244-day Dry Spell Done- Back on Skis!
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One October day much like yesterday, but 19 years ago, Keystone announced their early opening for the ski season. I headed up from Boulder the night before with 3 other college friends who were as excited about skiing as I was. We arrived in the Keystone parking lot at about midnight and assumed the first four positions in the lift line. There we stood, all night long, ski gear on, shivering in the cold, to ski the single white ribbon of death the next day.
I didn’t get to opening day at Loveland this year. Nor did I stand in line all night long. Instead, I arrived to a muddy parking lot to spring-like temperatures at noon. Still, my eagerness to ski was nearing the excitement from that October day back in college. 244 days is far too long to not ski.
Getting back to a sport after an injury is always a bit difficult. ACL repairs are not an easy thing to come back from compared to some other injuries. I found myself actually intimidated by the white ribbon of death Loveland had to offer. But, as soon as I made those first few turns down the slopes, I was happy, elated to be skiing once again. Throughout the day, I became more and more relaxed on my skis. But, my knee was constantly reminding me it wasn’t perfect. It’s not quite ready for those high-speed GS turns. And it’s not ready to push around powder yet either. But, the white ribbon of death is a good start 🙂
I don’t have any action shots, but here’s a few pics I caught on my new phone!
Happy to be on skis again!
Frank going up the lift.
Frank and me.
Team Green and Blue (from Lauren). Lauren, Nick, and me. Lauren was on day 2 of skiing after tearing her ACL the same day as me- Feb 15, 2009.
Great to be back. Can’t wait to get some more!
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