Sur La Piste

Well, I finally made it out to Hailey and Jon already had me in ski boots and skis within a day and a half of arriving. For anyone who knows him, this is no surprise. I'm not complaining but I definitely wasn't begging him to go since I'm not in the best shape and haven't skiied in ten years...I've also never skiied in the backcountry, which is an entirely different animal. Jon was psyched. I was ready for a day of physical annihilation.

Nevertheless, I managed to ski 1,748 vertical feet up and along Titus Ridge. Skinning up the mountain (hiking up on skis that have adjustable bindings for heel-release, and fabric on the underside which prevent sliding backward) actually came pretty naturally to me. However, the skiing part did not! So disappointed! I grew up skiing and my whole family is pretty obsessed with it, but I've been snowboarding for the last ten years, so I've become unfamiliar with it. Someone told me it's like riding a bike...well that person was wrong. To give myself a break, I have never skiied in such heavy powder like I did today and I was breaking in new boots (so, come on!). I thanked Jon for taking his out-of-shape girlfriend who was skiing for the first time in ten years, and who has never skiied in the backcountry before, on a ski tour that lasted four hours and included tree runs and lots of uphill skinning. 

See below for my "Thanks, Jon" face:

In all seriousness, it was an awesome day and the views were breathtaking. All the huffing and puffing and frozen hair were worth it. I even started to get the feel for skiing again by the very end of the day. But it's safe to say that my entire body will be in pain tomorrow, can't wait!

As we were skinning up the mountain and I asked Jon to take our 8th break, or so, I explained that despite the fact that I was struggling during the second half of the day I was still having a great time. I didn't expect to be thrown into all this so fast, but sometimes it's better to just suck it up and dive in. Yea, I'm not in the greatest shape mid-January, but that's not going to change in one or two weeks so I might as well start now! In other words, I am "sur la piste", or "on the trail", in more ways than one. I am already balls deep in a new life out west full of new adventures, and I'm completely psyched. It was a really rewarding day, and I even managed to not get defensive when Jon gave me skiing tips...that may have been my greatest accomplishment. We definitely had a fun day, and never disappoint when it comes to making fun of each other no matter what the situation. 

Jon breaking trail on Titus Ridge:

When we got home, Jon made a pretty bangin meal of gluten-free pasta and homemade tomato sauce. This was after I said no on our drive home to stopping at the avalanche beacon park to practice locating avalanche beacons in the snow. Again...you have to know Jon to appreciate that scenario...always psyched for snow-related anything. He may also be half machine.

Also, now I know what I'm going to look like when I'm 70 and have gray hair. Exhibit A:

In other news, my car is still not out here and who knows when it will arrive. I'm crossing my fingers it gets here before my job starts on the 17th or I might have to borrow big Bertha to get to work.

Til next time,
-Bagel (ha!)