Fixpoint

2020-02-19

Warm and cold, new and old, fresh and salt 4: free falling

Filed under: Vita — Jacob Welsh @ 05:11

Continued from part 3.

A ski trip was about the only suggestion I had for my Christmas list, and for this time around I was treated to a generous three-day stay at Sunday River, one of the top East Coast resorts. I hadn't made it to the slopes since a 2014 Colorado trip; while there are some decent options in Virginia and nearby, the season is on the shorter side making December visits a hit or miss affair.

We stayed at the Snowcap Inn; while on the property, it wasn't really in gear-laden waddling distance to the ski area, and the room was on the basic side for the price. I figure lodging in town would be the better value; the dining certainly was.

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The first day followed on the heels of a nice New Year's Eve powder dump, leaving things a bit on the lumpy side, easy to catch an edge especially when as rusty as me. Nothing I couldn't bounce back from though, and the skills and confidence came back soon enough. Conditions were excellent and temperatures quite comfortable the next two days.

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The views are fantastic.

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Lift rides can be a good chance to strike up conversation with strangers, though many seem to actively avoid it.

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Looking down to the halfway-up Peak Lodge, the favored spot for a hot lunch or just a hot chocolate.

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Salvation's closed, obsession's the only way.

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In what's surely a metaphor for life, the harder trails tend to be easier than the noob ones - once you're good enough to handle them - because of less traffic.

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People even live out there in that nowhere.

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Yours Truly.

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We have to shovel? Life is hard!

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$5 got you a large Belgian waffle. The olfactory advertising covering a good 50 foot radius was all it needed.

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Frosted spruce trees, don't they look tasty? (I'll hazard a guess that the aim made sense earlier in the day due to wind.)

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"Airglow", heading off to the right, was probably my favorite: steady don't-forget-to-breathe downhill thrills yet nothing too treacherous.

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Thin cover in parts.

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I'm a decent skier, though I still steer clear of the double-diamonds (highest difficulty rating), so there'll be no view from past the event horizon.

Growing up I only had a couple trips - mainly through Boy Scouts - which were enough to know I loved it but not nearly enough to get over the initial ineptitude. I made the investment in college, picking up some gear of my own, a season pass, and arranging my spring semester schedule to fit the twice weekly carpool with the ski and snowboard team.

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One alone stands tall.

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The golden hour.

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Back at the inn.

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Sadly not a real wood fire, though still cheery.

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Stretching out a bit and checking the joints were still in working order.

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The end of the trip brought the end of the holiday, after a last night at home, some morning reflection and farewells.

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Connecting through Newark (EWR), the C gate was filled with a microphone and camera array posing as an entertainment and shopping system. It was eerie.

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Somehow it was my camera that stuck out as odd?

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America loves its veterans, and makes sure the supply keeps coming.

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The chairs being bolted down at the designated sitting distance from the desks turned what was trying hard to be a comfortable setup into just another reminder that yes, you're in a public airport.

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We have the figure at 5,596 iPads, on the good authority of Oatly.

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If they were gonna be watching me, it was the least I could do to return the favor!

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But not to worry, they delete the officially announced images. And it's probably even true: who could possibly be bothered to sort through it all?

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Fin.

3 Comments »

  1. Lovely!

    Comment by Susan — 2020-02-19 @ 12:10

  2. Ahaha, that salvation being closed to leave obsession as the only option is just perfect! At least in that case there, this mania to come up with names for ~everything worked well, I'd say.

    Comment by Diana Coman — 2020-02-19 @ 13:28

  3. >In what's surely a metaphor for life, the harder trails tend to be easier than the noob ones - once you're good enough to handle them - because of less traffic.

    Aha well said.

    The iPads are nothing short of a 1984 nightmare. At some airports every.single.table. has them.

    Comment by whaack — 2020-02-19 @ 19:35

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