I just sat down to write this and from the other couch in the living room, tired from a long day of ice climbing, Jen told me “It’s so good to be doing winter stuff this year.” It was exactly the sentiment that I had when I reached for the computer in the first place. After several seasons of sub-standard snow and too-warm temps that lead to no skiing and no ice climbing, it’s been extremely nice to finally be able to do both in the same weekend like we used to do all the time.
It’s only the beginning of January, so there’s still plenty of time for the weather to turn tropical and wreck everything, but I’m still hopeful. Since I have begun backcountry skiing, one thing has always held true. I can come off the couch and do a 3,000ft ski tour without issue. Anything past that is quite a push, as I remembered during Saturday’s 3,900ft tour with a group of friends.
It turns out that a few weeks of working too hard, not playing enough, and being really damn sick does not help me get in shape. It’s been way too long since I flopped my ass onto the couch feeling like I earned it. Then I passed out for a few hours.
Today, Jen and I went for what during most winters would pass as a mellow day. We slept in, ate a good breakfast, and cruised down to Provo to do a handful of ice pitches. I can still lead nearly as hard as I could a couple seasons ago, but given that I haven’t climbed any hard ice in a couple years, I place about twice as much gear as I used to. It’s still fun though.
After another very stressful week of work, we got back out to stretch the legs in the 20″ of new snow that fell these last couple days. I joined Alex, Chad, Tom, and Tom’s friend Koji for a couple quick laps in the Mill D area. I think we all left wanting more (time and snow), but there’s still plenty of winter left. I can’t wait for more.
