Yesterday was a day I was incredibly grateful for and I strongly believed that things work out for a reason. I was kind of annoyed I wasted a lot of time driving back and forth from Lake Placid to Keene Valley to rent skis. I got a late start, starting around 1100 am at the Meadow Ln parking lot to ski to Marcy Dam then to Avalanche Pass. But if I hadn’t of started when I did, I would have never met this amazing couple, Chris and Mike, and I wouldn’t have had such an epic ski day.
The weather was incredible. Blue skies with the sun on my face. I skied for 2.5 hrs then was ready for a break. I could have easily fallen asleep laying in the snow. It was my first time back country skiing so I definitely didn’t have the movement down efficiently yet. Lots of fumbling with my poles and falling in the snow at times.
I had lunch and figured I would head back. I felt pretty exhausted. Then Chris and Mike, the couple I had met in the Mountaineer store earlier that day when I was renting the skies, caught up to me on the ski trail. They were super friendly people from Ottawa and they invited me to continue skiing with them to Avalanche Pass which they thought was just another 2km.
I got stoked again with new excitement and energy. I’ve done everything on my own this trip so I wasn’t going to say no to people to ski with.
Time flew by as we skinned upwards towards Avalanche Pass. The ski trail climbed up and around narrow paths through trees. I continuously would take a few steps up then slide on my skis backwards down the trail until I figured out how to skin up properly by kicking my ski into the ground and putting weight over the ball that foot. Mike kindly had to dig me out of the snow a few times after falling off the trail into deep snow. Mike and Chris were amazing. Encouraging me and being patient while I took way longer than they did. We reached the Pass then skied down to Lake Colden.
Wow. I was amazed at how beautiful it was. We continued to ski to the next lake, Flowed Lands.
We then turned around so we weren’t downhill skiing through the trees in the dark. When we were skinning up, I felt kind of nervous thinking about our descent. I had downhill skied once in high school and cross country skied on flat ground once last winter. But as soon as we headed down, I became excited rather than fearful and as I skied down with the most control I could, I had the time of my life! I fell on a couple big turns but got back up, became faster and gained more control coming down the mountain. It was incredible. I felt so alive! When we got to the bottom of the steep section I wanted more. It was such a thrill and I’ll definitely be back.
We skied back towards Marcy Dam then down the Marcy Dam truck trail to the Meadow Ln parking lot. It ended up being a 30km ski day in 6.5 hrs. Way more than I intended. It’s crazy how much our mindset impacts what we are capable of. Skiing with amazing people and being completely joyful made time fly by and I didn’t notice the aching blister on toe until the last 5 km. My body hurt during the final section back, but it was completely worth it. I was so grateful for the amazing day with amazing new friends.
On my last day in the Adirondacks, one voice said you should get out skiing, it’s your last day here. But the weather was looking really grey and felt like it might rain. Something was pulling me to go to Nori’s café. I headed to Nori’s and messaged Kate. We had the most amazing 3 hours chatting about future adventure plans and possibly opening up a climbing gym. I met some other local people from the lake Placid area too. It was super awesome to vibe with really cool people and make friendships that will last beyond just this weekend. The Adirondacks truly are a special place in my heart now. Who knows what the future will bring. Keep doing what you love and you’ll meet amazing people along the way. Life gets pretty rad when you follow your heart.
Peace and Love,
Kirsten
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