It's hike in/hike out not ski in/ski out. It's 300ft to the summit. It's skiing fall line, just for the ground rush. It's looking down. It's avoiding the next tree; being the only thing on your mind. It's yesterday's precipitous impossibility, being today's nursery slope; and the pleasure and sadness that brings. It's 50 degrees to the vertical. It's 25 degrees below zero. It's always losing, but coming back for more. It's over, far too soon.......
