So many laugh when I say I skied this past Saturday.  And I say to the naysayers…have you ever skied on October 10th?  I bet not!  I have…and was it absolutely fantastic.

I arrived safely at Arapahoe Basin on Saturday around 7:30am and I parked in the second row.  I was the last to get on the lift in the first round of skiers.  The liftee at A-Basin kindly shouted above the noise of the lift and music playing, “hop up here and meet someone new.”  I chose to ignore the man with the beard who’s been there for at least 4-5 seasons.  I approached the yellow line and he commented again.  My retort…”there’s nobody behind me so why shouldn’t I enjoy this first lift of the season to the max!”  Okay…let’s face it, there’s really nothing like riding a lift by yourself, listening to the Gov’t Mule (Live Show from Mishawaka 2009), and taking in the almost blue bird (or at least I wanted it to be) skies.

I took some nice pictures and just listened to the peace that surrounded my world.  Not a worry to think about as I blocked out the rest of my world and focused on pure relaxation, accompanied by the Mule.  There’s absolutely nothing better than being outdoors in a place where your cell phone does not work and you’re about to take your first turns of the season – AND you’re on your own!  Sure…I do love to ski with friends and family, but being by yourself is phenomenal as well.

I got off the lift wearing my Mountain Hardware Monkey Jacket and a Marker vest, with a new pair of baggy brown snowboarding pants – extremely comfortable.  The weather was spectacular with the sun out and the wind at a small pace.  I buckled up my boots, took a look at the people around, slid my hands through my pole straps and turned my Volkl Gotama’s (my rockskis) downhill.  I really didn’t want to turn, but the slow signs were everywhere and I didn’t think it would be all that great to risk losing my pass on day 1.  I started making some turns and realized nobody was around me.  I opened up a bit more increasing my speed and by the end of the run I was in a full on straight line.  It was tremendous and I was back in the lift line.

This time, I joined a stranger to “make a new friend.”  My liftee buddy started a light chuckle when he saw me…it was a kind exchange as though we both new exactly what we were lauging about.  Frankly, as I write this, it sounds a bit corny, but at the time it was funny.  Each run, and there was only one more after this, the other person and I were on an endorphin high from the run prior.  By my last run, I had to punch through the people skiing down to get open space.  Everything was working correctly in my body.  I was centered on my skis and felt as though I haven’t taken a day off from last season.  I slipped through 2 snowboarders at the top of the last headwall and took 3 long turns.  It was great to hit these speeds again.

The drive home was fine until I hit Denver which was a mess leaving and coming back home.  There were accidents everywhere.  I look forward to skiing again, hopefully this weekend!  I’m looking for that straight line again!

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