Sunday River Ski Weekend, Barbara, Josh, Ben, Al, Lee, Anna

Here's a good joke- We get an incredible forecast for windsurfing for early February, (50 air temp, sunny, SW gale, weekend), and where am I? At Sunday River, where most of the mountain is shut down due to the high winds. This caused the 2 or 3 lower lifts that were open to get clogged with skiiers from the rest of the planet. And we were skiing on crust from an overnight snow that turned to sleet. While I was standing in the endless lift lines I had plenty of time to try to appreciate the humor of the situation. Very funny. If there is an omnipotent being that peers down on us mortals from the clouds, she was having a good laugh at my expense.

Skiing faster than the speed of light- The skiing got better after that and I was able to put windsurfing out of my mind. They opened most of the lifts in the afternoon, on Saturday, and the crust got skiied off quickly, revealing a sparkeling new snow underneath. Everyone in our group had given up on skiing except Al, Josh, and me, so Al took us around the mountain at a full clip trying to make up for lost time. His full speed is just about as fast as the skiis will go. The slopes seemed a little blurry at that speed in the flat light. Luckily, my skiis knew what to do. Barbara, Lee and Anna went snowshoeing, which they report is much more demanding than the wimpy skiing that we were doing.

The good and the bad- Sunday was a fine ski day. Lots of glades were open, making Al very excited and keeping Josh from being a bored teenager. Anna tussled with a tree and went back to the house to ice and elevate her knee. We stopped a little early so we could get back for the Superbowl. My two high points of the trip: Saturday evening in the outdoor hot tub with Al, Ben, and the Beatles, leaned back and looking up at the stars; Trying out an extra pair of skiis, much wider and more shaped than mine, that just felt great. Al & Lee were wonderful hosts, as always. Josh drove the whole way home, his first driving on a highway trip.


Top picture- Josh in full ski regalia.
Bottom picture- Al doing what he loves best.