Hello Utah

After arriving late on March the 7th Elizabeth and I said a quick hello to Rick then headed off to bed.  I had clearly made some errors in booking the travel from New Hampshire to Utah but that was now a thing of the past.  We stored our gear in the small guestroom, flopped down into bed and pulled the covers up tight to our chins and drifted off.

The sun was peeking out of some high clouds when I scanned the mountains above the valley floor where we now sat.  After a quick breakfast and a bit of a hasty organizing of our lunch, clothing and packs we caught the 9AM shuttle to catch up with Rick who had already headed up to Powder Mountain.  Outside the main lodge we clicked into our bindings and skied down to the Timberline lift.  It was great to make graceful tele-turns in the soft, edge-able snow as smiles formed on our faces.  After a few runs we met up with Rick and poked about in different areas feeling out the mountain and its wide variety of terrain.  At first I struggled a bit to control my longer powder skis but then that old familiar rhythm began to fall in to place and my muscle memory kicked in as I made better turns in deeper snow on steeper aspects.  It was nice to be back and I would need this "flight time" to be ready for my week in the Selkirk Mountains come April.

The Wasatch Mountains around the greater Salt Lake Area contain (depending on who is counting) 9 major ski areas as well as endless backcountry options.  Elizabeth and I planned to do some exploring during the 9 days she would be here with me before returning to the real world of a job, bills, kids and a myriad of other responsibilities. Still, the snow amounts were down again this year so we hoped that typically snowy March would deliver while she was here.  She had been working hard to improve her telemark skills and I really wanted her to experience that "dance" with the mountain that occurs when fresh snow slides beneath your skis.

Later that evening as we sipped cocktails in the hot tub and chatted with other skiers about their day I soaked in that vibe that develops as strangers connect about that universal purpose that brings us here, skiing and the mountains.   How lucky am I?