A Smooth(ish) Transition
I realize I’m the opposite of most people, the ones who are excited about spring. Most people get excited about blossoming flowers, welcoming warm weather with open arms, shivering with goosebumps in their haste to don t-shirts. Me? I will be wearing my long underwear to the grocery store long past the appropriate date. I’ve been known to say mean things to freshly bloomed crocuses, wishing they were still under cover of snow.
It’s a mental and physical shift each year for me to let go of winter and embrace spring. In the past I’ve clung, kicking and screaming, to the end of winter. Once, I rallied a group of people to Whitehorse to rent a motorhome and we went to Haines, chasing winter north, only to be met with warm temperatures and mountains literally crumbling. We made a few runs in mushy hot pow, but the trip was fruitless. I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve done similar things in more recent years. Even on the years I’ve been smarter and let it be, I’ve secretly wondered all summer if I did enough to eek out every scrap from winter. I’ve been focused on skiing for so long that it’s hard for me to release my grip on winter goals or ideals. On one hand, I think this drive keeps me motivated as an athlete. On the other hand, my priorities have changed a lot since I first started this gig.
Last week I had the amazing good fortune of getting to tailguide/host a trip to Tebay Lodge in Alaska where we used small SuperCub planes on skis to land high on glaciers and mountaintops in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. We would land as high as we could, get dropped off in batches, and then ski together as a group all day, hiking up and skiing down mountains. At the end of the day, we would ski down to the valley floor to load back into the planes and fly back to the lodge. It was a total dream, an Alaskan adventure to the max, complete with bush planes, bush skiing, bush whacking, and even some wolverine track sightings.
Leading up to this adventure, I’ve had it in the back of my mind all winter as sort of the culmination of my winter. I’d been trying to ski and hike hard when possible to prepare, and also mentally prepare for helping guide and navigate the mountains safely. I’ve been watching the weather, paying attention to the snowpack, and trying to stay sharp.
In the moment, I was able to stay focused and present, thanks no doubt in part to the lack of internet at Tebay. We had an amazing week, averaging around 3500-4000 vertical feet of hiking (and even more of skiing, with help from the valley-bottom plane pickups) each day, and I’m beyond happy to have gotten to have such an awesome experience. I feel proud of our group for making good decisions and skiing hard! We also got super lucky with a few bluebird powder days, which is never something I take for granted in Alaska. Or anywhere, really.
Now, home and settling back into reality, I’m experiencing that funny sensation I have every spring: a sort of letting go of winter, a bit of a withdrawal or let-down after something that I’ve been excited about and nervous about. It’s the eternal human cycle of: setting a goal, working towards it, accomplishment, then the “what’s next?” of it all.
Of course I’ve been checking weather in Alaska still, wondering if there’s still skiing for me to be done. And also, I’m working on letting winter go more gracefully, by reflecting on all the amazing parts of this winter and all the things I did get to accomplish. It’s a simple shift—focusing on the positive, the actual vs. some imagined idealized potential—but it makes a big difference. Celebrating the winter, however it went, helps me begrudge spring less. I might still wear my long underwear in public a few more times, but I might also smile at the crocus, too.
Wow, Ingrid, you nailed it. Add writing and photography to your list of talents.
All these feelings—so real and so true. Thanks for taking us [back] there with you!!!!!
Love this!! Dream come true for all of us to share a Tebay week together ♥️