So, touring out from Sunshine Village doesn’t feel very hardcore, but when the season hasn’t started yet, and there’s powder everywhere (even if it does have rocks lurking underneath), well, it’s not such a bad option. There are even sleds zooming around at random to avoid, to increase the difficulty factor a little.
It certainly wasn’t the best of weather, as the sky closed in, and we were surrounded by nothing but white, with more white appearing from somewhere above. Our hopes of a lovely bluebird day were dashed against the rocks of despair (not unlike the base of our skis once we started heading back downhill – although no, it wasn’t actually that bad at all).
But we made it out a Rock Isle Lake. It always feels like a pointless activity, skiing to a lake in the winter. You can’t see the lake, all you can see is a large flat area. Then if you’re really lucky, you can try to ski across it, fall in and drown. I’m firmly anti lake-in-winter.
After eating lunch we quickly left the lake, and headed back to the village. Slowly and patiently, but with large grins, as everything was soft and deep and fluffy. The Moosling slept in the Chariot for the whole expedition; apparently there’s still nothing quite so soporific as being snuggled in a warm Chariot while you’re gently joggled back and forth to the swoosh of runners on snow.
I’m still not ready for the onslaught of winter, stealing all of my nice dry trails and mountains, but a day like today makes the whole thing seem a little more palatable.