Got the post Olympic withdrawals? I have the answer.

First, a look at the weather. It was a beautiful spring like weekend, but that’s all about to change as a very cold air mass is dropping down from the north with some very cold air. The problem is there’s not a lot of moisture so we won’t get much snow. What does fall will be light and fluffy. It’ll be just enough to put a fresh coat on what‘s already on the ground. We should get a few inches tonight and then a similar system follows Tuesday into Wednesday morning with snow levels almost as low. Thursday looks to be a beautiful ski day and the end of the week is still in question. The latest snow survey found we were at 107% of normal for this time of the year, so that is good news after several drought years with marginal snow conditions.

If you’re like me, you spent the last few weeks glued to the TV set watching the Olympics. They were fun and exciting but ended last Sunday, and I found myself going through withdrawals. While watching the cross country skiing events, I remember thinking how beautiful it was watching the athletes gliding through the snow covered trees with a smooth, efficient motion that’s so different from running or snow shoeing.  When a friend and her daughter asked if I’d like to join them cross- country skiing Sunday, I decided to try it.  I was feeling pretty cocky because, after all, I’m an excellent downhill skier, so how different can this be? I clicked the toes of my boots into the skis, gave a hard shove on the poles, and headed down the tiny hill in front of the lodge. I quickly discovered these skis aren’t like my downhill skis, they don’t have edges!  I careened wildly out of control, swaying forwards and backwards trying to keep my balance, and aimed for a flat spot in between a tree and a small child, neither of which did I want to use to break my fall. It was like my first day on skis all over again. Feeling humbled, I took a few minutes to compose myself and then headed slowly and carefully down the rest of the slope and onto the trail. Before long I got the hang of it and I loved it! The idea is to glide forward in a fluid motion with a minimum amount of effort. It feels great when you get it right. I recommend you try it if you haven’t and, guess what? No more Olympic withdrawals.

More things to do.  We’re in the midst of SnowFest, which started March 5th, and goes for 10 days. Olympic Village Inn is a great place to stay to take in all the events. There are too many to list here, but you can see the full schedule at The Weekly; SnowFest Events. To inspire you to get out on the trails yourself, there’s the Tahoe City Golf Course  8 mile cross-country relay race on March 13th. Make a plan to try something new and have a great week!