Alyeska

This past week Heather and I have twice ventured south yonder to Alyeska Ski Mountain, which is in Girdwood, about an hour drive from our apartment.

Heather took up skiing after we met as I have grown up in the sport. Already, it has become something we love going and doing together. Upon invitation by one of the pharmacists she works with, Heather joined a ski class that meets each Wednesday during the month of January. For a quite reasonable price, they offer class members three hours with an instructor, rentals, a lift ticket and lunch. Heather's spaghetti was far better than my smooshed ham sandwich.

We went this past Saturday, just to ski for they day, check out the mountain, and get our skiing feet back before she began the class. It was a poor choice. The half-day pass (which we got) was only $5 less than a full-day, the very top of the mountain was closed, and it was raining (high on the mountain it was snow). Rain makes the snow very slushy and hard to turn in. It also makes your clothes wet. Because of the heavy snow, Heather fell three times, one of which was a glorious yard sale (losing poles and skies) worthy of being applauded from those on the nearby chair lift. By the end we were soaked through every layer. We were ready to leave before quitting time having learned the lesson that skiing in the rain is not for us.

Luckily, Wednesday was a beautiful day. Skiing conditions were perfect as the night before clouds had dropped 14 inches of fresh powder on the mountain. In the middle of the week, there were few people there so no lift lines or crowded slopes. The temp was in the twenties and the air crisp. A perfect skiing day.

The ski mountain sits in a bowl a few miles wide. The chair lift takes you above the tree line where there's nothing but open skiable area. There's few sectioned off trails up there, but mostly just hillside ripe for the adventurous. Anywhere you can get to, you can ski down.

So, from 10:30 to 1:30pm, Heather skied with her class, and I moseyed off to explore what over of foot of fresh powder is like. And it's great! However, it does require a little getting used to as usually your feet and skies are totally covered up. At one point, while going down a double-black diamond, the powder was so thick I was buried literally up to my knees, and my poles were no use because they just sink when you try to plant them into sturdy ground. After that run (like the previous rainy day) my inner-most layer was soaked, but not because wet snow or water had gotten in but because I was sweating so hard.

After lunch we met up, and Heather told me all about how great her class was. She has a very solid instructor who gave her tips I never could. She learned to ski from me and my family, but there's some things that it takes a professional to teach. Immediately, on our first run down, I could tell she'd improved. Her form was solid and she had more confidence. Heather didn't fall all day, and she even reminded me about a few points on how to ski better.

I hope the pictures do most of the talking in this post. The views, obviously, were gorgeous, and the pics don't even show it all. Heather's got three more Wednesdays to ski and learn. I'll be working those days, but hopefully, the next time we get to go together she'll be hopping like a pro past me while I get back up, fetch my poles and put my skies back on. (Yeah right, like I would ever fall!)