The archived ramblings of my time as a world traveler up to my current life in Washington, D.C.ski West Virginia!
Twice in three weeks I found myself just outside of Davis, W.V., ostensibly to ski but mostly to enjoy a weekend with a group of friends. The cabin the second time around - a couple weeks ago - was up to higher standards than the first. It had running water all weekend, for starters. And a hot tub, which was quite nice to sit in after a storm blew in - steam rose up and froze as the snow fell down, although the wind howling past marred the idyllic scene a bit.
The skiing itself became better as the day wore on once again. It was an odd day on the mountain - the sun was out when we started in the morning, and I didn't even bother to put on gloves or a hat for my first three runs. Then a storm blew in, the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees and the wind picked up at least 20 miles an hour. Where in the morning patches of bare ground and mud showed between the runs, by early afternoon those same patches had two or three inches of snow. That was the good part; the bad part was the snow was blowing straight in my face, and all I'd brought was a pair of sunglasses that started fogging up and freezing to my eyebrows at the same time. Thankfully, for my last few runs I borrowed some goggles from a friend who ended his day early, giving me a chance to enjoy the fresh snow (and the ice underneath).
The group I'd tagged along to West Virginia with was predominately made up of rock climbers, so we stopped at the Seneca Rocks on the drive home and walked to the summit's observation platform. Less than an hour and a mountain pass or two away from the ski area the snow had completely gone and we were back into spring.
That's all the skiing I'm going to get for some time, unless a very unexpected trip somewhere with more mountains or a different hemisphere happens to carry me away. It was better than nothing, but I'm already looking forward to getting back on a real mountain.
The skiing itself became better as the day wore on once again. It was an odd day on the mountain - the sun was out when we started in the morning, and I didn't even bother to put on gloves or a hat for my first three runs. Then a storm blew in, the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees and the wind picked up at least 20 miles an hour. Where in the morning patches of bare ground and mud showed between the runs, by early afternoon those same patches had two or three inches of snow. That was the good part; the bad part was the snow was blowing straight in my face, and all I'd brought was a pair of sunglasses that started fogging up and freezing to my eyebrows at the same time. Thankfully, for my last few runs I borrowed some goggles from a friend who ended his day early, giving me a chance to enjoy the fresh snow (and the ice underneath).
The group I'd tagged along to West Virginia with was predominately made up of rock climbers, so we stopped at the Seneca Rocks on the drive home and walked to the summit's observation platform. Less than an hour and a mountain pass or two away from the ski area the snow had completely gone and we were back into spring.
That's all the skiing I'm going to get for some time, unless a very unexpected trip somewhere with more mountains or a different hemisphere happens to carry me away. It was better than nothing, but I'm already looking forward to getting back on a real mountain.
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