Approaching storm

approaching storm
Originally uploaded by kenmore_photos.

Today was a tough day for a ski but I went none the less. I had originally planned for a classic tour with Mike and Bryan but - with the prediction of an approaching freezing rainstorm - they decided to bail out. It was probably the wise thing to do as the freezing rain made the classic tracks hard and icy - very difficult to ski on (even for Mr. Waxless). When they called to cancel I decided to grab my skating skis and head up anyway. Skating in freezing rain isn't too bad because you tend to ride a little more on the edges of the skis so you can break through any icy crust that form.

The predicted freezing rain started just as I drove out of my driveway but it wasn't too heavy so I headed up to P9 (passing a few cars in the ditch - slow down morons!) and strapped on the skis headed for the lookouts. The skiing wasn't too bad when I started but after an hour or so some very dark clouds rolled in and the freezing rain started falling in earnest. In short order I was soaked and the track was starting to get a little glassy. From there on it was a carefully measured effort. Being soaked meant you can't stop for a break or risk chilling down very quickly (hypothermia style) so I took a nice easy tempo that I could maintain back to the car.

Also a problem was that my glasses iced over - no deicer to clear the windshield so to speak! With Thursdays ski (when my eyes froze shut with a -27C windchill) and today's iced over glasses, I'm getting a lot of opportunity to put in to practice my saying that "I know the trails so well I could ski them blindfolded." At any rate I made it down safe and sound. By the time I got to the car, the surface of my clothes had formed a thick layer of ice so it took me a while to "melt" on the drive home and then a long hot shower brought me back to life.... but it was still fun.

The weather finally went above zero in the afternoon and the freezing rain turned to rain so tomorrow might be an interesting ski. The trails could freeze over or be warm and sloppy in the sun. Spring may be coming earlier then expected.... Hardly seems like winter was here.