One of the perks of working as the Snow Reporter at Loon Mountain, a New Hampshire family ski resort, is the opportunity to ski on a regular basis as part of your job. It’s pretty hard to accurately discuss snow conditions and trail attributes if you don’t sample the product on a regular basis. But believe it or not, there are times when getting out on the hill does seem like work, not pleasure. Take yesterday, for instance.
My basic morning duties were done early and I knew I should get out on the ski slopes to take Loon's website daily photo and check out a run or two on North Peak, some very popular ski terrain here at Loon Mountain. But, man did I dread the process of getting ready to go ski; I almost envisioned it as something akin to an astronaut getting geared up for a trip into space. Go down to the locker room, get my long johns and knee braces on. Ditch my jeans and get into ski pants and then climb back to the office and get into the ski boots. Geez, did this ever seem like a lot just for one, perhaps two, runs.
It would be a lot different if I were planning to spend the entire day skiing my favorite New Hampshire ski area, but that’s not the case. Did I mention that my office and my skis are at the top of a very narrow spiral staircase that was designed for people under six feet tall and ideally on the petite side...I’m neither, so getting out of the office and down to ground level is a chore in and of itself! Oh well, duty calls.
Somehow I managed to jump on the gondola 20 minutes before the NH ski resort officially opened to the public. Yup, opportunity for first tracks at a New Hampshire ski area--another perk! Halfway down Flying Fox I realized that I really needed people in my daily photo, and I was the only person on the mountain! I’d have to make at least one more run, find a picturesque spot, and get a shot of folks skiing and snowboarding down the ski slopes. Oh, the sacrifices we sometimes make.
Continuing the run down to the base of the North Peak Express ski lift started to erase the memory of all that work getting ready for “just a couple of runs”. Still no one on the hill, ski trails are beautifully groomed and this is pretty sweet. Sure beats riding a desk! Once at the summit, I hang around for a few minutes taking in the view and getting a couple of candidates for the photo of the day before heading down the Sunset trail. What a view from the top of that ski trail! You can see much of the New Hampshire ski area's other two peaks, much of town, and lots of vistas in all directions. This isn’t so bad!
Somehow the second--and planned--final run didn’t offer the daily photo shot I was looking for, so I made the supreme sacrifice and headed to the bottom for a third ride to the top and another run to the base area. Still only a few people on the hill and it felt like I was still making first tracks…I like this! To make a long story short, I managed to convince myself that I still had not taken the photo that I wanted and I really needed to make a couple more runs in an effort to get the right shot. The fact that I was having a ball and didn’t want to stop had nothing to do with it. Yeah, right! Total runs: five. Daily photo: done. Continued complaints about all that bother getting ready to ski: none--until next time, but the results will be the same!
My basic morning duties were done early and I knew I should get out on the ski slopes to take Loon's website daily photo and check out a run or two on North Peak, some very popular ski terrain here at Loon Mountain. But, man did I dread the process of getting ready to go ski; I almost envisioned it as something akin to an astronaut getting geared up for a trip into space. Go down to the locker room, get my long johns and knee braces on. Ditch my jeans and get into ski pants and then climb back to the office and get into the ski boots. Geez, did this ever seem like a lot just for one, perhaps two, runs.
It would be a lot different if I were planning to spend the entire day skiing my favorite New Hampshire ski area, but that’s not the case. Did I mention that my office and my skis are at the top of a very narrow spiral staircase that was designed for people under six feet tall and ideally on the petite side...I’m neither, so getting out of the office and down to ground level is a chore in and of itself! Oh well, duty calls.
Somehow I managed to jump on the gondola 20 minutes before the NH ski resort officially opened to the public. Yup, opportunity for first tracks at a New Hampshire ski area--another perk! Halfway down Flying Fox I realized that I really needed people in my daily photo, and I was the only person on the mountain! I’d have to make at least one more run, find a picturesque spot, and get a shot of folks skiing and snowboarding down the ski slopes. Oh, the sacrifices we sometimes make.
Continuing the run down to the base of the North Peak Express ski lift started to erase the memory of all that work getting ready for “just a couple of runs”. Still no one on the hill, ski trails are beautifully groomed and this is pretty sweet. Sure beats riding a desk! Once at the summit, I hang around for a few minutes taking in the view and getting a couple of candidates for the photo of the day before heading down the Sunset trail. What a view from the top of that ski trail! You can see much of the New Hampshire ski area's other two peaks, much of town, and lots of vistas in all directions. This isn’t so bad!
Somehow the second--and planned--final run didn’t offer the daily photo shot I was looking for, so I made the supreme sacrifice and headed to the bottom for a third ride to the top and another run to the base area. Still only a few people on the hill and it felt like I was still making first tracks…I like this! To make a long story short, I managed to convince myself that I still had not taken the photo that I wanted and I really needed to make a couple more runs in an effort to get the right shot. The fact that I was having a ball and didn’t want to stop had nothing to do with it. Yeah, right! Total runs: five. Daily photo: done. Continued complaints about all that bother getting ready to ski: none--until next time, but the results will be the same!
Comments for Work or pleasure?