Night Skiing

Text: Meet me at the mailbox at 8:30?

Me: Yes! Skis?

Text: Yes skis please!

Me: Okay!

I hustled around the house, made supper and then gathered my gear together. GG gave me that funny look, as though I had two heads.

"Are you going on the ridge and skiing in that ice and blowing snow? You guys nuts?"

Me: "Ahhh yup."

At the top of the ridge is 65 acres of cropland with gentle dips and dipsy doodles of strip crop planting. We've had snow, then rain, then melt, then snow, then sleet-rain, and then freezing and tonight it was snowing and blowing hard.

As I walked up from our house I could hear the wind in the trees. It sounded like an ocean above me! 

I met up with Lauren and we headed right into the brunt of the wind and snow. We laughed behind our scarves. 

We wobbled across ice crust patches and soft gushy snow drifts and several times we both had great 'runs' of pushing and gliding. 

I went down a hill and hit a soft spot. Poof. Nearly a face plant. Lauren started laughing and lost her footing and we both lay in the snow just laughing at ourselves. 

Our skis made horrid sounds as they went over glare ice and the poles came in very handy. Balance on ice was a bit interesting especially when one ski would go straight and the other one sideways.
Corn stalks were just another added obstacle, especially while going down a grade.
Take my word for it the tall alfalfa was easier to get through than some of the stalks.

By our second round we were flying in the good places and pacing ourselves.

If we ever get on a groomed trail we might even be awesome. We both would like to ...ski or snowshoe at least two times a week [at night of course]. 

There is something wildly free and liberating about skiing at night on ice/snow in a snow squall.

I can sleep well tonight.