35th Anniversary

Its the 35th Anniversary of the first Christmas which I skied. For 36 Christmas', each and every year since the first one, I've gone cross country skiing. Always after opening presents and before dinner, its usually a couple hour event where we can celebrate the day. No Food, no commercialism but outdoors with ourselves and our dogs. After all these years, its a special event or tradition of its own. It started as a way to blow off some steam before going to dinner with some friends, when I first left home to go to college. At one point I think we had something like 30 folks skiing with us. Nowadays, its just Nicki, myself, the dogs and either some close friends and neighbors.





Two happy Christmas skiers.


Its a great time, too bad it only comes around once a year :)

Powder Burns

We had a great snow for about a week. Four five days, every day we were on the receiving end of 3 or 4 inches of fine light powder. The kind that falls at temps below 10degF or -11degC. Some folks would call it champagne powder. We'd get home from work, eat a quick dinner, harness the dogs and load them and the skis up and head to the state park about 5 minutes from the house. Going to work Dead Tired was fun.

The best was Thursday evening where it was snowing so hard the headlamp was worthless. 12 inches of powder on a hard base. I couldn't see and both Valley in lead and Rocket were pulling me out into the darkness. They stopped, I wondered why but with the headlamp on low I could see enough, that this was our normal stopping and turning around spot. They knew exactly where they were, how they got there and were ready to head home. Without them I wouldn't have known how I got there. They didn't seem to care about the deep snow, the darkness or the falling snow. They were out to have fun. Fundogs they are.

Then the wind kicked up. 55 mph winds for a few days. I am not sure where our powder went but its gone.

Our neighbor Amy slicing a turn on our new found hard snow.


And Valley disappearing in a 55 mph wind gust.


Wishing you, a very merry holiday season, and a healthy 2010.