Monday, December 3, 2007

Opening Day and Then Some

It was a great feeling pulling into the parking lot of Jackson Hole Ski Resort on Saturday for the resort's Opening Day. I got there at the same time as the other crazies, who were also trying to get the first chair of the season. The first day of a ski season is always exciting for me, but to be at Jackson Hole, on opening day, and with a season pass in my pocket made it too good to be true.

It was nice to be back on skis and enjoying again all of the freedom that comes with this sport. I enjoyed myself so much that my first five runs were on the same run, Lower Werner, a green circle. It didn't matter where I was skiing; just being on skis was good enough for me.

The terrain
on the mountain has been limited in the past three days (note: the photo to the left shows most of the open terrain at this point). Because the resort is so steep and rocky, it requires a fair amount of snow to make most parts of the mountain safe and skiable. Even though only 20% of the mountain has been open during this time, I honestly don't mind. It gives me the chance to figure out my new ski boots and re-familiarize myself with my ski technique on beginner and easy intermediate runs. Plus, you can always count on a few leg burning runs when you're not in ski shape and skiing around 7,000 feet.

I can't overstate how great the people of Wyoming have been to me so far. Everyone's so friendly and willing to lend a helping hand. For instance, a guy skiied out of his way today to help me after a wipeout. Not only did he retrieve my ski and ski down part of the slope with it, but he unlocked the binding before he handed the ski over to me. Another pleasant surprise was when I was in the supermarket the other day. My cashier attendant, who was a lady that must've been in her 70s (kudos to her), read the packaging of an item that was just swiped through the scanner and then pulled off and scanned the attached coupon. She didn't make a big deal of it or even say a word about giving me the discount.

It's these simple actions that I wish I experienced more often in every day life. I'm not sure if it has to do with small town life or mountain town life. Either way, it's nice.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...
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Unknown said...

I think that's awesome....yes, that good feeling you get from living with caring and thoughtful people is called quality of life. sometimes we forget about that when stuffed into an expensive crazy city...but an good example for those of us not in Wyoming to try harder to be mindful of others. Have fun skiing day four! Shred those green circles, baby, shred them!

Anonymous said...

nice people are nice

Anonymous said...

Have you gotten the car fixed yet? How much is it going to cost? Does insurance cover deer accidents?

Anonymous said...

I can't believe a deer ran into your car. That is insane. I am glad to hear you hit the slopes already. It's good to hear someone is getting time in!!! I can't wait for your next update.

I'm hoping the storms are heading your way too. We may get some snow here for this weekend, so we can finally get our first day in.