Final times

As we wind down our winter time in Quebec this year, probably leaving in the middle of next week, I'm mindful of our previous two winters, as I work on my book narrative about "A House in Quebec."

So improbable to be here for a third winter, in the two best months for snow again.  Cherry-picking.

Two challenging ski sessions over the weekend had me questioning my commitment to snow.  First, skiing along untracked paths on a familiar trail was full of potholes caused by walkers.  Deep snow made poling uneven, stressing my shoulder and arm muscles.  Ugh, but it was OK. 

But a second ski the next day on a supposedly "easy" trail had me questioning my abilities yet again.  It was part of our local village trail, maintained and tracked by volunteers, but still part of our local city's network of paths.  We'd not been there before and welcomed seeing what it was like, going with friends who'd been there years before.

Yikes, the initial approach included quite a bit of uphill, fine, but my twin-skin skis, a bit too big for me, were slipping terribly, so I struggled.  Fortunately, as we made it into the forest, I was OK, until I had to go downhill.  

It was more steep on a single track than I'm comfortable with; my depth perception is wonky until cataract surgery next month, so I'm unreasonably afraid of falling, it seems.  But I plugged along, falling a number of times, practiced getting up again, so all was well.  Thank goodness it wasn't very cold -- about 26°F.  I even took off my skis for a couple of stretches and walked down.  I was glad to easily reattach my skis to boots again, another depth perception challenge!

I've gained so much strength this winter - I'm totally encouraged to keep it up.  With biking, Nordic walking, and some minimal strength training, surely I can stay stronger than I managed to during peak pandemic times.  My aerobic fitness was OK, due to lots of walking; strength was totally different, with gym visits abandoned.

Winding down winter for a third season, I'm mindful of how beautiful it is here. Our neighbor's house and barn up the hill is always lovely in winter snow. This was two years ago.