I miss Kevin and John

The sensual caress of waist deep cold smoke - Glory in skiing virgin snow, in being the first to mark the powder with the signature of their run -Tim Cahill

I love skiing, it makes me feel alive again and awakens something inside of me! I love the tingling on my rosy, red, windburned cheeks. I love the blacks, sometimes double blacks that Sam challenges me on. I stand scared, just for a minute staring down the very steep mountain, unable to fathom that I will ski down this, but I continue, because when it is that steep, stopping and hesitating is not a good choice. It's best when I just go for it and push my shins forward and head down to meet Sam. I love it when it's so steep that each turn sends little snowballs flying down the hill.

Racing down the groomers as fast as I can is such a rush. It's fun making a ton of pretty turns on the groomers, practicing for those bump runs. I love the tired feeling in my legs at the end (or in my case these days, in the middle) of the run. I stop to give them a little relief and breathe a sigh. I inhale deeply, appreciating the beauty of the mountain. I finish the run and glide into the lift line.

I love those friendly lifties, the ones who cheer me up, and make me smile. "You look tired." "Yeah, I'm out of shape." "You've been here all day, right?" "Yeah" "Then you're not out of shape."

I'm thankful for the crazy guy who decided to strap two sticks to the bottom of his boots and fly down a mountain. I have a pretty good idea of what that guy was like. Meet Kevin and John, they are the type. "Let's jump off the roof into the snow, lets sled down the back of this ravine, lets climb onto the chair lift of an abandoned resort, lets burn our Christmas tree, let's make our own ski jump on the side of the condo, let's go down Sleeper without making a single turn, let's jump off of that cliff into the water." It's so nice to have some crazy friends. Without them, I wouldn't go to my limit. Those are the kids mothers pray their children avoid. If your friends jumped off a cliff, would you? Well, yes, they make it sound so fun. So fearless. They don't stop to think what if, and they make you feel plain stupid if you do. Go Big or Go Home!