exhaustion was never so worth it...

ah, snowbird. how i love thee. no matter what you have to throw at me, clouds, rocks, ice, powder, blistering winds, gorgeous sunshine... you know how to keep me happy. and you know how to wear me out.

even in my malignant state i found myself stronger than expected and lasted longer than i anticipated on this week's trip to utAH. the earlier runs in the day were my prettier ones, but i hung in there through most of all days, resorting to the dreaded alpine turn a bit more than i care to admit, but it was worth it. i fear i might have to devolve into an alpine skier once again to stay in the mountains post lung removal, but i am willing to pay the price just to feel the cold powder down my neck when i fall into the nearest pine tree.

each day brought something a little different. i felt at home on the ice on day one, enjoying the variable conditions and turning my skis from "brand new" to "rock skis" in one short day. seriously though, it was a gorgeous day and the snow was there if you searched for it, and i was so happy to be out in the fresh cold air that nothing could've stopped me.

on day two we found some good snow out at bookends and on baldy in the afternoon. the clouds broke a bit and gave us a spectacular view of mt. superior through a sucker hole. my legs were already tired but i had no reason to stop what i was doing. i knew i could sleep nearly ten hours a night and there's not much ckiing at night so i was set. keep going, keep smiling.

day three was, as expected based upon historical data, my roughest day but an immensely enjoyable one nonetheless. i think we all wished we were at snowbird instead of alta, but we grinned and beared it and enjoyed the good shots through the trees. when push comes to shove we spent a good chunk of the day traversing instead of skiing vertically. part of this probably comes from not being too familiar with the mountain, but part of it is also because there's just nothing much like snowbird there. it was nice to finally ski there, cross it off the list and agree to not return until necessary. i'll ski the 'bird gladly, thank you.

and finally, the morning i was supposed to fly home but changed my ticket in hopes of finally getting in the helicopter. two years in a row we have been skunked by the weather and haven't gotten up. this year there was the dubious record of the powderbirds having skied thirty-odd days in a row before our arrival in the canyon; of course the weather is going to ground us now. oh well, when there isn't a helicopter there is the early tram, and we got in three runs top to bottom before any of the regular crowd could even set foot in the tram. there is something to be said for being windburned, covered in snow, and sitting down to breakfast "mid day" at 9:30am. i'll take that any day. the early runs are fast ones, bombing down some groomers and playing in the small stashes of new snow to be had. it snowed about a foot (give or take) thursday into friday so even the groomed stuff was nice and soft and fun to turn through. we rounded out the day with a couple of traverses to bookends and some playing in little cloud.

it is a bit of a letdown returning home, as any skier who doesn't live in the mountains knows. things like email, bills, and the lack of snow greet the return. however, this time around it is even worse. returning to the east coast and the crummy air, i realize just why my lungs have an unwanted invader. there's a lot of crap in the air here. i always knew it but am more picky these days. it is nice and cold, which is nice, and there is a dusting of snow, but no mountains greet me in the morning; there won't be any skiing or any other aerobic activity for some time now. i have to hunker down and get serious about upcoming events.

it was thrilling for me to realize just how much i could do this week; my body has been through hell and back since november and i was able to hang in there with the best of them. the best part was that my mind was so occupied with being happy and playing in the snow that it wasn't hard to ignore the obvious for good chunks of the day. i slept like a baby each night, not worrying about surgery or the ramifications thereof.

coming home it all hits like a ton of bricks and i am left just focusing on all the good the past week has held, all the great people cheering me on, and all the fresh air i pumped into my poisoned body. when i come out the other side on tuesday afternoon and finally get around to being aware of things, i will need to remember all of this and summon the energy to get better, slowly but surely. because next year's snowbird trip will be here sooner than i know it. thank goodness.