Good day, you awesome human

Global warming greets us today, on this pleasant, cool winter morning. High snowfall and warmer winter temperatures bring us the delight of long days of winter play. Sunny skies, warm jackets, cool air, snow. It all adds up to a plus in winter sports activities.
Hail bravehearts, strap your skis on. This is a day for snow!

The long dreary winter is one of our finest hours. It brings so much winter pleasure. The slopes, the winter scenery, the winter festivities and the winter fun. No more the cold, icy frost of bitter harsh winds. No more the ice running through your veins. No more the heart stopping blasts of lung chilling air that slow us to a stiff, plodding, gait. For us, this winters past time is the joy of this day.
Downhill skiing as a recreational sport is a relief from the long winter stress of cold days and indoor living. A fresh new snowfall on well groomed slopes entice us to the great outdoors for fresh air, exercise and fun. What would we be, in the great white north, without our awesome snow?
The snow provides more than just stuff for us to play in. It provides a blanket of warmth for winter animals to sleep under. Hibernating bears, scurrying mice and sleeping plants, lie protected under the soft, warm cover that protects them from the winters chill of freezing air and penetrating wind.
A quiet day of deafening calm as the forest dulls the sounds of noises. No wind disturbing our sheltered run. We are alone on this massive mountain. A mid week escape from weekend frenzy. So very few to witness our feats of daring, our new found paths through untracked forest. A mountain so often visited, so frequently accessed, yet still the same old thrill of fresh new snow, of powdery gusts, of flying and gliding. The ease of the sport of downhill skiing, the motion of practiced turns, the roller coaster ride of bowl shaped hills and the pummeling of moguls.
The easy freedom of a day on the mountain, skiing wherever your skills will take you. The ride of a lifetime on two sticks with two poles. The soft whisper of the lift as it passes overhead. A day that was made to make time stand still, when hour after hour is not long enough.
The breathtaking views, the thigh burning exertion, the endless flight over rolling terrain. A gift of play and winter smiles, a joy of the weather, of our harsh climate. The north. With our sub zero temperatures, our high snowfall, our ice covered lakes. Dress for it, we say. Then strap on your skis for in winter we play and play and play.
written by Dr Louise Hayes
January 7, 2014