Melatonin Overload

If March winds bring April showers, and April showers bring May flowers, what do April snows bring?

Ski resort guests are frequently very curious about the life led by those of us devoted to our sport. Asking what we do in our off-season is commonplace and when I respond by explaining that I head to New Zealand for the Southern Winter, their curiosity often sky rockets. Even those people who find great joy in playing outdoors in the snowy months find the idea of year-round winter bewildering. I have some stock explanations intended to put off their concern for my well-being – how the New Zealand winter is far milder than ours in New England, how I use the time in between to relax and rejuvenate, how I get to enjoy Spring twice each year, and others. Those explanations are legitimate, but they require one key element at this time of year to maintain their veracity. For those explanations to be legit, for my endless winter to not render me incapacitated by Seasonal Affective Disorder, I require abundant sunshine and warm weather in the spring so I can play outside without ski boots on my feet. That means now. Right now. Yesterday actually. And it’s becoming a problem.

The snow, and with it the winter, continues in Vermont. The remainder of New England is also either snowy or is wet and gray. Willa Cather would find current conditions here worthy of yet another gloomy storyline. Raymond Chandler would seriously consider moving his characters to the Northeast because it’s so gloomy. I can just hear Phillip Marlowe explaining how the bright, spring fashions in the windows of the expensive boutiques of Boston’s Back Bay mock him as he sloshes through the cold, wet streets of the old, gray city.

Wow, that got dark in a hurry. Sorry about that, things are just not that bad. Really. It’s early yet, and I remain optimistic that I’ll enjoy plenty of sunshine and warm weather for my time in between ski seasons. In the meantime, I’m hiding out in the Berkshires to cycle on my favorite roads and watch as the natural world unfurls its limbs, ready to embrace spring. I mean seriously, if I get desperate I can always take a cue from the Finns and buy a UV lamp from the hardware store.

P.S. One day after posting this piece, the sun has come out, the countryside has warmed up and dried out, and I'm feeling much better, thank you very much. I'll spend an extended amount of time on my road bike today and I'll enjoy every minute. Still, I may have to buy a UV lamp just in case ...

Pulling the Plug

That's it, I've had it! My skis have a thick coat of hibernation wax on them and are in the boiler room, my boots are in the closet, and my locker is empty. None of my ski jackets or pants have pencils, Dermatone, trail maps, class lists, supervisory paperwork, goggle cloths or ski straps in their pockets and all my various nametags have been put away. The problem with all of this, of course, is that Okemo is still open, there is lots of snow on the mountain (not to mention in my yard). And it's cold outside.

The result is that my flip flops are looking longingly out the window, wondering when they will see the light of day. Don't even mention to me how forlorn my road bike looks - there are few sadder creatures than an underutilized road bike and there's only so much joy to be gained by putting my bike on a trainer in the living room while watching bike racing on television. I'm so ready for a real spring that I'm prepared to engage in shameless anthropomorphism with respect to my bicycle and my flip flops. It's possible that I'm suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder so why shouldn't my flip-flops and bicycle suffer with me?

The truth is that it was an incredibly snowy winter (and has been a snowy spring) here in Vermont, and as a bonus it wasn't particularly cold. We had none of our normal week-long sub-zero spells, nor did we have any major thaws during the season. Add that the last several weeks have been more like a slightly warmer version of mid-season, with firm conditions and the occasional layer of corn snow on top of the snow pack and without the shin-deep slush we are accustomed to at this time of year, and it's really been fantastic. Regardless, I'm still done. I'm perfectly healthy, I've had a great season and I feel great, I skied with a wonderful group of new and returning guests, I provided a lot of great training for some terrific instructors, and I have had a ball. And it's over. The fat lady is singing and she's crooning about my lonely bicycle.

So, for the next month and a half I'll be enjoying my time, catching up with friends and family, doing odds and ends of wrap up from this season and prep for the next, and hopefully cycling a lot. As soon as it warms up. Anyone seen a forecast?