No Snow

So I go on a skiing holiday with my family and other assorted significant folk, brilliant, except there is no snow, ah! However I am on holiday with my family and other assorted significant folk, also there is a rather excellent coffee come book shop down in the local town, so all is definitely not lost.

I have been doing a lot of writing in lieu of skiing since we have been here, nothing like sitting surround by words, whilst stringing your own thoughts together on paper. I think there will be a lot more of that over the course of the next week. Not so much due to the lack of snow (and the fact I’ve given myself shin splints), the snow is not the nicest, but equally not un-ski-able, there are other forces at work which will likely keep me away from the slopes.

Going out and catching a few runs is fine, it’s more tiring than usual, you have to have your wits about you, not just for the usual, occasional death cookies, (hard lumps of ice that sit innocently, blending into the snow, waiting to catch out the unwary skier or snowboarder and bring them crashing down in a hail of limbs and equipment) but also for, rocks, grass, tree debris, and occasionally actual trees. There is also a lot of ice, not the patchy, “I’ll just go straight over this and turn elsewhere” sort, the “Oh bugger I’ve run out of slope, I’m going to have to turn really quickly or do an embarrassing reverse out of this if I’m not careful” sort. Still all of these obstacles can be overcome or at least avoided and anyway the views are still great, the sun is warm on your back, and the light is fantastic. There are bits of the mountain best avoided; equally there are runs that I usually hate which are simply beautiful at the moment. One black run in particular I would usually steer clear of, as though it might give me rabies or the bubonic plague, yet being protected from the wind and having gained it’s self a bit of an reputation for being a bastard, means it still has a covering of that illicit white powder, (yes snow, not crack!) and there is no-one else on it.

On the whole, whilst the season is currently leaving a lot to be desired, there is still fun to be had out on the slopes. However it seems the circus may have just rolled in to town and my PMA (positive mental attitude) might be about to evaporate along with the last of the powder patches. Music Fest has just kicked off and college ski week is imminent on the horizon, I have nothing against the hordes of country music fans rolling in to town, nor the college kids coming from a good time, and more than a few beers, the town, could certainly do with the visitors. It is the fact that the folks rolling in, from far and wide, seem to think they can ski despite barely being able to tell a ski from a snow board, or having the foggiest idea how to do up their boots. Sure they have been to the store and brought all of the equipment, well at least all of the equipment they think is trendy and cool, the sudden decline in the amount of people wearing helmets is both alarming and astonishing, still it is their delicate melons that will split open when they fall not mine, and there is the but, they will fall, they do, frequently and generally in front of me! That is what is going to make the mountain un-ski-able for the next few days, the sheer numbers of people out there who are unable to ski and unwilling to accept the fact that it is not a sport you can ‘just pick up’, nor is it wise to try. Much as I love skiing and others in my group love snowboarding, it is a dangerous sport which can result in some really nasty injuries, not only to you but to other people. I know I can ski, I know I can avoid the odd one or two folks who get into a bit of trouble and lose control, but when that becomes everyone on the mountain I am not willing to take the risk!

So for the time being you will find me sat in the book shop with a big steam mug of chai tea latte, and my notebook. To those of you braving the mountain, good luck!