Most people who ski - do so for the wonderful feeling of elation and exhilaration that it brings. More inclined to experience nature when swimming in the ocean at Ala Moana Beach park, skiing strikingly contrasts with tropical Hawaiian living. Indeed, at least in the past, I have made it a habit of taking a long swim on the day of travel to whatever ski resort I was flying to on the mainland. With the memory of the gentle massage of the salt water still on my skin, the biting cold from the snow covered mountain stings haplessly through my ski wear. The
invigorating cold air bruises my nostrils while spawning frozen droplets that
become glued to my face, the bright red painful ears, numb toes and fingers, and
the weighted burden of ski clothes layered one on top of another drain heavily on my every move. Skiing as a small dot on the beautiful mountain, pristine and cleansed in white, with trees tall, majestic, their limbs are weighted down and frosted with snow. Such a contrast in every way from swimming in the warm sun drenched ocean, skiing for those of us living in Hawaii is indeed very special.
Indeed, if last year produced a record snowfall in Utah, this year is the opposite. Weather so warm you could ski naked and be comfortable……trust me I was looking…..the sun shining bright, the wind providing only the mildest of whispers, and the snow matted down evenly on 60% of the runs. These were the most accessible blues and greens that were neatly conditioned for the onslaught of skiers. Sadly, for Deer Valley, the onslaught never came. The Ski Resort was not quite a ghost town, but neither was it a busy train station. Happily, there was never a line that imposed more than a few seconds delay on any of the 20 odd lifts except for the next-to-the last run of the day at the base of the mountain. (Parenthetically, the next-to-the last run was the last run, because so many bad injuries occur on the last run, I refuse to acknowledge any run as the last run of the day.)
The weather and the artificial snow made Deer valley a very enjoyable
ski trip. Still what was gained by
experiencing the mild weather, the clear skies and sunshine, the excellent
visibility and the uncrowded conditions, did not entirely compensate for the
loss of power and beauty had the mountain been entirely covered by snow. It seemed odd and out of place, almost too
easy and dreamlike to be skiing in such curiously comfortable conditions. I realize from this experience that I prefer to ski when the snow is plentiful and covers the world around you, even when you are forced to navigate
down the mountain through a white maze of scattered windblown snow and a barely visible path.
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