The Magical Ski Day
As far as I’m concerned, any day you ski out West is a great day.
But some days are better than others. You don’t always get ideal conditions, or ideal weather.
But on some days, everything seems to come together.
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Where the sky is so unbelievably blue, it almost hurts the eyes to look at.
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Where trees are transformed into surreal ghosts…
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Where the snow is perfect, and the ski runs are steep…
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Where lift lines are non-existent, and you pretty much have the whole hill to yourself…
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Where ice-crystals play tricks on you, creating brilliant sun-dogs that hang suspended in mid-air, just beyond your reach…
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Where you feel on top of the world. Ready to launch yourself into infinity.
Yep. These are Magical Ski Days.
Enjoy them when you can. Because they don’t happen too often.
I’ve been skiing for 40 years, and I’ve experienced maybe 2 or 3 in my life.
This was one of them, which I was lucky enough to share with Friar’s Mom.
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Explore posts in the same categories: The Outdoor FriarTags: downhilll, out west, outdoors, skiing
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February 25, 2011 at 2:42 am
Wonderful pictures, wonderful day!
February 25, 2011 at 8:05 am
those pictures are breathtaking.
February 25, 2011 at 8:25 am
Lovely post, and beautiful pictures. That last caption brought tears to my eyes. You were so fortunate to get to share such a magical day of your favorite winter sport with your mom. You’re a good kid, Friar.
February 25, 2011 at 8:48 am
@Mike and Wendi
I was there for 2 weeks and I took hundreds of photos. But 90% of the best ones were taken on that one day.
I hadn’t seen anything like it in 15 years. Especially that shimmering sun-dog that lasted the entire day.
@Lisis
Friar’s Mom calls it a “Happy Compartment Day”. You take those memories, and lock them into your Happy Compartment. Which you can retrieve again and again, whenever you need cheering up.
February 25, 2011 at 5:10 pm
Aughhhhhhh. Beautiful.
February 25, 2011 at 6:46 pm
You know the problem with blog comments? There’s no “Like” button.
February 27, 2011 at 2:12 pm
Beautiful Attridge Face.
February 28, 2011 at 2:46 am
I misinformed you about the term “sun dog” which is a parhelion or mock sun or halo. Sun dogs are most conspicuous when the sun is low. They can be seen anywhere in the world during any season.
What we saw were actually millions of glittering sparkles of hexagonal ice crystals called “diamond dust”. This occurs on very cold sunny days, usually during early mornings. We were fortunate to see diamond dust all day long.
Thanks for describing and capturing a very memorable “Happy Compartment Day”. It was a thrill to share it with you.
February 28, 2011 at 9:02 pm
Hey, Friar, your photos brought back memories when I was there with your Dad and Mom.
You have captured the beauty that was also your Dad’s love of taking photos. Lucky you to share it with your Mom.
February 28, 2011 at 10:25 pm
@Janice
You make it sound so PAINFUL
@Lisis
Yeah..Wordpress forces people to write sentences
@S.
It’s the best I’ve ever seen Attridge in 10 years.
@Friar’s Mom
Revelstoke was pretty good too. I”m not sure which day I liked more. They were both so different.
@Pat
I admit..I am my father’s son…I can’t help but go nuts with the camera.
May 15, 2011 at 6:19 pm
I’m in awe. Never saw the sky that blue except at night. Never saw trees completely coated with snow. Never saw diamond dust. What a fairyland!
May 15, 2011 at 6:37 pm
@Dot
I was in awe, too.
I’ve been skiing for 40 years…and I’ve never quite seen a day like this, either.
August 13, 2011 at 8:33 pm
How beautiful. Reminds of the old north of my childhood … heavily snow covered trees … piercing blue skies. Very paintable but a little dawnting for me.