There is just something about a good day trip; especially when you are able to get out on a weekday to an area that you don’t normally get to. I am fortunate that I have every other Friday off at my job, so Friday’s in the winter are my designated ski day.
It is so satisfying to get up early in the morning and head out through the morning traffic with all your gear knowing that most of the people that you pass are going to work; and knowing that some of them know that you are not. If you get out on the road before daylight you can watch the sun come up across the mountains to the East, knowing that is where you are heading. If your timing is right you could be lucky and see a few snowflakes in your headlight beams and maybe you won’t be able to see the mountains because they are shrouded in the clouds of snow showers.
You may be meeting up with someone else to ski with that day, or you may be going solo. It doesn’t matter, you know that the people you will see out today are the real skiers, not the groups that will be everywhere over the weekend. The lift lines will be non-existent and you get to ski lap after lap in relative solitude. The pace of a weekday is just more relaxed than on a weekend; there is less of a sense of urgency and tension and the cheaper lift ticket price doesn’t hurt either. It’s easy to take a break for lunch, spend a little time chatting with someone on the slope, or just stop to take in the view.
Whether it is a warm, sunny day or cold and cloudy, the weather is perfect because you are out on the slopes. It is a day to work on technique or just run as many laps as you can, or both. I love those weekday solo trips for the lack of planning involved. There is no real agenda other than being where you want to be and doing what you want to do. No need to worry about when lunch is, you can eat at 10AM or skip it altogether. You can make 2 runs all day or 20, whatever feels right today.
Eventually you have to load everything back up and head for home. Passing you are those same people coming home from work, full of road rage and workday angst; while you are relaxed with a smile on your face. No hurries and no worries.
It brings a smile to my face just thinking about my last day trip, and makes me look forward to my next one.
Hope to see you on the slopes on my next day trip!
David
You can write to Dave at [email protected] (He’s love to hear from you.)