February 01, 2009

Above freezing

On bitterly cold days at the ski slope, I dress in so many layers that I barely talk to anyone else when we’re outside. The only people I can recognize are the ones I know so well that I've memorized their clothing. On the chairlift, I sit huddled against the metal back of the chair, afraid to move lest the fleece covering my face slip and expose a bit of skin.

Warm days like today are a luxury. How wonderful to pull off a mitten to adjust a binding and not have to calculate how long it would be before my fingers would turn blue and fall off. On the chairlift, I actually removed BOTH mittens to so that I could snap a few photos with the little point-and-shoot camera I had in the pocket of my coat. I ran into an old friend and recognized her right away, because her face was uncovered.

All over the mountain, I could see the affect of the sunny weather. Icicles hung from the roof of the ski lodge. Kids threw snowballs at each other. People with bare faces smiled at each other and called to friends.. Groups stood around talking and joking, instead of just skiing or boarding down the mountain as fast they could. On warm days, skiing and snowboarding become social sports.

Buddies

6 comments:

BrightBoy said...

It was sixty degrees here today and I was chilly.

Anonymous said...

I can't imagine being that cold.

Wayfarer Scientista said...

we have winter syndrome here where you recognize people all winter by their jackets and hats and then in the spring there is a period where you don't recognize anyone at all because they aren't wearing their jackets.

Anonymous said...

A few years back, while skiing on a bitterly cold day in New Hampshire (during a winter of frost heaves), I was forced to spend $26 (as a grad student) on some high-tech mittens that were way too big for me, unless I wanted to just hide out in the lodge for the rest of the day.

The upside--the mittens are still too big. So I wear gloves under them. This worked quite well on what passes for a bitterly cold day skiing now, and really helps with the camera.

Unknown said...

It's been bitter here this winter, especially cold. I look for people by their coats/hats, too.

Gawdess said...

great shot, looks a little like a starburst exploding