Colorado Cross Country Skiing

Tuesday dawned cold and sunny with four fresh inches of white powder on the ground. It was a perfect Colorado day. After the weekend’s storm that left 18 inches of snow in it’s wake, winter had finally arrived. It’s been hard to motivate to ski this season. One sunny, dry day after another meant that the ski trails were thin and the mountain biking trails in Gunnison were perfect, so we were riding bikes well into January. Quite suddenly, all of that had changed.

So I pulled my classic skis off the rack, corked in some kick wax, and tucked them in my ski-tube on my bike to ride to the trailhead across town. At mid-day there were only a few cars in the parking lot. The corduroy was untracked. I set out down the trail between the tunnel of willows and wound my way through the lowlands to the Magic Meadows. I climbed through the woods, Paradise Divide in the distance. The track was solid, the snow glimmering, and I only saw a few other skiers, all of whom were as happy as I was to be out. Headed back to the trailhead, Mt. CB stood out stark and bold against the horizon. Town looked like a frosted fairy-tale hamlet.  I felt my body settle onto my skis and my heart settle into winter. For the fist time this year, I was glad winter was here–glad deep down in my bones. Also, content. Peaceful. So happy to have this wonderland outside my back door.

Thanks to Rick Murray for this great photo!