The ski trip to Holiday Valley near Ellicottville, New York was Friday, January 16. Departure time was 6:30 a.m. so I was up and out at 5 to fetch the paper and fill the bird feeders. Our pooch, Casey, was thrilled to be up and out of the house so early until we hit the minus eleven air temp. I could tell that he was thinking, "What the . . . "Here is a picture that LInda took today showing how I dressed for comfort (survival?). How do you like that smile? Dressing warm enough sometimes means putting on a bit of a sweat on the runs that translates to a chill on the lift. Patagonia gear makes it easier to tune the layers for wicking and venting. It worked for me.
I did runs from 11 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. (with some lodge breaks, of course) when the low light flattened everything out and made it tough to see the whoop-de-doos. So I quit: creeping fatigue and flat light can be the formula for crash and burn.
The chill wasn't bad on the cross wind lifts but the high speed quad for the run up Mardi Gras was right into the teeth of it. That was the only time I felt the bite. In that cold, everything squeaked: skis on the snow, pole tips in the snow. Even though it was single digits in the sun, the mostly blue sky was incredible after the week or so we've had of cloud cover.
When the bus returned us to the school lot and our cars, I found the half cup of coffee I'd left behind frozen solid in my travel cup.
