HIS CREATION, MY RECREATION

I am reminded once again of how flat Ontario is, having spent a weekend riding on the White Mountains in Franconia, New Hampshire. I did not realize that I was surrounded by such a magnificent canyon of tall mountain peaks until I stepped outside of the cabin the next morning, since we had arrived during the previous night. It was the first weekend of significant snowfall, so the place was abuzz with many Bostonians who made their way up for some fresh powder. Cannon Mountain has the same vertical drop as Jay Peak, so I was excited about the prospect of long runs as memories from last year rushed back. I was not disappointed! The chairlift ride to the peak was very pleasant (last year at Jay, riding up to the peak on a chairlift meant sitting with your head buried deep in your arms to keep the sharp wind out). Then, it was a series of hairpin turns and winding slopes as you made your way down through a series of black and blue trails. Because of the lack of snow that was received this year, there were areas near the top where the snow had blown away, leaving thick sheets of ice! As well, because some of the trails were not groomed, they were pimpled with moguls, which made for some exciting (albeit unintentional) jumps! You know the trails are long when your legs are burning by the time you get to the bottom.

I absolutely appreciated the fact that this mountain was not geared towards tourists. When I was in Tremblant, it seemed like everyone there was trying to grab at your money. Here, the feeling was completely different. In the cafeteria, they actually have places set aside for those who had brown bagged it. They have staff that greet you as you first enter the park; in fact, Saturday was their Mardi Gras day, so they were handing out bead necklaces (although I do wonder about the safety of this as I saw a few kids zooming down with these necklaces dangling close to the ground). I did notice, though, that most people there ski and there were very few snowboarders. In fact, I sense some disdain towards snowboarders: I don't know why skiers like to buzz right by us and then scold us if we happen to cut them off! Oh well, road rage can happen anywhere!

Mainly, I enjoyed being outdoors in Creation. Then I thought about how closely the word "creation" is to "recreation". Ironic that recreation means to restore or refresh, and that what I consider recreation (as in snowboarding) can only be facilitated by the "modification" of creation. I'm certain that at some point, those winding trails that I was blazing down used to be home to some trees (probably tall ones, just like the ones that remain). Where did they go? Where did the animals and bugs who used to live in the trees go? Seems to me that something had to be destroyed in order for me to be refreshed/restored. I think that's one of the reasons why I'm so drawn to glades, although the idea of blazing down a mountain IN BETWEEN trees seems pretty crazy/reckless. It is often more peaceful in the glades, as there is less human traffic (refer to the comment about crazy!). The snow is usually more virgin: basically it's the natural stuff that gets blown into here and remains ungroomed because the machines can't get in. It also requires more skills, as one has to maneuver fairly quickly to avoid a head on collision with a tree. I had the chance to sit in a glade with my friend Samson. He had with him one of these snack kits that contained canned salmon with capers and crackers. So, we had "tea time" in the glades. It was so peaceful sitting back on a mound of fresh snow, admiring the view while crunching on our snacks! That was truly recreation!