50-Degree Skiing?
Uh, not so much
Posted by Arwen Mosher
in Family
on Thursday, March 18, 2010 4:22 PM
My parents-in-law own a condo near one of Michigan’s best ski hills. Yes, I realize that’s like saying “one of Kansas’s best beaches,” and with just 500 vertical feet it is fairly unimpressive as a ski resort. It still has enough runs to keep us busy for a weekend, though, and we enjoy our visits each winter.
Generally we go up in January and in March. In January we’re lucky if the temperature is in the double digits, but March is spring skiing. Outdoors, it’s usually about 30°F and sunny. This has its pros: we don’t have to bundle up to stay warm, and we don’t have to take lots of hot cocoa breaks to avoid getting frostbite. (On second thought, less frequent cocoa breaks might be a con!) It also has a big con: the warmth makes the snow melt, so by the afternoon on a sunny day, the runs are slushy. Slush does not make for good skiing!
Because we had a brand-new baby in 2009 and sick kids in January 2010, Bryan and I haven’t skiied since March 2008. This is especially hard for him, since he started skiing at age three and had never missed a winter until last year. But we were excited to come up this March. Slushy snow or no, we couldn’t wait to head up north and hit the slopes.
Then this week rolled around, and the weather forecast was not good. Temperatures in the 50s are wonderful for spring play, but not so great for winter sports. Still, I retained a small amount of hope. The ski place is almost three hundred miles north of our home; maybe it would still have wintry weather.
This afternoon we drove up here, and as we pulled in I was thinking ruefully of all the winter outerwear I made sure to bring with us. It sure doesn’t look like March in northern Michigan here. The ski hill is patchy at best. The cross-country trail, which usually has a good couple feet of snow, is grassy! It’s not skiing weather, not by a long shot.
The lifts are open and my father-in-law gets free ski passes, so we might try to take a few runs anyway, but for the most part I’m thinking we’ll spend this weekend in the condo association’s indoor pool. Good thing I packed the swimsuits next to our mittens and hats!
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I know it stinks for the skiiers and sledders (and those who depend on them for earning a living) but I didn’t mind the beautiful days at all.
