Backcountry Action

"Free your heel, free your mind"

Seven am soaking wet thick rain. Big ol' fat rayun. Car loaded, skis in, poor excited dog about to be disappointed. This is a trip for men only. Wife stays sleeping, dog stays moping. Drive until the rain turns to slush, then keep going until it is honest-to-goodness snow. Park, kick at pathetic piles of ankle-deep good stuff. Barely enough to cover the ice. We drove this far, it's worth a try. Boots on feet, skins on skis, skis on boots, too many clothes. Stop in ten minutes to peel layers so everything is not soaked at lunch time. Climb through trees, across glades and up, always up, always looking down. Snow deepens as we climb out of the clouds. More clothes come off, try to drink enough water to replace the sweat. -15C and we're down to the last layer, still sweating. Sunglasses stayed in the car, of course. Lunch on the lea side of the summit, in the bright sun. Dig the pits, cut, saw, scrape, pound the columns until they give up the secrets of every snowfall in the last month. Avalanche not likely, sun still shining, snow deep and stable. Bellies full of lunch and butterflies, ready for the descent. A solid morning of climbing, a blissful 20 minutes of deep, knee-straining turns. Take me home, I'm spent.