March 11, 2009

Life seemed rather mundane after our competition. It was a strange interruption to the normal flow and values of our lives. It had some rather strange effects. Even skiing seemed a little pointless without having a goal. It took a few good runs to shake the feeling that we had lost purpose.

We got off to a slow start on Saturday. We weren’t even sure what we were doing. At the last minute, we decided we would stop to see the ceremonial start of the Iditarod on our way to another free skiing day at Arctic Valley. It seemed like a good idea since we actually know one of the competitors. We decided to try going to the end of the ceremonial start course instead of going downtown like we have in the past. We arrived at the Campbell Creek Science Center and there were already hundreds of cars. We parked along the road and walked to the trail where hundreds of people were lined up on either side. We pushed our way through and headed into the woods, half expecting security to yell at us. Since no one said anything, we headed up the trail. A couple of teams passed while we worked our way a few hundred yards into the woods. I found a spot along the trail with good lighting and we sat down in the snow. Oddly, no one else had ventured this far in so we were alone.

We watched as teams came by. We timed our arrival perfectly as I had time to work on photography before our friend arrived. I had two cameras which saved me the trouble of switching lenses. I had my favorite long lens for getting close-ups of the dogs and competitors and a wide zoom to capture the whole team coming down the wooded trail. It was a little strange sitting there by ourselves seeing the superstars of the sport pass just inches away, waving at us lone people sitting in the woods. Finally our friend rounded the corner. We were pleased to see his wife, whom we actually know quite a bit better, riding in the trailing sled. We cheered as they approached and they struggled to figure out who was cheering for them alone in the woods, bundled up, sitting in the snow. They seemed pleased to have some fans.

It is only slightly more amusing to watch the Iditarod unfold with someone you know in the field. It has quickly become not too interesting as he is well to the back of the pack. At last look, he was in 62^nd position, in easy striking distance of our recommended goal of the Red Lantern, the award given to the last finisher.

Skiing at Arctic Valley was uneventful. The wind was blowing cold in spite of the bright sun. The typical winds of Arctic Valley had scoured most of the mountain down to rocks and crowberries. A few low gullies held nice snow. We explored and found a few nice runs, but suffered a bit from the previous week’s high speed endeavors. We fought to keep our speed down, forcing ourselves to make small turns that didn’t feel quite right. Surprisingly, we both felt fatigue which then combined with the cold and the lack of motivation that results from a free lift ticket. We made a few runs and then quit.

We went back to Alyeska on Sunday. It was another bright sunny day. The snow conditions were fair, very little ice, very little soft snow, but at least generally predictable. We made a relatively full day of it, but still didn’t ski that much. We only made one run down North Face. We laughed about what line to take. Kris half wanted to see the conditions on her line from the previous week, but I insisted we find a different route down. I was pleased to find that all the laps at high speed had an effect on my skiing. I was smoother, especially in the sections that were more demanding, where trees, brush, and other obstacles demanded specific turns. I moved through one tough stretch comfortably ducking the most traveled and scraped up route by making some turns around the small trees that held softer snow on a steep section. This run marked the end of my disruptive mental state of the race and returned me to the true joy of skiing.

Work continues to be demanding as I try to complete my first quarter visits to all the facilities. The weather continues to make such efforts challenging. Last week I went to one of the smallest facilities, a shore based processing facility on the west side of Cook Inlet that is manned by only two employees. The weather turned while I was there, stranding me for two nights. It was a good taste of the strange realities of working in a small facility where you have to spend 24 hours a day with your coworkers. The lead operator made dinner each night, simple dishes, but enough to keep us fed. I was able to do some work there as I had my laptop with me. It was still quite disruptive to my week.

This week I had another visit that required me to get up for the 6:00 AM flight to Kenai on the Monday after the time change. I arrived at the heliport in a snowstorm. I worked out of the Kenai office all morning and the weather cleared up early afternoon. I was able to fly out to a platform and return later that evening, returning me to Anchorage at 9:00 PM, completing another long and disruptive day. I have two more sites to visit before the end of the quarter. Then things should settle down a little for me.

Kris may have suffered an injury in her competitive endeavor, although some yoga and cross country skiing could be at least contributing causes. Part of the reason we didn’t ski much this past weekend was that she was having some back pain, basically those painful muscle spasms that can virtually incapacitate a person. The skiing over the weekend didn’t help and she was unable to go to work on Monday. She stayed home to rest a little and has been taking it easy this week, skipping her normal yoga and cross country skiing of the early part of the week.

The volcano threat appears to have subsided. They have downgraded the threat level, although still warn that it could go off very quickly. People really can’t predict these things. Most of the predictions were based on the human experience of the last eruption a couple decades ago. I don’t think there was any reason to believe that it would act the same way as it did that time as opposed the unknown ways it may have acted during the hundreds of other eruptions in its ancient history. One event can’t constitute a behavioral pattern. It seems like a letdown, but the truth is most of us had lost interest to the point that the downgrade was the first time the mountain was in the news in a couple weeks.