I was determined to get one more ski in so I headed up to Sundance this morning. I knew it would be icy and then slushy. Kathy didn't even bring her skis, but planned to snowshoe. I put my skis on and headed up the trail. It was SO icy. Going up wasn't bad, but there was no way to get a snowplow going down in the ice. So after about 15 minutes I just took my skis off and walked back down to the parking lot and put on my snowshoes. I bought snowshoes at Costco in the fall and never tried them out. I really did enjoy snowshoeing for about an hour in the beautiful sunshine. It's basically hiking in snow. It will never be as fun as skiing, but sure beats being inside!

Slush Skiing

Today we got 6 inches of snow at home. But it turns out none of it fell at the Sundance Nordic Center. Nevertheless, I had a good 1 hour ski for 3 miles and it was beautiful and sunny. It's sad when the spring temperatures make the snow the consistency of a slurpee.

I rented skate skis today and gave it a whirl. My goal was to get all the way up to the "middle earth" trail. And let me tell you, it was tough and I wanted to give up several times, but I knew that I'd never forgive myself if I didn't reach my goal. Skate skiing is much harder than classic and requires so much more effort. I'm not in good enough shape for it. Maybe if I lose weight and get more cardiovascularly fit I'll try again. But for now I'm sticking with classic skating. In spite of how hard it was, I'm glad I did it. I skied for an hour and 15 minutes and went 3.14 miles. I had some crazy weather: sunny, cloudy, and finally snowing. I have a lot more respect for those Olympic skate skiers!

P.S. I hurt my right knee yesterday so I'm mad about that. Just like when I ran on the 4th of July and then my knees hurt for a couple of months when walking. The moral for me: don't do extreme stuff that gets you hurt so you can't do the regular stuff! I need to keep walking and classic skiing and not mess that up by trying harder stuff.

A little under two hours, a little over 5 miles.

It was cloudy, but the 7 new inches of snow made up for the lack of sun.

So glad I went before my week in California and when I get back it's the last month of skiing for nine long months.

One Quick Hour

Busy day, so one quick hour of skiing. 3.3 miles of sunshine on glistening snow and a great workout!

Skate Skiing

Today Kathy and I went to Ladies Day at Sundance Nordic Center. We rented skate skis (we usually do classic cross-country skiing) and took a lesson. Skate skiing is harder to learn so we've never tried it. But we often see skate skiers on the trails and the way they ski looks so graceful and fun, so we thought we'd give it a try.

It was really fun ~ but such a workout! It requires more effort than classic but there's a great "glide factor," which is exhilarating. I just may have to invest in skate skis at some point!

A Sunny Ski

Today was a perfect ski day: blue sky, sunshine and beautiful white snow!

One hour and 46 minutes and 4.61 miles. Awesome!