Practicing

On a recent hike up to Tam MacArthur Rim, just out of Sisters, the wind was howling and the clouds were spitting icy splinters, but no real snow had gathered. So imagine our surprise when we encountered a fellow hiker booking up the trail with a pair of fat backcountry skis strapped to his backpack. “Practicing!” he explained, barely breaking stride.

I love that enthusiasm – true adventurist spirit! How many of us are so excited about the upcoming snow season that we’d carry our skis up a muddy alpine trail just to feel the heft of them? Just because we’ve missed them all summer while they gathered dust in the garage? Just to visualize booting up through swales and mound to earn a backcountry descent? So here’s a request, to help this guy out. If you’re not doing the snow dance yet, it’s time to start – for your own love of winter, or just to get those skis off our friend’s back and under his feet!