When it's cold outside...

...the sun is out!

...the sky is blue!

...and the air is clear for a gorgeous sunset!

I enjoyed what turned out to be my favorite day of skiing so far!  Even though it was C-O-L-D (and by C-O-L-D I mean like BELOW ZERO) my friend and co-worker, Ingrid, and I decided to hit the slopes.  What FUN we had!  There is a funny thing called inversion that happens frequently here... it gets warmer up on top of the mountain than it is at the base of the mountain.  Today there was an 11 degree difference between the base and the top of chair 6! Once Ingrid and I left chair 3 (lower mountain) and ventured up to chair 6 (the top of the mountain), it was like skiing at a different resort.  We were in direct sunlight (for like 3 minutes at a time!!) and thanks to the inversion, it felt significantly warmer.  We spent the majority of the afternoon on the slopes with only a break for coffee.  It was a beautiful day from start to finish- good snow, perfect light, deep conversation, and great fun!

PS- When it's cold outside... nature may give you organic mascara... ;-)

SO much SNOW!

Scott took this picture while we were skiing

You know, after a couple blizzards and all... we have a lot of snow outside!  The snow this winter has been phenomenal, thus creating a beautiful and busy winter here in Girdwood.  I worked a lot of hours at the resort through the holidays, but things have slowed back down.  I found myself a little under the weather so to speak, but I am happy to report that I'm over that!

It's been kind of cold lately, with temps at and below zero.  One day while at work, I noticed it was TEN degrees warmer at the TOP of the mountain than it was at the base!  (5 at the base, 15 at the top)  I've become quite fond of the 15-25 degrees range; much warmer than 25 and it feels... hot.  It was almost 30 when I went cross country skiing with my friend Tara, and it really was too warm...

This week it has been warmer, with lots of snow!  Tuesday the winds were so intense (gusts up to 65 mph) that the mountain was closed.  Closed mountain = closed ticket office!  With my unexpected day off, I read, relaxed, and got a little cabin fever.  After a week or so of taking it easy (fending off sickness) and a day of healthy relaxation, I just had too much energy.  I met up with Tara and helped her shovel her deck, and then we went cross country skiing.  Consider the excess energy burned!  I was wiped after that (in a good way)!

The past couple days have been my "weekend" and if you really can't guess what I've been doing... I'll tell ya - skiing!  I spent a couple hours out there yesterday and another couple hours today.  Scott has been coaching me and I'm starting to feel like I can really ski.  I am slowly (but surely) beginning to learn how to ski different terrain as well as more difficult runs.  He is a great instructor!

I'm frequently asked by friends and family (in the lower 48) if I'm sick of the snow yet... if I miss anything about Atlanta (other than people & the pups)... if the darkness (late sunrise, early sunset) gets to me... My answer? I'm finding more and more that even though I miss my family and friends terribly, Alaska really fits well for me.  The pace of life in Girdwood, the people, the value set, the seasons... I just feel like I'm where I am supposed to be and where I am designed to be.

Happy New Year!