An Interesting Winter

      So it's been an interesting winter. Interesting meaning it hasn't really happened. We've had a couple of cold days here and there, and the occasional snow storm. The strangest thing about this winter is that none of it seems to last. When I left for New Hampshire before vacation, it actually looked like winter; the slush and snow banks on the road and white pretty much everywhere. When I came back  earlier this week, I was floored. It's essentially the end of March. No snow and well above freezing. And today I saw something that I have honestly never seen, shorts in February.

      While it is nice that I haven't had to endure as much of winter's typical hardships as usual, cleaning snow of the car, shoveling, etc,  I can honestly say that I was hoping for better. I know that many people absolutely loath the season and I'm sure they are completely content with this abnormal weather. However, I miss winter.

      Powder days are without a doubt the best days of the year for skiing. Sure training on pristine hard corduroy is nice, but it doesn't compare to a day of tree skiing and bush whacking with 10 inches of fresh powder. We have had ZERO powder days this winter. Last week I wishfully ventured into the woods after a dropping of a couple inches. Long story short, while it was nice to go into  the woods just to say I did it this winter, I hit a lot of rocks. I love and miss everything about what makes winter the season it is. 

What Skiing Means to Me

     Last week, I read a blog where the person wrote about an activity they really enjoyed: skiing. This inspired me to profess my own love for the sport. So here it goes.

     I would say that my experiences with skiing are much different from those of  a typical kid here at RMHS. For many, skiing is a fun hobby that usually happens once or twice a winter. For me, it is a sport and a lifestyle. I started skiing when I was 2 and a half, and I basically haven't stopped. My family drives up to North Conway, NH every weekend in  the winter, two and a half hours each way. I would ski every Saturday and Sunday in an organized group with an instructor;  and since 5th grade, I have been involved in ski racing.

     So what does ski racing entail? a lot. First off, you wake up early. On a good day, I sleep in until 7am. Sometimes on race days, I get to wake up as early as 4:30am to drive to mountains all over NH. Most days go from 8-3, where I run practice courses set up by our coaches. There have been days where I have only skied one trail the entire day! At the end of most days my feet ache, my back hurts, and I usually have bruises from hitting gates. You're probably thinking right now why do I even do this?

     Well for one, I like it. I really like it. I love skiing and I have come to love racing and training. It has become such a big part of my life that I couldn't imagine my winters without it. Of course, this lifestyle requires sacrifices. I rarely spend winter weekends or vacations down in Reading. This means that I'm away from friends and basically life in Reading for most of the winter. But luckily I have developed a second life in NH and have made many close friends from skiing.

     Now although I do train an exorbitant number of hours each weekend, I know that I'm not making it to the Olympics or anything. But I realized something while I was free skiing with some cousins at Loon Mountain last weekend. I may be an average racer, but I am still a fantastic skier. And over the years of hard work, I have developed the technique and skill that gives me the confidence to ski anywhere and everywhere in the world. This may be my last year in the racing program, but I know I have a lot of skiing left to do.