the ski season is nearing the end. It makes me sad, no doubt, as nothing has had quite a profound effect on my life as skiing has, since I discovered it a mere 4 years ago. Although spring skiing brings back some absolutely glorious memories--including a crazy alcohol-induced road trip up to Lutsen that didn't end until nearly 24 hours later--it signals that the end of epic days are now an entire season away again.

I'm not going to sit here and mop, though, as I've still got a whole month--and that's a lot of skiing--left to do. And I also take solace in the fact that with winter ending, summer activities can begin. Summer activities such as hiking, camping, backpacking, biking, kayaking, and golfing. And as that season winds down, I'll find myself in the same vicious cycle: yearning for the Next Big Thing. In the winter, I think about golf and camping and backpacking, wishing it was warmer so I could do those things. And in the summer, I wish it was colder so it would snow so I could go skiing. I'm never content with the static nature of the seasons. But at the same time, it helps build stoke and makes the arrival of the season all that much greater.

So yeah, the season's ending. We got hosed, for the most part, but we've made the best of it to this point, and now we are finally starting to get rewarded for our patience (I'm talking about you, too, Tahoe kids). But the good times don't stop when the snow's gone, and even then there's plenty of time to pause and think about how epic the next ski season will be. When you are in the woods laying under the stars, or on the golf cart waiting for your friend to finish his 12th stroke, you can think of how excited you will be to scrape off that layer of storage wax on your sticks. Think of how excited you are going to be when you hear your local resort is about to open that first run (a Green cruiser, mind you) for the season. Think about all the great trips and great times you are going to have on your ski trips you want to plan. The season never ends, it's just hibernating.

So don't dwell on the downside, live for the upside.

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