Day 26 Priorities

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Linda

Before we left for skiing I checked the news and saw the devastation in Japan.  Suddenly a bluebird day with 3 inches of new snow just didn’t seem important anymore.  My life is on hold with this trip but their world has been destroyed in a matter of minutes.  How does one balance the two realities?

We skied Moonlight.  We rode the chairlift with many people skiing and riding there for the first time, excited about exploring new territory and enjoying the new snow.  The smiles on their faces helped to balance the terror on the faces from Japan.

I cannot imagine being in Japan right now.  May our prayers surround them and help them find the strength and hope to move through each upcoming day.

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Day 25 Wind Hold

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Linda

Started the day with a quick walk with the dogs.  Feels like I’m getting back into my rhythm, altho it’s not a walk at 5:30am but rather at 8am.  Still a chance to get out and move at my pace.  Puts me at ease with the day.

Dan and I drove up the mountain to Big Sky looking forward to skiing some of our favorite glades with a little new snow. But it was not to be.  Wind swept up and across the mountain and many lifts were on wind hold.  I really don’t like the wind and especially on the mountain.  We gave up after an hour, got a voucher for another day, and changed clothes to go snowshoe in Beehive Basin.

Loaded up the dogs and enjoyed the up and down of the trail.  It was quiet, the wind stayed high above us.  Dan is willing but it’s not his first choice and he’s not spent much time in snowshoes this winter so we did lots of “breathing stops”.  It gives me a chance to breathe deep the fresh air and marvel at the vistas.

I changed clothes multiple times today, amazing how you need something different everytime you step out to do another activity.  The final change was to yoga pants with a glass of wine.  With any luck that wind blew in some snow for tonite.

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Day 24 Quiet Please

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Linda

I took this day off.  After traveling for so long I really needed a quiet day, one with a walk so I could get inside my head and just wander around a bit.  Dan and I hiked Ousel Falls with Michelle and Brian’s dogs in the morning.  It’s really a pretty hike, small canyon with frozen falls at the top of the trail.  The dogs loved being out and I loved the relaxed walk on a snowy trail.

Back at the car I opted to walk home, “my time”.  I miss walking.  It felt really good to just put one foot in front of the other as I relaxed into my pace and let my mind free.  No poles but I found my rhythm and then started wondering how I felt about this trip, the time away, the time on the mountain, the time doing nothing.  It’s alot.  As I sort it all out I’ll let you know where I stand.

We walked into the meadows and had dinner at the Lotus Pad, a thai cuisine restaurant.  Excellent food, excellent end to the day.  Tomorrow we ski.

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Day 19-23 On the road again

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Linda

I’ve been off the grid for 5 days.  After skiing at Vail Meta and I drove back to Bozeman on Friday, Dan and I drove to Sandpoint, Idaho on Saturday, skied Schweitzer Sunday and Monday and then drove back on Tuesday.  I’m a bit road weary. I won’t bore you with catching up completely but will try to simply give you a flavor for this portion of the trip.

Fences!  When you travel the hiways you become very aware of the miles and miles of fence that line the roads and go in all directions with all kinds of purposes.  Fences to keep animals off the roadways. Fences to keep animals in their pastures.  Fences to stop the snow.  Fences marking boundaries and property lines.  Fences to keep people from crossing those same lines.  Fences to define yards and homes together as one.  Miles and miles of fences.  It always gets me thinking about the fences I’ve put up in my life.  Do I have fences to keep people out?  Or do I have snow fences that gather them and drop them into my life?  or maybe I’m an open grazing zone with no fences.  What are your fences?

My daughter invited us to celebrate her birthday in Idaho.  I love skiing with my kyds so we met Laura and Mike at a cabin in the woods overlooking Lake Pend d’oreille.  Schweitzer didn’t have fresh snow but we found lots to play in making fresh tracks in the trees.  It’s a beautiful mountain and we ended both days with the ski patrol calling out “CLOSING” as they swept the mountain behind us.   Good thing we were able to stay ahead of them and make last chair to the top.

Yesterday we drove back on Hiway 200 following the Clark Fork River through Idaho and Montana. It was beautiful, a shorter drive than the freeway and no passes to go over!  I’d highly recommend it if you’re ever in the area.  We’re back in Big Sky.  We’ll stay with Michelle and Brian til Saturday then one last move back up to the Lake Condo’s for the final days.

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day 18 Vail!

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Linda

Last day in the mountains. We awoke to fresh snow and drove over to Vail.  Meta’s daughter Megan was our guide for the morning. It’s such a huge mountain and can be very intimidating but Megan gently led our group giving them the complete Vail experience.  It was such fun to ski the back bowls and listen to the women hoot and holler as they swooped down the hill in fresh snow.

After our bluebird morning skiing soft snow in Poppy Fields and Bue Sky Basin we rode the chair up into the blackness of a snowsquall that had landed on the frontside.  We were met with winds and pelting snow/sleet mix.  Good thing it was time for lunch.

The rest of the afternoon offered challenging conditions both in visibility and snow conditions but many in the group ventured out and some skied all the way to 4pm.  We enjoyed apre at the Red Lion, the hot spot in Vail for beer and munchies. Then drove back to Beaver Creek to wrap up our trip with dinner and packing.

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Day 17 a few more thoughts

Posted on March 9, 2011 by Linda

Third day on a mountain is always the magic day.  You begin to feel at home, have some favorite runs and know how to manage the snow conditions as the day progresses.  Another bluebird day with near spring conditions.

The group has been splitting off into smaller groups for skiing. Eleven is just too big a number to keep together all day. We’ve started with breakfast together each morning and met up for lunch at a different spot, allowing for folks to regroup as the day goes on. The groups are not always the same so we’ve all gotten to ski with everyone at some point of the trip.  It’s given us all the option of skiing hard or cruising, going early or finishing early, and moving around the mountain at a comfortable pace for all.

Tonite we had a special treat, Spyder’s Director of Marketing, Laura came for “apre” and unveiled some of Hoigaard’s purchases for next year.  She treated us to “Spyder-tinis” made with local organic Vodka, pomegrante juice in special cups.  The Spyder anti-venom for altitude sleeplessness.

Dinner was at the Saddle Ridge Restaurant.  It has quite the history and holds the second largest collection of western artifacts in the country.  We would all highly recommend it for both the food and the ambiance.

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Day 17 I get it about Women

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Linda

ok, so yesterday I was trying to explain why traveling with women was such a different experience than traveling with family or friends.  I laid awake last night and I think I figured it out.

Women are the caregivers.  We always put everyone else ahead of ourselves. That means we are not always good at meeting our own needs. When we travel with a group of women there is permission to take care of yourself first, before you worry about the needs of anyone else in the group. It’s an empowering, loving position to be in.  Right now I am immersed in a forgiving, celebrating, joyful adventure and it’s wonderful.

Today was our third and last day skiing at Beaver Creek, tomorrow we’re leaving early to ski Vail.  One more marvelous day on the mountain!

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Day 16 I love traveling with women!

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Linda

When I travel with family I am the self assigned caregiver.  Traveling with a group of women is totally different, and I love it.

It’s always amazing to watch a HOW trip come together.   Eleven women of various connections to each other with one common denominator, we all love to ski!  We share time in the kitchen, time on the hill, time just hanging.  One of the best parts is sharing our stories as we get to know each other in a more personal way.  The gifts these women bring to this trip and to my life are amazing, it’s one of the great blessings of my job as HOW coordinator.

We’re having a great time!  another blue bird day on the mountain, sunny and warm.  We traveled all over Beaver Creek to Arrow wood  and Bachelor Gulch.  Eleven is a big number to manage on the hill so we split into smaller groups, met for lunch at Arrowwood, skied some more and then met up again at the end of the day for a delicious dinner in the condo.  Just doesn’t get much better!

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Day 13/14/15 HOW has landed at Beaver Creek

Posted on February 28, 2011 by Linda

Saturday morning we drove down to Bozeman, I said goodbye to Dan and then Meta and I went to run the errands for trip.  Our list included a new cast for her wrist (yes she’s going skiing with a broken wrist and yes it was suddenly too tight!) grocery store, and liquor store.  We worked our way through the list, filled up the car with gas and goodies, and stopped for a sandwich at the Pickle Barrel for a late lunch.

We left Bozeman at 5:55am Saturday morning all set for our adventure!   We dropped off the freeway in Casper WY and headed south to come into Vail through the back door. There were snow fences that had trapped huge waves of snow, wind turbines as far as you could see, antelope, deer, and newborn calves in the fields along the way but the highlight was a group of horses running up a ridge with an eagle leading the way!  (think John Denver, “Eagles and Horses”)

HOW has landed at Beaver Creek.  After 13 hours on the road, ending with a snowstorm drive over Vail Pass we met up with the other Sunday arrival for dinner at Coyote Grill. just what I needed!

Today, day 15 was a blue bird day on the mountain. I’ve never been here before so it was lots of fun to explore this beautiful place.  Now it’s time for our traditional pasta bar, don’t you wish you were sitting here with a glass of wine?

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Day 12 Just go for a Walk

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Linda

We moved today from the Lake Condo down to Michelle and Brian’s in the meadows.  None of us were willing to battle the cold again so we opted to take our time and pack it up to make Bruce’s departure easy in the morning.

Once we deposited all of our stuff I really needed to go for a walk. So I grabbed Brody and Louie and we headed off. I was delegated to a vanilla walk, walk without poles, as I have a torn rotator cuff muscle on my left shoulder that prohibits me from using poles.  It’s been really hard to give them up and I feel almost naked without them.  Surgery awaits me at the end of the trip but in the meantime I just had to have a walk.

We found a trail that headed up the hill and through the woods.  I should have taken my snowshoes but it was nicely packed and the footing was pretty good.  The dogs enjoyed bounding into the deep snow and I enjoyed the following the trail to the top of the hill.  No camera but it was beautiful to walk with mountains all around and a new view of the meadows around every corner.

We walked for about an hour, didn’t give me my 10,000 steps but it did fill my lungs with fresh mountain air and gave me the outdoor time I needed for the day.

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