2004-03-08
SKIING PART TWO, PART THREE
Several minutes passed. I�m not sure how many, exactly, but it felt like an eternity. I got in line for the chair lift a dozen times and changed my mind. I was certain I�d see them whizzing down the hill the second the chairlift scooped me up.
The internal debate was starting to become tiresome, so I made a final decision to go looking for Tony, John and Caryn. The resort isn�t that big, and odds were good I�d find them at some point. Hopefully that would be sooner rather than later.
I went up the triple chair, chatting with the two women to my left. They were visiting with their ski club from Ohio, and they were decked to the nines in the most expensive ski garb. They were either serious skiers or just really freaking wealthy. I whined to them about my predicament, and was assured I�d find my lost companions in no time. This response did nothing to assuage my worry, and if I hadn�t been wearing gloves on that ride, I�d have bitten my nails to the quick.
I waved to my seatmates and sped down the shuttle toward Twinkle. My plan was to ski down Twinkle and take the shuttle back to Central so I could scan the paths. For some unknown reason, I was compelled to change my plan and I decided to forego the shuttle and take Twinkle all the way to the bottom. I avoided the slushy parts, turned to the right and headed directly for the south chair.
As I approached the bottom of Twinkle, I saw two silver helmets and a red arm waving at me! Waho! They were waiting in line for the lift, and serendipitously, for me. I practically knocked Tony over skiing to him, and I grabbed him and began apologizing profusely for my selfish behavior. And as if I needed a reason to love this man any more, he just looked at me, smiled and said, �It�s okay. It�s all good.� He stood at the bottom of Twinkle waiting for my impulsive ass to show up while I was standing at the bottom of Mistletoe, hoping to see him careening down the hill like a pro. John and Caryn managed to take another run while Tony waited for me, which eased my troubled mind a bit. Still, I couldn�t stop apologizing to Tony. He reassured me with his smile and his hand on my back. On the ride up, I put my head on his shoulder, closed my eyes and relaxed.
I videotaped our journey back to Central and we took a short break. Caryn and John got a bite to eat, I kept an eye on the skis, and Tony perfected his turns on the practice hill. Back on the slopes, John and Caryn attempted a blue square called Hemlock while Tony and I whipped down Twinkle. At the bottom, John and Caryn encouraged Tony to give Hemlock a try. Even though it�s a blue square, it�s actually not as steep as Twinkle. Twinkle�s ample width, I believe, gives it green circle status, but it�s certainly not a beginner�s slope. On the shuttle, we pulled over to the side and adjusted our gear. We watched a young girl and her father (who, incidentally had the quintessential Buffalo haircut for �happening� men, exceeded in quantity only by the mullet...jet black hair with receding hairline pulled back into a long ponytail...ick!) begin their descent into Hemlock with confidence. We could not be shown up by an eight year old with no poles and a father with no sense of good hair fashion, so we steered toward Hemlock.
Tony maneuvered the twists and turns with ease. I skied behind him and when we ended up next to each other on the shuttle to Central, I �woohooed� to him in a loud voice. Ever cautious, he declined to �woohoo� back until we were coasting to the line for the chairlift at the bottom of Mistletoe. Then he �woohooed�. He �woohooed� for good reason. He�d just skied his first blue square!
We rode back up and decided to give Hemlock Branch a go. I had skied this slope earlier in the day with Caryn�s skis under my arms, so I was pretty confident we would have a successful run. As the day progressed, the temperature dropped slightly, and some icy patches developed on several slopes. Hemlock Branch was not immune to ice. I was skiing in front of Tony, just slightly, when we both hit the same patch of ice. We wiped out simultaneously. I was going way too fast for conditions, so I rolled down the hill a bit before skidding to a halt. A couple of skiers stopped to see if we needed help, but we waved them on as we regained our balance. We finished the run cautiously, but not defeated.
Our last run of the day was perfect. We cruised the shuttle with the wind whipping our faces. The sun that warmed and reddened us earlier had disappeared and the frigid air felt exhilarating. Our skis edged the entire breadth of Twinkle as we turned widely to enjoy the powdery surface for the last time this season.
On the way home, I realized I�d left my brand new fifty dollar goggles behind, probably on the bench of the rental shop. I was mildly annoyed at my typical absent mindedness because the goggles cost more than the entire day of skiing, but there was no way I was going back for them. They�d go into the lost and found or some lucky, random skier would have a new pair of goggles that day.
We were tired that night, but not exhausted. I fell asleep in Tony�s arms, thinking about next winter and looking forward to sharing more new experiences through two pairs of eyes; one, energetic and vivacious, the other calm and thoughtful. A perfect balance. When I woke up, I�m pretty sure I was still smiling.
joeparadox at 10:20 p.m.