It was a cold and clear Monday morning, and an hour before sunrise. I left my warm house, bundled in polypropylene and wool. The car was cold, the steering wheel icy, I backed out of the garage and across the snow, my wheels making crunchy and squeaky sounds. The headlights revealed a gleam to the asphalt that warned of ice on the road. The temperature hovered at 15 degrees. I was on a mission…
I met my team of skiers in the town of Superior, Vaughn and his long time friends Richard and Maggie, all dedicated to hit the slopes. The drive to Copper Mountain, in Richards car, followed Vaughn’s breakfast of bacon and eggs and coffee. It went smoothly. We cruised past a herd of big horn sheep, some with curled horns, along the side of I-70. A surprising sight when first seen, apparently they frequent the side of the interstate, attracted to the salt on the road. One ewe was in the traffic lane, licking the highway! Lucky if she didn’t freeze her tongue to the asphalt!
Copper Mountain showed up just on time, with all of us clamoring from the car and heading for the restrooms. Ski boots went on, gloves in place, skis shouldered, poles in hand, we jumped on the shuttle and headed for the lifts. Being a weekday we had the place pretty much to our selves. The sun was shining; it had snowed the last three days. Couldn’t ask for a prettier day.
We headed to the top of the mountain, a two-lift ride, where we split into two groups, the mogulers and the groomers. I was with Vaughn on the groomed slopes. This was his second day on skis in recent years. Being a snowboarder, he picked this up quickly. He said, he felt, sometimes, out of control, but he was skiing faster than I was, right from the start. The other two had history as ski instructors and found our pace a little slow. Slow for them was fast enough for me.
The sky and the snow were crisp. Clouds came and went. The sun was brilliant, when exposed, showing the texture of the snow. When the clouds showed up, the light was flat and we skied by feel, really the way it is supposed to be. We did about a hundred runs before lunch and half that many after. My legs ached.
At 2:00 we met at the bottom of the lifts and headed for the car. On the way home every body was quiet with that mellow mood that follows exertion. We passed a herd of elk, maybe 30 animals, along the side of the interstate. A day for large mammals. We were back in Superior by 4:00 and I was home before 5:00