OGT DAILY - Day Twenty FAIRYLAND

Despite the bitter wind, the ache in my knees and back and the clear vision of myself falling on some icy bump of snow and breaking a part of my body, I clutched my poles and descended into powder. It took two runs before I could remember what to do with my arms and to not sit back on my heels as my skis slowly began to turn under me in a rhythm I'd learned over the last 20 years. Head down the hill, squeeze your shins forward and make sure your poles are visible.  All the little tips I've learned from years of lessons and making me a mediocre but manageable skier.  Muscle memory is an amazing thing.

But the beauty of the snow covered trees on the windswept Vermont mountain top , the crisp cold air and pure exhilaration of a run down a powdered slope with good friends, good food, good company, politics at minimum.  Nothing like the skiing in mountains to clear your head.