First Ski Runs of the Season

I dropped off the family at work and school and took off for the River Run parking lot, and was among the first 100 or so cars there. I slipped on my boots and hiked down to the gondola station. Along the way I ran into Matt from Marketing who asked me a bunch of questions as we walked together to the bottom of the gondola, some of which we had a good laugh about.

I hit the bathroom one last time and then into the non-existent gondola line. Yeah, it was scan and board. No waiting at all at 8:45-ish. On the way up I rode with a professional couple who chatted about many things, most interestingly about my apparent color coordination. Red boots, pants, parka, and accents on my black OR gloves. Sadly, they pointed out, my pink goggles were an affront to all that is good and right with the world.

That pic says it all. Beautiful corduroy snow, freshly groomed. Gorgeous to a normally front-side skier like myself. My feet had grown quite a bit over the past few years due to my higher mileage running and old age I suppose. My boots were a bit cantankerous, if we should be so anthropomorphic. I had to stop and adjust them a few times. Otherwise I cruised Schoolmarm making the most beautiful knees-together turns I'd made in years. On my first run of the season no less.

At the bottom I hopped into the empty Singles line and got on the 3rd gondola after scanning. The trip up was way too long, but the run was very much worth it. I had arranged my day so that I could ski for about an hour, and the hour was up, so I booked it to the car and home, glowing from the morning workout.

Speaking of workout, there's the stats from my Suunto AMbit 2S HR Sport Watch - Red - remember, Red. Red. So beautifully accessorized, am I...

And my phone case is pink, to match the goggles.

Marketing Matt asked how many days I skied last year - 30. He asked how many this year.

"I hope to get in another at least 30. Hopefully more."

You might be wondering what this has to do with Seven Summits Quest? It's among the best cross-training exercises out there, IMHO. You're also training to be cold and miserable and alternate between periods of freezing inactivity and overheated exertion. What better training for Alpine Climbing than skiing?

We can explore that later, but for now, I'm looking forward to a winter of excitement and fun while training.

Remember, Kilian Jornet is a Ski-Mo competitor, as well as an Ultra Runner and Sky Runner. He's on Aconcagua today, as I type this, aiming for the record there. I wish him well.