ODE TO SPRING
by Carolyn Hines
If you learned to ski, as i did, in western
New York state, your most vivid memories may include riding a chairlift at night on an overcrowded 800-vertical-foot “mountain,” where odds were that the chair would break down just at the point where a snowmaking gun blew stinging ice in your face. Still, you were delighted to be there. Hey! We’re outside! We’re skiing! What could be better?
Well, this could be better: Flash forward a few years and it’s suddenly spring, your first in Aspen. You’ve got your well-used season pass around your neck, and your legs feel strong and lively, as if they’ve finally found their purpose in life. You’re outside at the Sundeck, and across the way Highlands Bowl beckons. (This is before it’s in bounds, which merely makes it more tempting.) Just up the Valley, the wide face of Ski Hayden awaits the spring ski-touring season to come. The scent of sunblock mixes with the smoke from burgers on the grill, and from behind your dark glasses you plot your next run: Walsh’s to the Ridge to Jackpot, then the big swooping turns down Little Nell.
This is spring skiing, and it is a particular kind of bliss. For those of us who fell in love with the sport in, shall we say, “harsher” conditions, it is the reward of a lifetime. It also takes a certain amount of patience.
There are those who give up on the season before the prize is won; by the end of March they’re ready to escape to Maui or to Mexico. To these April Fools I say: Never! Spring, the best time of year for skiing, has just begun! Why miss out?
The rites of spring skiing are only partly about what happens on the mountain. Yes, the snow can be creamy and forgiving, and you often do feel like a hero on your skis or board. But joy comes from...
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