Springing Forward on Fresh Snow Beneath a Colorado Blue Sky

Life Can Be a Cakewalk, Especially in Telluride on Such a Glorious Day

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been over a month since I posted a story. Where does the time go? It flies by as fast as the ski season itself, every year. This week heralded the arrival of spring, however, I’d be just as happy to be plunged into the depths of winter where the snow varies from fluff to buttery soft. Oh well, can’t turn back time. So for now, I’m embracing the soaring temperatures and highly changeable ski conditions while my anticipation for the next fabulous spring snowfall lingers.

We’ve had a great winter here in Telluride, particularly since mid-January when the storms began to roll in one after another right up through early March. I guess this largely explains my eclipsing from my blog. I’ve been teaching skiing a lot, so much so, in fact, that I was clobbered twice with horrific colds that set me back on all fronts. Yes, that’s the bane of most ski instructors, getting sick during the season, yet it happens with great frequency. We’re out there putting on hopefully a super cheery face and attitude—carrying a class or even just one person—throughout freezing temperatures and sun scorching days. Day after day after day. It’s not unusual to work fourteen days in a row during busy times—that’s bell to bell, making sure that our charges are safe, happy and achieving their goals. Our throats take the biggest beating since we are required to use them often, sometimes to the point of excessive strain such as when we have to yell TURN, TURN, TURN or the dreaded STOP!!!

So it is that I worked my butt off during President’s Week and beyond only to be flattened by the weirdest cold ever early March. I could barely stand up for days as it felt like I was holed up on the sinking Titanic. When I finally emerged to teach again, I was still swooning my first day back, a very strange sensation that totally underscored what we always teach our students—that balance is the foundation of skiing. I didn’t have much of it that day yet fortunately made it back to the barn without injuring myself or anyone else.

I became well just in time for our big spring break blast, the second week of March, sometimes referred to as the Texas week (since that’s when most of the Texans are on vacation). I worked long, full days throughout that ten-day period, often spending time with families I’d connected with in the evenings, burning the candle at both ends and never seeming to be able to fully replenish all the outputting that occurred throughout  those long, super busy days. There’s little time for ourselves during those crush times and although most of us boast a good dozen of ski socks in our sock drawer, we’re often forced to purchase yet another pair since even a simple chore like doing laundry seems insurmountable during peak periods. It is after all all about the mountain and the guests. Laundry, housework, blogging and sometimes even rest has to be put on hold.

As soon as all the delightful—yet sometimes sniffly—kids and adults went home, I found myself slammed again. This time with a raging sore throat that for once in my life left me near speechless. My kitties were ecstatic to find me back on the couch again while I could only groan about my misfortune in a winter where I was determined not to get sick at all.

View from the Couch with Leo and Clara

From outside my window, I saw the glorious seventeen inches fall earlier this week, yearning to play in just one more powder day, quite possibly one of the last and best of the year. No luck. I needed just a couple more days to patch myself up.

Well, I hit it yesterday. I showed back up at lineup and ended up skiing with a lovely bunch of Level 5 skiers (parallel) on creamy snow beneath bluebird skies. I still sounded pretty nasal-y and had to stop every so often to cough, blow my nose or pop a lozenge. It sure beat being on the couch though even with two adorable fuzzy wuzzies. Time is a wasting. Including today we only have seventeen more days left until the mountain closes in Telluride. I’m determined to make it great, sniffles or not.

Yesterday’s Class