Reentry

I’m home. Well, sort of home. I’m in Arizona, storing up some hot weather and sunshine after yet another awesome winter season at Treble Cone in Wanaka, New Zealand. Late October in Ludlow, Vermont isn’t exactly the spot for soaking up sunshine in an effort to forestall seasonal affective disorder, so the desert southwest is just the ticket. My ski season at Okemo will start soon enough as it is.

While I’m overseas, I often take on a funny role with my Kiwi and Aussie friends. In many ways I become sort of the Alastair Cook of the moment, the ‘great explainer’ of all things American to them. Foreign policy, cuisine, language, the size of our cars, ‘reality television’ as an oxymoron, Donald Trump’s hair style, or how it’s possible that someone like Michelle Bachman can be taken seriously as a Presidential candidate. You name it, if it’s American and it’s different, I’m asked about it and nothing is off limits.

The concept that always seems to creep into these conversations is how different we are from place to place in America. No, I am not familiar enough with Texas state politics to explain Rick Perry’s qualifications. Yes, I do live very close to New Hampshire and I’m grateful that in Vermont our concept of the role of government is different enough that we have better pavement than NH despite higher taxes. No, I’m not from Vermont despite having lived there for a decade and having spent much time there in my youth. I’m from New York, as in Upstate New York, and that doesn’t mean that it’s odd for me to have a different accent than the boys from Bensonhurst. We’ve had two Winter Olympic Games in Upstate New York, for Heaven’s sake! My friends from New Zealand and Australia all know that the United States of America is a very big place with a lot of people in it, but often they haven’t had the opportunity to consider all of the wider implications of what that means. Apparently it’s my role to tell them. My favorite little nugget to use as an explainer is the use of the plural to describe the US before the Civil War and the singular after it; as in “the United States of America are the largest economy …” versus “the USA is the largest economy …”

Still, despite stopping over in a place that joined the union in 1912, is 2500 miles from where I live in Vermont and is quite a bit different in most respects, Arizona definitely is on the way home, both literally and metaphorically.  Just as when I return to NZ and re-adjust to the details of everyday life, there are things here that I note upon arrival and which I otherwise would take for granted. I have not had to search high and low for brewed coffee instead of espresso; I may have been flying during the Rugby World Cup semifinals but I did get to watch part of the NY Giants win on Sunday; I have not had to order my food at the counter before sitting down in a restaurant and I have had to tip; I get to read the NYTimes print edition every morning; I can order a bagel without fear of being branded an oddity; and I don’t have to repeat my NZ driving mantra whenever I turn a corner – ‘left, left, left’. Parking lots and ketchup are referred to by their ‘proper’ names, and nobody, not a single solitary soul, discusses cricket for any reason.

It’s great to be home, even if it’s still so far away. Oh, and one more thing: Go you All Blacks!

Clouds Lift, Cue The Sun!

Sunday, October 2nd was the last day of the 2011 season at Treble Cone, and the early morning circumstances didn’t bode well. At 5:00AM on Sunday, the rain poured down so hard here in Wanaka and up at TC that I thought we should convert our normal pond-skim, DJ and costume festivities into an ark-building and sub-pump fixing party. Driving around town at 7:00AM on the staff shuttle loop, the skies above us were clearing but looking north towards Mount Aspiring and TC, things still looked pretty gloomy. Up at TC, by 8:00 there were increasing patches of blue poking through the clouds and by 9:00 the wind had died and the sun was shining – the problem was that nobody was there. For a little bit, it seemed that our ever-faithful, incredibly devoted Cone Heads had all decided to go to the movies instead of braving the elements. At 9:30, the last big cloud literally moved through the base area (see my video below taken from the lesson meeting area) and behind it was only an absolutely glorious spring day. As though on cue, as that last cloud moved up and out the people began to arrive in fine form, all dressed up in their finest retro gear and funny costumes and in terrific spirits. Great spring conditions, warm sunshine, drinks and tunes on the sun deck, and the usual wonderful camaraderie that accompanies any great day with TC and the locals who provide so much of our resort's energy.

I’m not sure whether I can explain how a season feels when it began with so little snow that we delayed our opening for two weeks, then so much snow that we delayed our opening for another six days opening with the best conditions ever seen, only one other significant storm in mid-season, an astonishing number of sun-filled days, and enough business that our snow sports school was at maximum capacity for six weeks straight? I’m still too close to it to have any significant thoughts on the subject. Somewhere in between strolling slowly through town in flip-flops, hiking in the mountains around Wanaka, the occasional road trips and rounds of golf, and enjoying the remainder of the rugby world cup, perhaps I’ll have something to consider on the whole thing. For now, I’m content to breathe in the fragrant spring air, catch up with friends, get some rest, and remember how much I love spending time here in Wanaka and New Zealand. After all, my next winter is just six weeks away!