January 30th, 2007
Debbie and I attempted to go XC skiing at Solitude Mountain, we had a private lesson booked and were not even a quarter of the way up the mountain when we ran into a nasty little white out. After a quick call to the nordic center they told us visibility was terrible up there and it wasn't a great day for beginners...coupled with the fact that it was quickly seeming a little dangerous driving up the mountain in her Prius, we decided to retreat and head back down. Foiled by mother nature....again. But, instead of heading back to the cozy comforts of home and be lazy we decided to go grab Floyd, Debbie's dog, run to REI to rent some snow shoes and since we were all geared up and ready to be outdoors we went to a different area and went snow shoeing instead (another first)!
Debbie on the trail
Frisky Floyd
Me
View of SLCSnow shoeing was really fun...we went to Mills Creek Canyon and hit this steep trail up but at the top were treated to a lovely view of the city from above. Not to mention, Floyd had a BALL running through the deep snow drifts chasing sticks and us down the trail. We had a great day but this meant that I only had one more day to get on skis before the end of the year! I went to sleep hoping for a better day and another chance tomorrow.
That night we were able to meet up with other friends of mine, Tad and Jodi and their 2 adorable daughters for dinner and drinks. I hadn't been to Tad & Jodi's since my drive across the country when I moved from NJ to SF 5 1/2 years ago. My friend Jennie and I drove a giant U-Haul and stayed 2 nights at their place...pre daughters! So it was a real treat to have dinner with them and for them to meet my friends Debbie and John who moved to SLC from SF last May.
January 31, 2007
SUCCESS! We made it all the way up to solitude (and that is quite the climb up the mountain...the nordic center is sitting pretty at 8,500 feet! Those boarders and down-hillers are even higher up, crazy! We got a goregous day, albeit a bit chilly (a whopping NINE DEGREES!) The sun was out and the skies were blue and the grounds and trees were covered in pristine white powdery snow, so I wasn't complaining (yet). :) It was a winter wonderland and gorgeous every direction you turned. We were late for our lesson but we had a cool instructor who just moved there from Vermont who said we only needed the basics and he could cover those in a 1/2 hour and he charged us 1/2 price so that worked for us!
He got us fitted for skis, poles and boots and off we went. First he taught us stance, how to balance, what we should be doing with our poles and then...how to go up and down hills. That 1/2 hr. flew by and then he left us to explore the trails on our own. We went back to the lodge for a map and more practice on flat trails and then hit a nice beginner trail called Evergreen. It was lined with these beautiful and very tall snow dressed trees. It was so peaceful.
We cruised along Evergreen trail no problem! Evergreen intersected with an intermediate trail called Cabin Fever and we decided to give that a go, we were feeling great! Only a few tumbles here and there but things were going pretty smoothly. It was definitely a challenge though. Our water in our camelback froze, so we had no water. Unfortunately for me, I don't think I was hydrated enough (thanks to that growler of beer tad bought for after dinner last night ;) and for how high we were and how salty it is in the air there. By the end of the day I had a raging headache and felt a little nauseous but thank goodness out on the trail I didn't feel that bad. We were trying to make it all the way down to the Solitude Village, the downhill lodge at Solitude. We could take the trails all the way down there and then take a shuttle back up to return our gear. 
Cabin Fever - Can you imagine living here?
Camp Tuttle! along Cabin Fever TrailAfter Cabin Fever ended we had two choices: two intermediate trails, New Sensations or Cornocopia. We picked New Sensations and I realized quickly that this was probably the wrong choice for me. I was not at all comfortable going down hills and this trail had a long downhill. I feel at least 5-7 times and I wasn't even close to halfway down the hill. Getting up ON a hill is challenging too, it's not easy getting back on your skis when they're sliding down the hill. Finally it happened...I reached my breaking point for the day. I fell for what I knew in my head was the last time that hill was going to mock me! I literally yelled out "F@ck! I hate this!!"...nice language, I know, but noone else was around to hear except Debbie and the trees. I was cold, my fingers and legs were freezing from constant falling. At this point, as I'm lying there in the snow debating about which option seems worse..continuing down the hill or climbing back UP! Debbie is patient with me and I look at the time on my phone and realize that at this pace we are not going to make the village shuttle even if we do reach the bottom so we had best go back up and back to the nordic center where we started.
Which is excatly what we did! Going back up wasn't as bad or tough as I was anticipating, dare I even say I was maaaybe starting to get the hang of this? Needless to say, the second we hit the lodge and took off the skis I was SO glad to be done for the day. Our instructor was surprised we were out there for that long..3 hours and after checking out the map it seems we went about 4km! That's when it sank in...HOW AM I GOING TO DO 25km?!?! In 2 months time?!? Yikes. A change of clothes and hot chocolate to warm up and I was feeling good about the day, after all, my only goal of the day was to get on the skis, see how it feels..goal accomplished! There is always a learning curve with firsts. I have 2 months with my coaches and team to refine my movements and conquer my hill fear...I can do it!!
NYE Reflections...goodbye 2007...helllloo 2008!!
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