The god of skiing

Easter comes late this year, about as late as it can possibly get. The sun is warming, but the mountains are still covered by white snow.

The mountains are crowded. There are people everywhere. That’s an Easter tradition in Winterland. That’s how people spend their Easter holidays.

Some go out on long ski trips. Some just find a nice place to sit in the snow, make a camp fire, and eat lunch, with the kids and the dog and Mother-in-Law. Maybe someone even think of Jesus suffering on the cross. I doubt it. We have better Gods at hand.

The Bible hardly mentions snow at all, and there is certainly nothing about skiing. What kind of religion is that?

Today we went into the valley named after the Norse God of skiing. His name is Ull. He’s not as famous and powerful as his colleague Thor with the Hammer, but a God well suited for our needs up North, for those who insist on having one, or more.

I don’t. I just ski.

(I grabbed my camera and took the picture above when we passed by the little hill on our way into the mountains. I don't know who the people are, but they demonstrate typical Winterlandic Easter celebration out in the snow)

Frozen streams

For more than ten winters I have spent most of my free time in alpine skiing resorts. That’s where my boys want to be, that’s the kind of skiing they love; alpine skiing, freestyle and powder skiing.

I enjoy it too, of course. But I also like to go cross-country skiing, and I miss that.

Little boy is 10 yo now, and old enough to survive on the slopes by himself. Today he was skiing with a buddy. For safety, I tell him to use gondolas rather than chair lifts as far as possible. The T-hook surface lifts are no problem.

My old lady and I put on our cross-country skis and headed into the quiet and peaceful backcountry. It was mild temperatures and no wind. The snow was good above timberline. We made a 15 km (10 miles) round trip, and stopped half way to eat our lunch packets.

(Late in April the frozen streams start to break up. Crossing the streams can be challenging at this time of the year. Skis make it easier, since the body weight is distributed over a larger area (giving smaller pressure on the ice, if you want to think physics). We skied pretty fast across the stream, without stopping, and didn’t get wet. I turned around and took the picture above. I have no idea who the people are.)