Spring Cross Country Skiing

Eighty minutes. That’s all the time it took Scott and me to go from our ordinary, everyday routine of work and home projects to a cross country skiing paradise.  One hour and twenty minutes of easy hiking on packed snow through the woods up the Spaulding Trail gave us full access to rolling, open meadows just begging to be skied and enjoyed. Sometimes the trip is faster, but we had all day so we were in no rush.

Easy hiking up the trail with light skis

When I first moved to Juneau in the early seventies, there was no Eaglecrest, and no trail grooming at the Mendenhall Campground or Eagle Beach. Cross country skiers had to find their own way, and that often meant hiking to reach good skiing. I learned to delay skiing gratification, patiently trudging uphill to the Dan Moller bowl or Spaulding Meadows and then packing in my own trail once I reached the snow. I didn’t mind it, because that was what I did for fun. I didn’t have much money to spend on entertainment, but I did scrape together enough to buy cross country ski equipment. It turned out to be a good investment. It gave me more than a full day’s worth of fun every weekend from November to at least the end of May. Best of all, it gave me a lifetime of enjoyment, as I’m still hard at it forty years later.

Cross country skiing in Spaulding Meadows - what's not to like?

Just a few days ago, Scott and I made the hike that I’ve done ever since the first winter I lived in Juneau. The trail is better traveled these days, and improvements have made it wider and smoother in spots, but it is essentially the same as I remember it from the first time I traveled on it. Years of experience have taught me it’s often easier to hike up the trail rather than try to ski it, unless the snow is very deep. But the skis go on my feet as quickly as possible once I reach the top of the trail as it breaks out of the woods and into the main meadows. Then I’m free to travel in any direction I choose, keeping an eye on the clouds, the weather, and my map and compass, combined these days with my GPS. The open meadows are not a good place to lose your way in a white out or storm, and I’ve done both. It makes for a good story to tell, but can be a bit stressful when you’re actually stumbling about in a blizzard with no visibility and no sign of a trail.

The weather was not a serious factor today. Sunlight filtered through light clouds and a cool breeze gave just enough chill to the air to make us keep an extra layer of clothing on, even after our vigorous hike uphill. We skied quickly up into Spaulding Meadows on our lightweight, waxless touring skis, following old ski and snowshoe tracks in the deep snow and occasionally making our own way when we wanted to strike out on our own.

Ski in the trail or out of the trail - either way it's fun

After taking in the views across the meadows and checking our watches, we decided we had plenty of time to travel over to Auke Mountain.  A clearly marked route left by other winter travelers made the traverse to the Muir Cabin easy, and we enjoyed kicking and gliding on the trail, gazing at the beauty of the surrounding mountains and Lynn Canal in the distance. The downhill runs in the untracked snow put big grins on our faces, and the uphill climbs on the packed trail seemed effortless.

Visibility and navigation was not a problem this day

The Muir Cabin was warm and welcoming as we took a short lunch break inside, and then continued to ski to Auke Mountain to explore the hillside and get in some turns in the soft snow. We watched the weather go from partly cloudy and breezy to clear and warm, then back to cloudy and cool. The sun kept teasing us to stay out longer than we’d originally planned, and then it would hide behind the clouds while the sky threatened, convincing us to head down before we were caught in a storm.

But wait, there's more! Heading over to Auke Mountain to do a little exploring

As our legs started to tire out from miles of skiing, we turned towards home, traveling back past the Muir Cabin and down the Muir Trail, joining the Spaulding Trail and out to the car. We took our skis off just below tree line, finding it easier and faster to hike down with our skis on our backs rather than trying to pick our way down the steep trail on our skinny skis.

Hiking down the Muir Trail keeps equipment and knees from breaking

We were home by mid-afternoon. A quick trip up, a few hours of easy skiing, a little bit of exploring, and a pleasant walk down made for a relaxing day off. I learned to cross country ski up in Spaulding Meadows forty years ago, and it always gives me a great deal of pleasure to go up there every chance I get. If you’ve never been up there, or if it’s been a while since you have, now is the time to do it. The days are longer and the snow should last at least until the end of April, if not longer. Maybe I’ll see you up there when you go!

Tour of Anchorage

Things were not looking good for me in the weeks leading up to the Tour of Anchorage.

I gave an informal skate ski lesson to a friend one night after work and had to loan her my headlamp so she could see the trail in the dark at the Mendenhall Campground. We started out slow, doing little drills and practicing technique, but soon we were able to go faster and faster as she loosened up and got the hang of it. I was doing great skiing behind her, able to see just enough from the headlamp she was wearing, but I did not have a clear view of the track right in front of me. Suddenly my ski base grabbed at a spruce cone lying on the snow and stopped me dead. I slammed face first on the ground and jammed my arm up into the shoulder so hard it took my breath away.

A moment of panic seized me. I’d been training all winter for the 25 km Classic race at the Tour, just a mere three weeks away, and now I worried that my arm was – what? broken? dislocated? Turns out it was none of the above. It was just very, very sore, and certain movements made it hurt.

I was scheduled to do a long training ski the next day at Eaglecrest. I was hoping to get in about 25-30 km of classic skiing, which meant I’d be out there for two to three hours. My arm hurt before I started, but by some miracle the back and forth motion of classic skiing did not bother it. I tried double poling and that didn't hurt either. I couldn't swing my arm out sideways without wincing, but that motion wasn't required to ski. I was safe.

Training for the Tour of Anchorage involves long hours on the groomed trails

Then the Juneau crud wormed its way into my system. I’d been feeling great all winter. I got my flu shot, took my vitamin C, drank plenty of lemon tea, and made sure to get my rest. So where did the sore throat and tired feeling come from? The timing was awful. Not only was the Tour getting ever closer, but I had an action packed weekend of Nordic skiing planned with visiting PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors Association of America) demo team member Megan Spurkland that I absolutely could not miss. I sucked down even more hot tea and vitamins, but I was starting to worry again. I skied for two full days straight during the clinic, absorbing as much about skate and classic skiing as I could from Megan and the other instructors who participated. Then I celebrated a fresh snowfall by skiing powder with my friends on Sunday, probably not the smartest tactic to recover from a cold. By Sunday night I was ready to collapse.

I gained a wealth of knowledge about skiing from Megan Spurkland

But the uphill drills didn't give me much time to rest the weekend before the race!

We were scheduled to leave for Anchorage on Thursday, so I had a few days to rest and try to kick the cold out of my system. I felt a little better as the days went by, but my throat and chest still hurt and I was just so tired most of the time. One thing that helped was talking to a friend who was a former cross country state champion runner. She told me some of her best races were right after she’d been sick. She might have just been making that up to help me feel better, but I don’t care because she did cheer me up and gave me hope.

When we got to Anchorage we had a few days to ski before the race on Sunday. Each year when we go up for the Tour we enjoy exploring the miles of groomed ski trails all around the city in the days before the race. This year I skied so slowly and gently I’m sure Scott was worried if I’d be able to race.

The worst part of it was that I was moving up into a new age group this year and had a good chance to finally win a gold medal instead of the silver I’d won three times previously. I’d trained hard for four months, doing longer and longer skis, interval training, hill training, and refining my technique. I tried to be philosophical about the whole thing, but it would be a bit of a disappointment to not be able to see it through.

Enjoying the trails around Anchorage, but trying not to push it too hard

Sunday morning I woke up and . . . my throat felt fine and my chest didn't hurt! It was too good to be true. I felt rested and strong, and at the same time nervous and excited about the race, which was an excellent sign. I ate a good breakfast, storing away energy for the hours ahead. We geared up and headed over to the race start.

Getting the wax right is critical to having a good race

The 25 km classic race starts at 9:30 a.m. at Alaska Pacific University, followed by the 25 km skate race. Over at Service High School, the 40 km and 50 km skate races had already started beginning in waves at 8:30 a.m. The trail for all the racers merges just outside of APU, and within a short time over 1,100 skiers would all be working their way across town towards the huge finish arena across town at Kincaid Park. It’s quite a feeling to be skiing along beautifully groomed trails with so many people.  As I pushed off with the rest of the skiers in my start wave, I thought “Well, ready or not, here I go”.

My hours of training kicked into gear as soon as I hit the trail. I tell my ski students – focus on your technique and the speed will come, so I tried to do the same. I thought about extending my glide when I was striding up hills, keeping my weight fully balanced on one ski at a time, driving my foot through and then kicking down in a powerful flexed position, hips forward, leg extended back, and arms poling strongly. And I double poled, doubled poled, double poled on the flats until I thought I couldn't double pole anymore. Luckily a good two hours of the ski clinic the previous weekend focused on proper double poling and I had a dozen tips running through my head as I tried to find the fastest way to move along the trail.

The time flew by quicker than it ever had before in the Tour. I felt fast and for the first time I realized the 25k skate skiers had not yet started to catch me. All the skiers who were able to catch and pass me were very good classic skiers – mostly men and a few younger women who looked like junior racers. This was encouraging because in past years I’d been caught and passed by skiers who had sloppy technique but were just super fit and could probably take off their skis and run past me if they wanted to. I wasn't looking at my watch, but I began to hope that I’d hit my goal time of 2:15, three minutes faster than last years’ time of 2:18.

I started the final climb up to the finish area. The Tour of Anchorage is famous for the brutal 5k climb up into Kincaid Park. It must be torture for the 50k racers, but we all struggle to make it up those hills that come at us one after another at the end.

I saw the last hill in front of me. It’s a challenge to stay in the classic track that climbs steeply up to the finish arena after 25k of racing, but it’s a sign of your technique and fitness, not to mention your wax job, if you can maintain your kick and glide to the top and not step out or herringbone up the hill. A friend who had already finished cheered me on from the side and Scott was at the top of the hill yelling encouragement. I was going to make it!

Everyone is a hero when they finish their race!

They do it right at the Tour, and as you go around the large outdoor arena, whether you are a top hotshot 50k skate ski racer or an old lady classic skier like me, they call out your name and where you are from as you approach the finish line. You can’t help but feel happy. Then your timing chip comes off from around your ankle, you’re handed a commemorative zipper pull for finishing, and you’re done. Warm clothes are found and plenty of energy food is provided by the race officials. People mill around the finish area, watching everyone come in and comparing notes on the race. There’s hours of socializing with old and new friends, other racers, spectators, and volunteers. I love this race.

This is just a fraction of the hundreds of skis piled around the finish area

Juneau skiers did well at the Tour and competed in all the events – 25k skate and classic, and the 40k and 50k skate races. Several racers either won medals in their age group or placed in the top 5.  Scott won a silver medal in his age group and broke the two hour mark for 25k. I won my gold and set a new personal best of 2:12, well under my 2:15 goal. Should I shoot for 2:10 next year? Or should I just go for broke and try to get under that two hour barrier? Maybe if I don’t get sick and avoid crashes at night I could do it.

We did it!

Whatever happens, I will have fun trying. And now I’m going to go play in the snow – Spaulding Meadows is calling my name, and there are some ridges around Eaglecrest I need to visit on my fat skis.

Winter Dreams

The heavy rains of the past week kept many Juneau residents inside. I was scheduled to teach cross country ski lessons at Eaglecrest last Saturday and Sunday, so I spent two full days skiing and it wasn't too bad. My students were eager to learn, and when I wasn't teaching I enjoyed the nicely groomed Lower Loop trail, working on both my classic and skate skiing. Scott and I made a few runs on the mountain Sunday morning, but were defeated by the low visibility and wet conditions. I'd rather beat myself to a pulp classic skiing 20 or 30 km than sit on the chairlift in the rain.

When I didn't have to be at the ski area to teach, I started thinking about the rest of this winter. We've had a great start, and I've done my fair share of training for the Tour of Anchorage in March as well as working on my teaching and skiing skills. I will continue to spend many hours on the groomed trails, rain or shine, until the Tour is over and lessons have stopped, but I must confess that I've started to dream about other places to go on my skis beyond the Lower Loop, Mendenhall Campground, and Mendenhall Lake.

A winter dream come true - new tracks in soft, fresh snow

Here is an alphabetical list of many of the places a person can go on cross country skis. Maybe some of these will fuel your own winter dreams and give you some ideas of fun places to go cross country skiing.

Dan Moller Trail —Climbs steadily up through woods and meadows to the Dan Moller Bowl, known toold-timers as 3rd Cabin, site of Juneau's first alpine ski area equipped with arope tow. Recommended for intermediate to advanced skiers, this area is a fun place to practice telemarking. The trail back down is full of whoop-de-doos. Also open to snowmachines. Experienced backcountry travelers can cross over Mt. Troy and down into Fish Creek and Eaglecrest Ski Area.

Dredge Lake — Easily accessible classic skiing on almost flat trails.

Eagle Beach State Park — This area is truly a gem, with short, easy trails for anyone to enjoy in a remote park setting and unparalleled views of the Chilkat mountains gleaming with snow across Lynn Canal. These trails are groomed on a somewhat regular basis.

Eagle River Trail —A little more challenging than skiing up the Herbert River trail, but worth the effort when you reach the Eagle Glacier cabin and lake.

How cold does it have to be to safely ski tour on the frozen Eagle River?
How about -15 F.?

Eaglecrest lower nordic loop — A 6k loop with twists, turns, uphills, and downhills, but still skiable for all levels. This trail was widened, straightened, and improved over the past couple of years, and Eaglecrest is doing an excellent job of keeping this trail groomed for skate and classic skiing.

Eaglecrest upper nordic loop — Also known as Hilda Meadows, this is a more challenging loop accessible by hiking up one of the lower Eaglecrest alpine runs (Trickster or Sneaky) or getting a ride on the Hooter chair lift (not recommended for beginners!). Not always groomed – check with Eaglecrest before heading up.

When the Upper Loop at Eaglecrest is groomed, it can be great skiing.

Herbert River Trail — This popular summer hiking trail becomes an easy ski tour in the winter when the snow cover is adequate. Most fun when the river is frozen and there is good snow cover all the way up to Herbert Glacier, but skiers should be aware of the danger of possible open water and overflow.

Ski touring along the Herbert River Trail

Mendenhall Campground and Mendenhall Lake — A good area to spend time with family and friends for a casual Sunday morning outing or skate ski 'til you drop! Groomed daily for skate and classic skiing by the Juneau Nordic Ski Club volunteers. Please join and support winter trail grooming. Go to jnski.org for more information and for up to the minute trail grooming reports.

Peterson Creek Trail —This trail is challenging at first but then opens up into nice meadows and finally leads to the USFS Peterson Creek cabin. You can drop your overnight pack at the cabin after skiing up the trail in the morning and then spend the afternoon exploring the Auke Mountain/Spaulding meadow area in the woods andmeadows above the cabin.

Auke Mountain meadows heading down towards Peterson Lake

Spaulding Meadows —Hike up the Spaulding Trail a few miles, then put on your nordic skis and spend the day in cross country heaven with rolling meadows surrounded by mountain views. I recommend hiking up and down the trail which can be steep and narrow in spots. You can try going up the Muir Cabin trail, which branches off the Spaulding Trail about one mile up. This leads to meadows which are closer to Auke Mountain.You can make a loop by skiing out Peterson Creek trail (a very full day). Lake Creek trail is another way to access Spaulding Meadows, but this trail is maintained and used by the local snowmachine club, so be aware of motorized traffic on the trail and move out of the way of snowmachines as they pass.

Spaulding Meadows is the most beautiful place in the world to cross country ski

There are many more trails to explore and enjoy in Juneau. Keep in mind avalanche safety when you venture on the slopes. I strongly suggest that you avoid the Perseverance /Granite Creek Trail area during the winter, as well as the Sheep Creek valley area, unless you are educated and properly equipped to properly assess and deal with hazardous snow conditions.

The City and Borough of Juneau provides an Urban Avalanche Advisory can be found at www.juneau.org/avalanche  This Web site targets the Mt. Juneau urban avalanche zones but is a useful reference for general avalanche danger in the Juneau area.

Sweet dreams and safe skiing!

Thank You, 2012.

Thank you, 2012. It was a wonderful year.

The ski touring in Spaulding Meadows was exceptionally good last winter

We started the year by skiing and skiing and skiing some more. The Eaglecrest lower loop cross country trail held together well into the spring, and I skied a full loop over the entire trail as late as May 17. The mountain was even more amazing. A friend and I skied from the top of the East ridge all the way to the base of Ptarmigan chair in soft spring snow on June 6.  There was so much snow that in January I did my all-time favorite nighttime cross country ski trip on my beater waxless skis, skiing from the door of my house, down the unplowed street about a ½ mile, and then to the end of the Airport Dike Trail in a blizzard.

Night skiing on the Mendenhall Refuge by the airport

When the snow finally started to melt off of the trails, I started hiking. Some people claim it was a particularly wet, rainy summer. I guess it did rain a bit at the beginning. I remember starting out slow, with short hikes to Point Bridget and the Salmon Creek dam in rain gear and rubber boots. Once I got used to the idea that it was o.k. to be out in the rain and that I wasn’t going to melt, I became bolder and went for longer outings in my waterproof gear, including several loops from Spaulding trail over to the Muir cabin.

Wet stairs on the hill climb to the Salmon Creek dam

We started getting some breaks and I was ready. We celebrated the first dry day of summer with a Mt. Juneau ridge hike, glissading off the ridge into Granite Creek in a personal record-breaking time, and then slogging out through knee deep snow down to Perseverance Trail. When Scott made the mistake of leaving town for a few days on business, I took off for a solo Gastineau-Roberts-Sheep traverse, again traveling so fast over the snowpack on the ridge that it felt more like a short, easy day hike than a 12 mile mountain ridge route. Then I started getting more ideas for hikes.

Firm snow along the Juneau ridge made for fast hiking in June

I ran up Sheep Creek trail to the summit of the Powerline Ridge and peeked over into the Sheep Fork valley and up at Hawthorne Peak, filing away plans for future adventures. We had a beautiful day up on the Grandchild Peaks with a friend, and thanks to the snow we were able to get all the way around to the highest point along the ridge. Mt. McGinnis was next on the list, although we almost didn’t get started due to the fog and clouds. But we went anyway and got so close to a group of mountain goats near the summit we could have hit them with a pebble.

This mountain goat didn't seem to mind while we took his picture

Another favorite summer hike is Mt. Jumbo. We used to do it every 4^th of July, followed by partying with the crowds in Douglas. This year I went near the end of July and was amazed to find myself mostly alone on the mountain on a beautiful, sunny day.

Looking at Juneau from the summit of Mount Jumbo

We took a business trip to Utah in August and hiked up hot, dry mountain trails that started at 7,000’ and left us gasping for air and water. When we returned to Juneau, a chance encounter with a friend led to a crazy adventure the very next day scrambling almost 5,000’ up a virtually unmarked route through thick brush and steep slopes to the summit of Mt. Bullard.

A crazy hike with crazy people on Mt. Bullard

I felt the short summer season closing in at the end of August and decided to go for one more classic ridge hike. We picked an epic traverse on a blue sky day – hiking up Blackerby Ridge, over Cairn and Observation Peaks to the Mt. Juneau ridge, then out Granite Creek and Perseverance trail, almost 17 miles and over 8,000’ of total elevation gain.

Observation Peak

I think that one finally did me in, as I came down with the crud that was making its way around town and I felt sick with a bad cough for a few weeks after that. But I rallied for a hike with Scott up Twin Summit Ridge on the last day of summer to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

Twin Summit Ridge

We returned from our annual fall vacation a few days early thanks to Hurricane Sandy. That gave us the perfect opportunity to take advantage of a cold, sunny day. We quickly put together a plan to go up Spaulding trail, across the length of Spaulding Meadows, and out the Montana Creek trail as a final note to a busy hiking season.

Looking at Windfall Lake from the far end of Spaulding Meadows

2012 ended exactly the way it started, because five days after our late October hike, I started skiing and haven’t stopped since then. I skied especially hard the past few days, carving turns on my fat boards in the fresh, deep snow in the mornings and hitting the cross country trails for an afternoon workout, until finally my legs gave out and demanded a day off.

Floating through new, soft snow on the west side of Eaglecrest

So I’m starting the New Year by enjoying a day of rest, and dreaming of new adventures in 2013. I am extremely grateful for my health, my family, my friends, and for this beautiful place that I am lucky enough to call home. Here’s to a safe, healthy, Happy New Year to all!

Happy Holiday Skiing!

A perfectly groomed cross country trail on a perfectly cold day

I’m sitting in my easy chair by the fire, thinking about how cold and beautiful it was up at Eaglecrest today. The cross country ski trail was nicely set, with all 5.8 km twisting and turning across meadows, hills, and woods in a lovely pattern. My skis were waxed just right. I felt like I was flying along in perfect rhythm on the groomed classic track.  The temperature was in the single digits, but I was warm from the exertion of my steady kick and glide motion.

I taught a nordic ski lesson this morning, the first of many that I hope to teach this winter. My students and I dressed warmly, and spent two hours working on skills and techniques for basic classic skiing. Both of them did a great job and we were all smiles at the end of the lesson. We were probably the only people at Eaglecrest who were truly staying warm skiing. We kept moving the whole time, swinging our arms and legs as we practiced various drills up and down the track. Going over the basics of skiing with eager students only sharpened my enthusiasm to ski on my own in the afternoon, which is exactly what I did after a quick lunch and the shedding of a few layers.

I started skiing this winter on November 1, with a short trip up to Spaulding Meadows to play in the first good snowfall of the year. My fitness level was fine, but as always at the beginning of each winter, my skills were a bit rusty. Still, nothing beats the feeling of gliding over the snow after months of hiking, and I knew if I patiently kept at it my skiing would steadily improve.

During the past seven and a half weeks I’ve skied every chance I could get. I hiked up Eaglecrest on my alpine skis with climbing skins and skied off the top of the ridges well before the chairlift opened. I classic skied and skate skied at the Mendenhall Campground and out on Mendenhall Lake on the tracks set by the Juneau Nordic Ski Club volunteer groomers. I skied in the morning before work, I skied on my days off, and I skied at night after work. I made many trips to the Eaglecrest lower loop trail to cross country ski and even one trip to the upper loop in Hilda Meadows despite it’s being a beautiful mess of ungroomed snow. I skied alone, I skied with my husband, and I skied with friends. It’s been an incredible start to the winter season.

A mysterious, foggy day of cross country skiing out on Mendenhall Lake

I consider good snow conditions to be like sunshine in the summer – you have to drop everything and get out and enjoy it RIGHT NOW. The bills may not get paid precisely on time, the laundry piles up, meals are slapped together, and the car runs dangerously low on gas. But you ski, because you never know when the snow conditions may change, or what might happen to prevent you from enjoying that most wonderful feeling of sliding over the snow.

When the chairlifts are closed, we hike up for the good snow

Today was my 20^th time out on my skis since that first trip up to Spaulding at the beginning of November. I felt good. Many of the kinks were worked out of my classic stride and I found myself working on things that I remembered wanting to improve from the end of last ski season: lengthening my glide balanced on one ski, staying in the track on the steep downhill turns, striding up the hill without resorting to a herringbone step out of the track in the steepest spots, and generally improving my fitness level. I won’t be neglecting my downhill skiing even while I work on my nordic skiing – I have dreams of skiing high on the ridges and flying down on my fat skis in deep snow, carving turns on steep slopes that challenge me. They may not be worthy of an extreme ski photo but they are my own little slice of heaven.

My own little slice of heaven

I may or may not reach all of my goals. I might have an injury, or illness, or something else may happen to stop me in my tracks, so to speak. But today was sublime, and I can’t wait to get back out on my skis with my husband on Christmas Day, my next full day off of work. We haven’t yet decided what kind of skiing we’ll do, but we will be skiing, and I have a feeling it’s going to be another great day.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and I hope to see many of you out skiing, too!

Turning 60

Skate skiing on Mendenhall Lake on my 60th birthday

“Yoga is 99% practice and 1% theory” - Sri K. Pattabhi Jois of Mysore, India

This week I will be 60 years old. I’ve been thinking about this birthday for a while, as is the trend with those big decade landmarks.

My blogs are often easy to write. I love to share my stories about my adventures outdoors and the words usually flow out on to the page. This one has been very difficult to write. I’ve started and stopped and started over again about half a dozen times over the past couple of weeks

When I showed up for my Tuesday night yoga class this week, I felt slightly anxious. It was the night before my birthday and I wasn’t too excited about turning 60 years old. I couldn’t expect to get too much sympathy at home, since Scott turned 60 last year and seemed to be handling it just fine. I didn’t dare say anything to my 89 year old mother. I complained to her once when I turned 50, and she just sighed longingly and said, “Oh, I would love to be 50 again!”

Scott knows that age is just a number, and turning 60 is no big deal, as long as you keep skiing

I rolled out my mat and started to prepare for 90 minutes of yoga practice. This particular class is Mysore style where every student goes through the ashtanga primary series at their own pace. We individually focus on our breath while working through a sequence of postures connected by vinyasa movement (think jumping back into a push-up, arching your back for a breath, another push-up, then lifting your hips and jumping into the next pose – repeat about 100 times).

As I got deeper into the practice, I forgot the anxious feeling I had at the beginning. I reminded myself to focus on the postures I was still trying to learn, and to find ways to deepen the postures where I felt more confident. The teacher moved from student to student, quietly helping each person at different levels of the series.  My muscles started to burn while at the same time my mind felt focused and relaxed. The 90 minutes flowed by, slowly at first, and then more quickly until the teacher reminded us it was time to begin our closing sequences. It seemed like a moment later and we were in the final pose, lying peacefully on our mats and enjoying the quiet rest that comes after a vigorous practice.

Somewhere during those 90 minutes, my anxiety completely disappeared. I was so focused on what I was doing there was no room for other thought, and especially no room for negative thought. This is how I feel when I go for a long hike, a good hard bike ride, cross country ski along a groomed trail, or climb to the top of the ridge at the ski area and plunge down through fresh, deep snow. This is what I do, and just because I’m 60 it doesn’t mean I’m going to stop doing it.

Practice, practice, practice - then there's no time to worry about things that don't matter anyway

On my birthday, I went out to Mendenhall Lake and skate skied for over an hour. The air was cold, but the wind was calm, and the tracks were perfectly groomed (thank you, Juneau Nordic Ski Club volunteer groomers). I chatted with a friend as we skied together and focused on my breath, balance, skiing, and poling while we breezed along. I looked up at the glacier and marveled at the view. I met old and new friends coming and going on the trail. When I was finished, I was tired, satisfied, and happy. I started thinking about where I would ski tomorrow – maybe classic skiing on the Eaglecrest lower loop?

Sixty years hasn’t been so bad, now that I think of it. As long as I stop worrying about it and keep practicing.

“Practice and all is coming.”

Still crazy after all these years - climbing to the top of the ski area ridge for some turns before the chairlift opens

It's Going To Be A Great Winter

It’s going to be a great winter.

I once asked an older friend of mine, the beloved Juneau skier and wilderness enthusiast Sigurd Olson, if he thought we were going to have a good winter. It was November, and we were still in the fall rain cycle. People were starting to grumble and doubt that we would have a good ski season. So I turned to my wise friend, who had skied more mountains than I could ever hope to, for wisdom and advice. He looked at me wonderingly and replied without hesitation. “Oh, I always say it’s going to be a great winter! You have to believe the snow and the skiing will be good, no matter what.”

I took his words to heart, and every year since then I start to get excited about all the skiing I’m going to do and how great the snow is going to be. This year it’s been easy, as the snow started to fall in October. I have made several trips up to Spaulding Meadows in the past few weeks and managed to get “first tracks” on my waxless touring skis as early as November 1.

Since then, the faithful have been hiking up to Eaglecrest and other high points with their cross country skis, downhill skis, telemark skis, snowboards, and sleds. Reports have varied from deep stashes of soft, fresh snow on some of the steeper runs to descriptions of being thrashed in snow so heavy it felt like tumbling through a cement mixer. Core shots (deep gouges to the ski or snowboard base), tangled fights with brush, and carefully negotiated stream crossings are the hallmarks of early season riding. But almost without exception, everyone who has ventured out into the early snow has come home smiling.

I started out with a hike to Spaulding Meadows across a layer of thin, firm snow (see my last blog on hiking from Spaulding to Montana Creek) in late October. Just a few days later, we received several more inches of snow. I knew the extra few inches would give me exactly the coverage needed to ski up in the meadows, so I didn’t waste any time. I quickly hiked up Spaulding trail, and as soon as I reached the upper meadow I was able to put on my skis and start gliding. I didn’t have much time to go very far, as I had an appointment I had to make later that day, so I traveled at random, just enjoying the feeling of skiing across the fresh snow. I made silly, pointless loops over the meadows, moving in no particular direction or pattern.

First tracks in Spaulding Meadows on November 1

Whenever I turned downhill and just let myself stand on my skis and glide, I started laughing out loud. Skiing is about the most fun thing I can think of doing, even if it’s just a short day trip to cross country ski on easy terrain.

Skiable snow and beautiful mountains - what's not to like?

The weather turned warm soon after and some of the snow melted. We were back to hiking and once again I returned to Spaulding, this time by way of the Lake Creek trail. I wanted to see for myself if the remaining snow in the meadows was skiable or not. I ran up the trail, which starts by the UAS housing just off the back loop road, and came out into the meadows on the Lake Creek side. As I had suspected, the snow was once again firm enough for hiking, but not too great for skiing. I contented myself with hiking a loop over to and then down the Spaulding trail (which meant I had to walk an extra 1-1/4 mile on the road back to my car!) I could see my old ski tracks in the snow up in Spaulding, now almost melted away. It was a beautiful day for a hike, but I was a little disappointed to see how much the snow had melted.

My ski tracks from the previous week were barely there

Two days later we had more snow, so Scott and I went up to Eaglecrest to check out the cross country trail in the Hilda Creek meadows by the base of the Black Bear chair. We joined the line of skiers, snowboarders, sledders, and hikers going up the maintenance road on the east side of the mountain. We were able to put on our waxless cross country skis at the bottom of the Ptarmigan chair and ski up to the meadows. Once we were up there, we tried to follow the cross country trail, but once again found ourselves making silly loops wherever we could, climbing up hills and bombing down on our skinny skis and generally goofing around. It was Scott’s first day out on skis, so he had the same grin on his face that I had up in Spaulding. After a full lifetime of skiing, we still laugh when we get out for the first day of the season. Gliding is just plain fun.

It was Scott's turn to smile as we cruised through the snow

Apparently the snow on the upper mountain was very skiable and deep in places that day. We heard good reports from most of the people who went higher up. I’m ready to start carving turns on steeper terrain, but we were pretty content with our little cross country ski adventure that day. Soon we will get the climbing skins and the fat skis out and do some real alpine touring. I’m ready, but there’s no great hurry. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, and we’ve got a long winter of skiing ahead of us. It’s going to be a good winter.

Actually, it’s going to be a great winter.