On skiing...

We’ll it peaked at 92 degrees at the ol’ Mountain Redoubt yesterday. But a breeze was blowing, and it was downright pleasant in the shade with a nice glass of ice water. Also, it was nice to begin the slow burn of anticipation of ski season with a hike into one of my favorite ski resorts a few days back, in preparation for a voyage up into the mountains for two days with my brother.

Now when I say up into the mountains, I mean at no time will I be more than 8 miles away from my house. My brother, who still mysteriously lives in Florida, will be in town for a few days, and I’m going to take him on an overnighter. We’ll camp on the other side of a ridge from one of the best ski resorts in the country. Being that that ski resort is blissfully uncrowded, I will leave it nameless. Nothing gets me more wistful for ski season than hiking into the resorts when there is no snow. I could definitely do without the deer flies, but the experiencing of going up where typically people only descend is quite fun, and the quad workout of gaining 3000 vertical feet, is a real boon to hitting powder stashes in the winter!

For all of you folks out there in the flat land, there are a few important things that you should do before you come to anyplace with altitude. You need to keep hydrated. Booze, soda and coffee do not count. You must drink a prodigious amount of water. If 64 oz. of water is recommended, drink 128 oz. a day. Being hydrated will stave off some of the more unpleasant effects of altitude sickness – namely the headache. Also in the week or two before setting out on your mountain trip, be it to ski, mountain bike, snowshoe, shop, whatever, you have to increase your intake of iron. If you like red meat, you are in luck. If you are a vegetarian, have fun and chew on some roofing nails. Altitude sickness sucks. Altitude sickness with a hangover is worse. Altitude sickness with a hangover to a ski resort (lots of bright, white snow) is the worst. Especially when the avy guns go off… People who complain on a chairlift suck.

For those of you who ski, you know what I mean. On every ski trip I took before chucking normal life and moving to the Mountain Redoubt, there’d always be one member of the group who’d get Altitude sickness and put a drag on the rest of the group. They’d resist drinking more water, but then be amazed after being force fed a bottle of water, bottle and all. I know because sometimes it would be me.

My piece of advice today, when coupled with a dollar wouldn’t buy you a cup of coffee: listen to people who know.