Snow Shoeing and Skiing

I've lived in Utah since I was nine and I have never been skiing/snowboarding. Pathetic, I know. Combination low iron and broken thyroid make for a body that already struggles to regulate bodily temperature. Tim was an avid skier growing up and hadn't been in almost 10 years and every winter we've been married he has wanted to go skiing. But lets face it, unless you have all of the gear it can get quite expensive once you factor in equipment rentals and a lift ticket.

Fate smiled upon us while earlier this month, our visiting family sponsored us in a snowy day of fun. (Thanks Annie and John for the lift ticket/snowshoeing pass, Mom and Dad for the equipment rental for Tim and watching the kids, and practically family- Leigh for loaning snow shoes!) Tim and I debated about whether I should try getting up on the slopes. I have zero experience, and have a deathly fear of heights and moving too quickly while feeling unstable. I didn't want to be living it up on the bunny hills alone, constantly falling, with no one to walk me through techniques while Tim and John were out galavanting in the snowy slope covered forest. Skiing was going to be much needed therapeutic recreation for Tim while he was thick in his preparations for his PhD candidacy exam, and I assume for John as well, since he's hard at work in his plastics residency, and wouldn't have been nearly as fun for them, had I decided to go. So,  I chose to stick with the ladies who would be participating in the days adventures and have a go at snow shoeing. (Some day I still want to try out the slopes.)

Me and Tim ready to get our winter fun on.

Annie (Tim's little sister), Jennifer, Leigh, (both John's sisters) Tim, Me, and John (Annie's husband)

Off we went. It was cold and my hands were ice cold before we left the lodge. Once I got moving it was a bit better, until I started sweating (snow shoeing is quite the workout.) Eventually my sweaty body started to become cold and clammy. Even still it was good memorable fun.

Thanks to my go-go-gadget arm we got a picture of all four of us together.

....tasty....

A picture of me I blazing the trail during my second wind...

I perfected the art of getting up from falling down...

Beautiful and serene

No, for real, I fell a lot.

I was wearing boots that were too big and my feet kept sliding around in the boots. Once I was tired it became a poor combination for snow showing and bad ankle. So after about 3 miles, my ankles kept twisting in the big boots, I would loose my balance, and I kept falling.

Now for a Public Service Announcement: to those who may ever go snowshoeing and keep falling- turn around and use the snow you just packed down with your fall to push on to get up. Trying any other high patch of snow will only result in face plants.

Good times were had by all. In the end my hands had become a lovely white/bluish color (my gloves were completely soaked) so it was great to be done and back in the warm ski lodge. Tim and John had the time of their lives, dealing with bouts of nausea, each taking turns vomiting due to elevation sickness and had fun attempting to go off what looked like little jumps and ended up being insane piles of fresh power and getting stuck. Still it makes for laughs and great memories.