“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.”
― Ansel Adams

I love the mountains. I grew up traveling to see my grandmother who lived in Durango, Colorado. Not only did she have horses and live on a ranch, but we skied when we visited. I learned to ski as one of the kids on little skis, no poles, following her dad’s ski tracks down the mountain. The nearby ski resort to my grandmother’s house? Purgatory. I learned to love to ski.

In November, I traveled to Colorado for a work conference. It had been twenty years since I’d skied Colorado. My most recent skis had been in Austria, when we lived in Prague. But Colorado — I couldn’t resist. Usually, November is not the time to ski Colorado, but I decided to give it a whirl.

It was at the beginning of the season and the Rockies had had very little snow. I met the shuttle at the airport and rode up into the mountains marveling at the lack of snow. Keystone, where I’d planned to ski, was bare. But Arapahoe Basin? Perfect.

Skiing on the first open weekend of the season before a work conference, happy!

I skied for a whole day and bought a shirt at the end that says, “If it’s too steep, you’re too old.” 🙂

The next day, I wandered through Keystone with my camera. The silence — no snow, no skiers, no tourists — was pristine. The terrain is so beautiful, the photographs don’t do it justice. But I will try to share …

Have you gotten to ski this year? If so, where, and how was it? Lots of snow? Or barely a dusting?

On another note, I am really happy it is almost spring!