Ah, Skiing?

A storm finally came through to bless the mountains with snow (none in the valley here). Bogus Basin ski area opened this past Thursday. Yesterday was the first day they opened the entire mountain. Being like everyone else, we wanted to go skiing. Being not quite like everyone else, we didn't want to be in crowds. So instead of driving up to Bogus, we headed for different mountains.
The list of players:

Frank - the avid skier, owns 3-5 pairs of skis.

Lisa - the recreational skier and photographer whom you don't see much in the pictures, owns two pairs of skis (one for down hill and one for nordic).

Anna - the reluctant skier, owns one pair of skis (she has given up on downhill skiing).

It didn't start off too well. Anna didn't really want to go skiing. When we tried her boots on, she said they were too small and hurt her feet. I thought I had asked Frank in November about if the boots fit and he said they should be fine. I should have made sure by asking if they had tried them on. Anna's feet are about the same size as mine. I tried them on and they were tight in the toes, but thought they would be o.k. for the day. We also told Anna as she skied, they should loosen up some.

Before we even got going she was not in a happy mood. Then halfway through the drive, she noticed we weren't going to Bogus Basin. (We went to a Park-n-Ski area outside Idaho city which I haven't been to in about 7 years.) Anna likes routine and familiarity so this did not enhance her mood any.

When we arrived it was very cold in the parking area and the trail that was supposed to be groomed had not been groomed yet. It looked like the groomer had made one round to break up the snow, but Frank said he would have two more rounds to go. Anna was not happy about that. Through much trial and frustration on Anna and Frank's part. We got going.

Frank was so frustrated with Anna's complaints that he eventually went skiing ahead and played around off trail. That worked for us, because if he was going to be grumpy, I rather he not be around. Anna went very slowly and I was behind her the entire way. She really doesn't know how to nordic ski that well and putting her in that situation was a bit of a challenge. Of course, we believe she can do it and she does need a little pushing lots of times. But there is a point when you know you don't want to push too far. I know at some points she was enjoying the scenery of the snow and was playing around with her poles in the fresh snow on the side. So it couldn't have been all that bad.

We didn't make it around the loop and turned back the way we came. We probably did about two and a half miles. Despite the grumpiness and slow pace, I enjoyed it. That's the difference between Frank and me. He wants to go out and ski hard, play off-trail and he goes fairly quickly (my whole life, I'm always trying to catch up to him). I just like being outside in nature and noticing the details of what I'm skiing past and it doesn't matter to me how fast I go or how far I go. In the end, we joked about torturing Anna and returned home happy.

Since Christmas is almost here, this might be the last advent tip. When I open my presents, I try to open them very carefully because I like to save the wrapping paper to use again. Over the years, I have done this and had had to buy very little wrapping paper. You can also cut out motifs on the papers to make cards or tags. I also save the tissue papers and boxes. Hopefully, it cuts down on some of the after-Christmas trash.