March 10, 2007

Is it possible to get sick of blue skies and sunshine? We seem to be stuck in a weather rut. We broke out of it briefly this week. The ski resort got a couple feet of snow. Anchorage got a few inches.

The ski resort got a nice freshening. It could still use some more snow, but the conditions today were the best we have seen for a long time. I felt like I forgot how to ski. We have been skiing smooth, fast, hard snow for so long, that we forgot how much work it is to ski in the soft snow. We had been making nonstop top to bottom runs on the hard snow. Today we were stopping frequently to catch our breath.

We skied with two of my coworkers today. We gave them some useful help and had fun. They didn’t get there until mid afternoon so we skied several hard charging runs on our own first. Once we wore them out, Kris and I went back to the top for a couple more runs to end the day. It was a long day of skiing.

We skied both days last weekend even though it was hard packed snow. We skied fast. I used my old skis since they make longer turns. I didn’t expect to use them so much this year.

I timed us from top to bottom on one run, following the route the downhill course will take for the national event coming up in a couple weeks. It took us four and half minutes. The world class athletes will run that in about half that while making difficult turns. We couldn’t really go at an unlimited speed since without a closed course, we had to worry about other skiers. Excuses aside, we were going as fast as we wanted most of the time as we were continuously scrubbing speed. Our average speed was probably close to 30 mph. I don’t think I want to go 60 on skis.

I attended my first union rally this week. It was amusing, people chanting and carrying signs. It is odd to have my salary determined by the negotiating process. It is a learning process to see this from the other side. The whole process of negotiations seems disrespectful. I can now better understand the frustration that people feel. Negotiating for my own salary always seemed like a more straightforward process.

Last night we went to see some of the Banff Mountain Film Festival films. It was inspiring. People do some amazing things outdoors. We saw films on biking, skiing, kayaking, and rock climbing. We are motivated.