We haven’t talked skiing in awhile, though some of you may have seen my tweet the other day that I skiied my first DOUBLE BLACK run. That’s right, kids, I SKIIED A DOUBLE BLACK.
At the beginning of the season, I had a come-to-Jesus-or-whoever-the-ski-god is talk with myself where I finally made peace with the fact that I may never ski a black, much less a double black. I came to peace with the fact that I might never be able to keep up with That Ripped Guy of Mine(TM) who has been on skis since he could walk, I may never be able to hike and ski the bowl (Highlands Bowl, for the uninitiated, which only offers the most awesome skiing in all of Aspen), and I might, maybe prefer apres-ski to ski.
But I have steadily been progressing past these fears safe in the knowledge that I don’t HAVE to unless I WANT to. It’s remarkable how empowering that is.
I skiied a black when Ryan came to town in January; it was awesome. It was also a powder day. Fresh powder makes skiing easy. Tracked powder makes skiing … easier? The same? I’m not sure. Since then, I’ve played in some bumps and tackled a few other black runs without fear. I’ve also gotten used to skiing A LOT faster, which is super fun. But still sorta scary. Sometimes.
Earlier this week, we had an epic powder day, a foot overnight to leave the mountain absolutely COVERED in deep snow. On the gondola up Aspen Mountain, the friend I was skiing with pointed to a run off of Gent’s Ridge (a black run in itself) and said, “Let’s go there!”
I said, “You know I’m a baby, right?”
She said, “We’re doing it!”
So we took a warmup and headed on over to this run, just skier’s right of Glade 3 (a double black run).
I DID IT!
And it was awesome.
I’m coming for you, Highlands Bowl. April 24 the mountain closes…
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