One of my favorite seasons of the year is winter, and for one reason - skiing.
I love skiing, especially when I have the opportunity to do so in the Rockies. Growing up on the East Coast made skiing challenging, but also probably made me a better skier in good conditions because I had to learn in such challenging ones.
This month, I was fortunate enough to get back out to Colorado. My family visited friends who live in Snowmass Village, Colorado. We planned to ski four days, but a snowstorm granted us a fifth bonus day of nothing but fresh powder.
Until this trip I hadn't really powder skied. I've skied in an inch or two on top of a groomed trail, but this was several inches of powder and I was constantly skiing fresh tracks.
One of the things I love about the snow in Colorado is how easy it is to turn. The crews at the ski resorts drive snowcats all night over the trails to groom them, leaving the trails in corduroy. This trip, the snow was coming down so fast that there was hardly ever any corduroy in sight.
Several inches of powder is actually easier to turn in, so much so that I was probably doubling or even tripling the number of turns I was making. The excessive turning slowed down my skiing, I busted through mounds of powder and giggled the whole time.
Later, I discovered what a workout all those turns were! My legs were definitely feeling it, a good sore, but sore nonetheless. I'm sure the workout was equivalent to a few sets of squats. Plus my core was engaged while skiing. The powder certainly made it a slow game, and a much more intensive workout than the typical corduroy day.
Five days of fresh powder skiing was certainly a treat and I loved every second of it. My legs definitely felt it and I don't know if I could have pushed through a sixth day, but it was all worth it!
Have any powder day stories? Or some tips for skiing in the powder?
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