Easy... my arse!

Today started great... motivated... full of life.... enthused with a plan of where I was going today. I managed to get up pretty early, scoffed some breakfast and got my kit ready in pretty order.

By the way... it was pretty cold today. Not your balmy  - 10C of yesterday... oh no. Today the thermometer outside had swung to an all new low (for me) of - 22C.  Slightly nippy then!

I bundled up with all the layers I had and once again set out to the trailhead. This time I would be heading North.  There was a good looking easy trail than ran for 5km but in order to get there I had to face a little of the moderate trail. 

Now my skiing skills have improved ten fold since I first set foot or boot in a pair of classic skis but that doesnt make me any good still. I can hold my own in the tracks but as soon as the tracks end or I come out of them accidently I look less like marit bjorgen and more like bambi on ice with legs heading in different directions attached to things that have a mind of their own.... no control... nada. you get the picture.

So I set off down this moderate slope and manage to a) stay in the tracks even round a bend and b) stay upright all the way down until where the tracks run out and im supposed to turn right.... hmmm that isnt going to happen. I purposely grind to a halt and inspect the right turn... it seems steep... tooo steep. I hold my breath and aim my skis in the general direction.... woooahhhhhh.... made it... just. Somehow I find myself in the tracks, upright and still heading down the hill, in the direction I wanted.... now Im on the easy route.  I relax a bit and meander up and down some gentle slopes, alongside what is now a snow filled meadow, but could have been a lake or a river... who knows.

There were  a few tough sections... but generally it went up and then flat and then down and flat through the incredibly peaceful snowbound forest. Some of the snow. shapes on the trees were art in themselves... photographs just dont do them justice. 

Eventually I skied past the ski school, where more people than I had. seen up to this point (but still hardly any) were going on the lifts up the slopes to whizz down a few minutes later.... it didnt entice me one little bit.  Although I bet they were thinking the same as they saw me shuffle past.  I went past the cafe and joined the tracks to go downhill, too late, just as I pushed off I noticed that the tracks turned a sharp corner on the downhill and seeing as no one has ever taught me how to negotiate steep turns on a downhill in the tracks, I came flying out of the tracks and landed squarely on my arse. Yes there is a bit of padding there, but I had been going fast enough to come down with a right wallop. First thing I did... check no one saw me! Fortunately I was hidden behind a mound of snow and clambered awkwardly to my feet, trying not to entangle the skis in each other.... easier said than done. Eventually.... I was on my skis, pointing the right way... in the tracks and ready to go again. I set off.... hmmm I had obviously banged my knee as well... but I kept moving.... mainly cos it was so bloody cold! The track was now flat flat and I strode along. Sometimes I could get right into the stride and glide, with a dynamic feel to it all and then I would concentrate too much and it would all go a little wrong again. It felt good when I got into that rythm, it felt like I could keep going like this forever.

Once I left the ski school behind, I saw pratically no one. One guy with his dog and what must have been a 50 pound pack on his back came past, making it all look incredibly simple though I still think im doing ok for what is now only the 8th day I have ever been on skis.

The silence of the forest is someehat destroyed by the constant squeaking of the skis and the poles against the icy snow. The more water content, the more squeaky it sounds... apparently. Anyway there is the short squeaks from the skis every time you push off from your foot and then the longer drawn out squeaks from the poles.... a nice little symphony.  It is only when you stop do you realise how utterly quiet the world around is... without the squeaking. That said soon the squeaks form a pattern in your head and your world is narrowed down to the feeling... foot forward glide.. press down foot forward glide.... The beauty is in the simplicity of movement and the smoothness of the action... neither of which I have mastered at all! 

It was a long way to where I had planned to go and I was starting to ache... partly the after effects of the fall.. partly because my body has woken up to the torture I have been impacting on it for the last few days. I was aiming for a day hut... about 4.5 miles from the trailhead.  I was within spitting distance, having passed a sign that indicated only 0.4km to go.... 0.2km and I screeched to a halt... a steep downhill.... with no tracks!  Not bloody likely. Feeling sore and battered mentally and physically from the fall earlier, sense took over and I decided that caution was a better part of valour and turned back... retracing my steps to the signpost, where I stopped for the hot chocolate pick me up I had stored in my flask. 

I avoided the yellow snow nearby and plonked my skis down for a well deserved 5 min break. Then the snow started! The clouds had well and truly covered the sky and the white stuff was falling fast. It had also got colder.....

My body was weary but I knew I had to ski back so I set off sliding and gliding back along the trail.

As is always the case, the return journey was much quicker than the way out and before long.... well a fair amount if time... I, found myself back at the ski school and stopped for a well earnt hot chocolate. I then made it back ti the trailhead without incident, taking it easy, stopping to admire the view, which although may see. the same, if you look at it long enough you see the blues and the greens in the white and the greys. It is truly beautiful. Within the snow you could also see the rabbit playgrounds marked by a series of rabbit or hare prints... no chance of seeing them though... white against white... very hard to spot.

I got back to the hotel, stowed my skis and prepared for the nighr excursion to see the northern lights. However the snow was now bucketing down fairly steadily and the cloud cover was 100%. I knew without asking (though I did anyway) that the chances of seeing anything were slim to none and slim had run out of town to escape the snowstorm!

So I resolved to enjoy the skidoo ride... 1st time for that for me. I have driven an ATV but this was a different proposition... especially with the weather.... freezing cold... snow blasting sideways. 

We were taken on a long drive... up on the tops of the fells where my helmet was almost blown off... only the chin strap kept it on my head, but somewhat obscuring my vision as I bumped along at a healthy 52 mph. Good fun... then the guide held his hand up for us to stop. Due to my position in the line right behind the guide I had no idea why we stopped but as I turned the engine off and stood up, looked round, to see one of our group sideways in a snow drift. It took a bit of effort from the guide to haul it out but soon we were back on our way again. 

At the furthest point of our ride, we stopped, switched off the engines and were immediately plunged into utter darkness... no lights nearby... just trees and silence. it was very cool. Had the clouds parted we would have been in a. good spot to spot the northern lights but alas they stayed resolutely rooted, stillpouring snow down by the bucketload. I wasnt too disappointed. I still had 2 nights to go and I could always come back here.... in fact it gave me the perfect excuse! 

Driving the skiddoo was also a bit of an adrenaline rush and well worth the money in itself. Fingers crossed. the sky clears by saturday.!