Avoiding the crowds

The Spring Break crowds rolled into town last night. I can already hear the new, temporary neighbours bashing around next door, getting ready for their day of skiing. I can also hear the steady dripping of melted snow pouring off the roof outside my window. Flipping open my computer, I head for the weather report. The Weather Channel website confirms what the sounds outside my window alluded to: perfect weather for Spring Break skiing crowds.

Leisurely pulling on my woolen thermals, I consider my options for the day. Ski locally and battle the holiday crowds in Breckenridge, or jump on a bus and hope for a queue-less day at Arapahoe Basin. Without much deliberation I make my decision. I pull a bus timetable out from under a pile of discarded papers and am suddenly kicked into gear. Any more dawdling and the bus to A-Basin is leaving without me. I dash around the house, picking up the last few pieces of skiing paraphernalia I’ll need for the day. Jamming my feet into my boots and throwing my skis onto my shoulder, I don’t forget to pick up a banana for later on from the kitchen.

I am momentarily blinded as I close the front door behind me; the weather report wasn’t lying about it being sunny today. As I round the bend towards the bus stop, my heart sinks. The bus is pulling away, belching out black exhaust, obscuring the mountains behind it. Fighting the urge to turn around and head home, I walk on past the bus stop and make for the gondola connecting the town of Breckenridge to the base of the mountain. To my surprise the line at the gondola is non-existent. My spirits lift slightly.

Smiling quietly as the sun beats through the gondola window, I think back to a skiing trip with weather similar to today’s. Camped out on Victoria’s high plains in late September, the suffocating heat in our tents forced us out of our sleeping bags early. In an effort to stay cool, with the potent Australian sun attacking us from above and reflecting off the snow beneath our feet, we were forced us to eat our breakfast in our underwear while we discussed the possibilities for the day ahead. We all agreed a day trip to Mt Fainter was within our capabilities and headed back to our tents to pack our bags and put our pants on.

I wince slightly as the gondola cabin bangs loudly against the guardrail. The doors slide open to reveal hundreds of people standing in line for the chair lift. I shrug and join the back of the shortest queue.

With the sun low in sky, the white, orange and pink bark of the snow gums glowed vibrantly and the snow-covered ridgeline we had traversed earlier in the day took on a golden tinge. Because we spent so much time exploring the gullies and knolls littered along our route, we didn’t reach the summit of Mt Fainter until late in the afternoon. Unable to linger long, we pulled headlamps out of our packs for later on and started to slide back the way we had come.

“Is there snow in Australia?” a man from Boston, in Breckenridge for the week with his family, asks as we ride the T-Bar together. Despite the good snow, I am getting tired of waiting in lines. Although there are plenty of good conversations and people watching to be had, the novelty is wearing off and I make one final run back down to the gondola.

Everything looked different as the shadows around us faded to grey and eventually disappeared completely. “Does anyone remember this gully?” someone called from the gathering darkness. We all huddled together to consult the map, illuminated by six headlamps. “I think we dropped down too early. Let’s head back up onto the ridgeline.” Having regained the ridgeline, we all peered into the murk in between the trees as we skied along, trying to pick up something familiar. Just beyond the next clump of trees, the light from our headlamps shimmered off something manmade. Having recognised our tents, we all relaxed and our pace quickened, with dinner at the front of our minds.

At home, reheating half a calzone – leftovers from last night’s dinner – I consider the possibilities for tomorrow. I flip open my computer and check tomorrow’s weather forecast.