Spring warmth was teasing the leaves out into the open, and after days of rain we were ready for some fresh air. It was the first Saturday in a very long time I didn’t have to work, and we had a friend nearby ready to hang out.
We decided to hike in our backyard rather than on Mount Greylock as initially planned. Snowboarding down a slope uses very different muscles from hiking up a slope, and the first incline immediately reminded me of how out of shape I was. But the views were so great we just couldn’t stop. I don’t mean just views of the valleys. I mean the simple, nearby views. Animals getting spring busy and snow melting and amazing layers of rock. Those sorts of views.
As we went higher up, we crossed into the fog zone. That was fun. Usually I get off the lift and board through that then break out of it as I go lower. It was wild doing that in reverse.
Since it was so foggy, I didn’t get a shot of the Zephyr – my favorite windmill. But Chris did find a little salamander (we actually saw two, but I just photographed one).
We reached the top and headed down. This was the tough part for me. A bunch of years ago I hurt my knees and have had trouble going down hills since. Not gonna lie, it was pretty excruciating. I walked backwards down the final quarter-ish of the hill, which helped a lot.
After I got back to my home later I was researching options. Next time, I think I will try walking sticks. I also learned that contrary to instinct I should lean forward when feeling the pain and try to walk faster (but not so fast my nose kisses the ground 🙂 ). I slowed down and leaned back. Wrong move. Ah well.
Of course, I had to get an image of a mini waterfall for Aunt Anne.
And for me — I got a picture of my favorite flower.
All in all, we walked a bit over 3 miles, and it took 2. 5 hrs. We wrapped up the day with one of my favorite games by the pool.
Warmer weather hit the Berkshires and Chris and I were ready to really enjoy our “weekend” days (Thursday and Friday). Added to the fun, today I got to share the experience with relatives, including my aunt who also loves snow and mountains. I think a lot of you already follow her, and if not, you should check out her site 😉 She is a brilliant writer who takes everyday life and makes it super fun to read about. Anyway, today she joined us on the slopes — virtually. And my cousin joined in later as well.
At the base we met up on Facebook video from my phone. Any video service would have worked, but this was easiest at the time. I popped in my earphone and held the phone as we went to the ski lift and journeyed up. We showed her the slope we planned to hit, a hotel where a relative had stayed recently, our home and a windmill we would see closer in a bit.
Actually an end-of-the-run shot
She was very patient as I got off the lift and strapped in. We were able to talk even when the video was shaky, then it was time to hit the hill. I went down a relatively easy trail that I knew I could handle. It was a good day for this. Warm, slightly slushy and some patches of ice, but not terrible, and no crowds.
Our piece of paradise is Jiminy Peak Resort in the Berkshire Mountain Range in Massachusetts (answering her questions from her post here). As I went down the mountain, I kept the camera facing away so Aunt Anne could see the run in front of us. She got to see Chris playing around, demonstrating proper snowboard techniques (not my heel-side only stance). I did explain people who do it right mostly point straight down and not keep going side-to-side as I do. haha.
She saw the mountain coaster, the alpine slide and the pool and hot tub in front of our place. Also seeing how close we are to the slopes. When I was nearing the bottom, my cousin’s son, David, joined us for the run.
It was really fun for all of us, and they agreed to let me take the screenshots above. I hope we can do it again sometime.
This was the Ski Tracks app stat summary for our run together:
In her blog post, Aunt Anne commented that I was telling her about toes and heels. The rest of this post is kind of about that. Once upon a time, a bit over 24 hrs ago….
Part 2 of my fun slope days this “weekend”
Yesterday (Thursday) the slopes were unbelievably perfect for a person of my skill level. As Chris pointed out, you could point straight down and not worry about going too fast.
Ice was rare, and the sun was shining. The rides on the chairlifts were like basking in the sun on a beach (but a bit more fun). I heard robins and phoebes and saw some buds on the trees. And even some friendly faces in the woods 🙂
If you look closely, that little one has a smiley face etched on it. Kind of reminds me of a tree Gumby.
This is always a bittersweet time of year. Summer temps and longer daylight are wonderful, too, but it’s sad to say goodbye to all the beautiful snow. So we are grabbing all of it we can.
This season I was really working on turning right (toe-side) better.
As you can see in this pic, I’m a rather embarrassing heel-rider. Can you tell which part of the board is closest to my heels?
The toe-side turns are kind of starting to happen. I don’t have video from today, but I was able to do it at a much faster pace than in times past. Here are some video clips from last autumn and yesterday. Feel free to mute. Some people like the sound of snow scraping, but it can be annoying if you aren’t in the mood.
Here is a clip from November:
And here is a clip from yesterday (March 14, 2019):
Please note how stiff I was and how flat the terrain was in the first video compared to the second video 🙂 I’m working on relaxing, bending my knees and leaning down the hill before I turn.
If you want to see the entire top half of that run – here it is. Beautiful views at the start:
Jumping back to today. I saw this video of my turns last night. I do see how my right arm is winging out and is quite tense. Today I practiced going down the hill with my right hand pinching the left side of my jacket as if it was in a sling to train myself to not count on it for balance.
Chris noticed I was much more relaxed when holding the phone for my aunt so in my final few runs, I let my right arm hang down, but pretended she was on the other side of a camera and focused on keeping it smooth. It’s really working. Yay!
The Views Here Blow my Mind Regularly
Zephyr, the windmill at hill topChris enjoying the viewClouds extending the mountain view
Yup, God done good! And I’m so thankful to be able to be out enjoying the gifts given.
According to my Ski Tracks app, January 16 marked my 13th day on the slopes this season. Thank you Jiminy Peak! Pretty good when you consider last year I went seven times before slipping a disc in my back. And half those times were icy days that made the slopes not-so-fun.
Now, as I approach the one-year-mark of my 2017/18 season’s demise, I’m finding myself extra thankful for slope time.
Last summer I wrote about our new place in Massachusetts. We had a feeling we wouldn’t regret getting a place at Jiminy Peak, but we also didn’t realize how great it would actually be. Before we got the place, we talked with friends and locals and heard about the great grooming there. Sure enough, thanks to a bit of cold, snow guns, and grooming, we were able to hit the slopes November 17, 2018.
Since Chris and I can work from anywhere with an Internet, it’s really easy to set up an office slope-side. Check out my view as I work 🙂
You can’t see it in the picture, but there are some trails we can see from our window so when I look up, I can see skiers and boarders coming down.
My job allows me to choose the hours I work so I’m trying a new schedule out. Generally I work four 10-hr days, but I’m testing a five-day week. I generally work ten hours on Saturdays and Sundays, which isn’t a problem since the slopes are busier on those days. Then I work for four hours in the morning, and three hours at night. In the morning time, you will often find me working in front of this fire:
Fireplace at Jiminy Peak
In the early afternoon I hit the slopes with my favorite snowboard buddy.
Chris enjoying play time on the beautiful hills at Jiminy Peak
I work for a few more hours in the evening then either wind down in the hot tub or in front of the outdoor fire as I watch the skiers and boarders. Chris will sometimes grab extra runs then as well.
Of course, we aren’t always there. Often we are back in New York, enjoying the beauty of snow there as well.
The east coast hasn’t had much snow this year, but the slopes have been fine. My last two days there were amazing. I didn’t want to stop. And now we have a load of fresh snow thanks to the latest storm. I can’t wait to get back out there…
December is a funky month, full of highs and lows. Perhaps for everyone, and certainly for Chris and me. And this year it seemed particularly diverse in emotions.
In December I:
Celebrated exciting life milestones.
Mourned for people no longer breathing in our earthly sphere.
Re-learned lessons I should have known and came pretty close to burn-out in work.
Took some time away from work/computers (hence the lack of blog posts this past month).
Relished in some slope therapy.
Celebrated a birthday, Christmas, a 27th-year-wedding anniversary with the yin to my yang (and vice versa) and New Year’s Eve. All very simple celebrations, but beautiful–with people who love me and who I love.
Felt lost in my own existence.
Started finding myself again.
At the end of November, I would not have predicted that December was going to hit so hard. In retrospect, I’m still not sure how or why it did. Perhaps it was because there were no kids in the house, and life was otherwise pretty stable. That gave me time to think about things a bit deeper.
All I can say is that it was a month lived. Highs, lows — that’s how it goes.
Here are some of the month’s highlights:
I got to swim after hitting the slopes. So lovely.
We spent a bunch of days playing on the hill.
Nothing like a good view while snowboarding. It fills my soul with peace.
Fire-pit at the base of the slope.
An ice cream cake from Mom Pollock for my birthday..
An amazing birthday gift – new snowboard boots 🙂
Our small Christmas tree inside.
Huge tree in the yard is a reflection of the small tree inside.
Walking home from church Christmas Eve with snow fairies kissing our noses..
Lots of love at church. Mom played the organ for the service.
Christmas morning 2018. A gift in itself.
Embrace who you are and your divine purpose. Identify the barriers in your life, and develop discipline, courage and the strength to permanently move beyond them, and keep moving forward.
One of my favorite things to do in Massachusetts is to walk from my place down to the main lobby, grab a cup of coffee, and head out to the front porch for an hour or two of work. Since I work from home, it can get quite isolating.
When I’m on the porch, people come and go around me, and I love hearing all the different accents, and feeling the energy around me. Since most people are there on vacation, it’s a very happy place generally. There are lot of people from the New York city area, and I have to admit that I feel like I’m home listening to their accents.
I grew up on Long Island then moved to western NY, where I spent a few decades. I hadn’t noticed that I missed the accent, but when I hear the accents around me, it feels so right.
Aside from the general conversations and energy mentioned, I love the view I get. In particular, I love when it’s raining, and I’m cozied on the porch, under shelter, listening to the rain fall as I work, looking at a beautiful view when I glance up. My image collection doesn’t have a record of that, so I will try to get that photo sometime in my future. But I bet you can imagine hills framed by rain and immerse yourself in the beauty of that mental image.
And then there’s one of my favorite parts of porch work. I have a work buddy who is there almost every day. It’s really tempting to offer treats, but I don’t. And yet, the little one still comes regularly to check things out. So fun!
It’s still okay to dream when one is in your 40s or 50s right? Chris and I have been dreaming of having a snowboard condo, preferably near our kiddos in Utah. As we researched and dreamed, we realized that Utah wasn’t ideal for our situation, but thanks to computer cookies, we started getting ads for places a bit more local, and found ourselves looking seriously at Jiminy Peak — a medium-size resort in the Berkshires, near where Chris grew up.
This seemed kinda ideal because:
While our home has tons of snow, there are no “real” hills. We have to travel 90 minutes each way to get to a decent slope.
It’s close to a bunch of family and friends.
It’s within an hour of the gallery where Chris had shows in the past.
It’s right smack in the art corridor so we are surrounded by music, artists and museums when we visit.
We walk about 500 feet out the door to get to a ski lift.
Summers are super quiet (even though there’s still lots of fun stuff if we want to do it).
It has a bed for Mom and is closer to my sisters-in-law, which is nice for her visiting.
It has a year-round heated pool 🙂 and coffee in the lobby in the mornings and evenings.
It’s only 3.5 hrs from our main home so it’s easy to take quick trips there.
A hundred other reasons
Last spring, we visited the place as guests, testing the waters, and next thing you know, we were signing some papers. Now we have a very humble condo (really, a small hotel suite) at the base of some beautiful hills.
I’m certain I’ll be writing posts referring to the area, so I wanted to let you all know the story behind it. Maybe I’ll even make my next bunch of posts highlights of what I love about it. There’s an idea…
When life gets stressful, sometimes the best medicine is sitting back and looking out a window. Chipmunks scampering, birds flying, the wind rustling tree leaves, and even the occasional hoot of an owl (the video below doesn’t have visuals, but you can hear the owl). How soothing for the soul.
