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It’s been an unusually mild winter, which has been terrific for marathon training, but really lousy for enjoying local snow sports.  We moved next to a state park, got our snow shoes warmed up, and even picked out nordic skis for Christmas so we were very anxious to try out the local trails as soon as we got enough snow.  Well, the most snow we got was in October, which quickly melted.  Then we got about 3 inches in January, so I actually did go out and snowshoe with Sarah (who also had new gear to try out), but it was barely enough to cover the trails, just mostly as a warm up for future snow to come.  But more snow never came, and it was almost March.

So, we decided to plan a trip north in search of snow, where we could take ski lessons and feel like we got a little taste of winter.  It turned out that we couldn’t have picked a better weekend than March 2-3!  Jackson, NH, our favorite winter getaway destination, had gotten some fresh powder on top of about a foot of base, perfect for trying out our cross country skis.  Since I had just returned Thursday morning on a red eye, we took our time heading up on Friday, but made it to the Inn at Ellis River in plenty of time to check in and take advantage of their complimentary pass to the Great Glen Ski Area to do a loop in our snow shoes.

The snow was light and fluffy, but the temps were just barely below freezing, perfect weather for being outside and getting some fresh air.

Snowshoeing at Great Glen

As we made our way around the loop, I was so happy to finally be out in the snow on an adventure with Beej, I snuck in a little smooch.

Su and Beej snowshoeing through the trees, kissing

As we returned to the parking lot, the clouds were moving in, making for some spectacular views of Mt. Washington and the notch, with the depth of the range on showcase.  This was Brian’s favorite.

Mt. Washington from Great Glen

We enjoyed a casual dinner at our favorite pub, the Red Fox, before calling it a night.

We woke up Saturday morning to sleet and rain.  Undeterred by the weather and energized by a delicious breakfast at the Inn, went over to the Jackson X-co Ski Facility for our group lesson. We first tried skiing without poles to gain our balance, then practiced with poles as they are designed – for pushing. Next it was time to try out a few hills, and to learn how to get up if we fell, since X-co skis don’t have an automatic release mechanism. Finally, it was time to head out on our own to practice.

By then the sun had come out and it was a beautiful day!  We cruised over to the Ellis River Trail, made it through the covered bridge, and were off through the trees.  We stopped at the warming cabin to check it out and get some water.  We admit to falling a few times, mostly when not paying attention, and a few more times when our legs became too tired to maintain proper position on downhills, but it was a fantastic day!  We look forward to going again.