Skiing as opera, no live class and chopping wood

​I went to an opera once. I thought it would add culture to my life and be a new obsession. It was so, so very boring, it seemed it would never end. There was a screen above the stage broadcasting the lyrics in English so you could follow along. The singing was so drawn out that the words seem to change about once every five minutes. 

I just spent seven days skiing while pulling gear in a sled on the Kungsleden trail in Sweden above the arctic circle where the landscape is huge, whiteness reaches as far as the eye can see and the trails stretch out forever. If downhill skiing is rock and roll and skate skiing is pop music, classic skiing is yacht rock then pulling a sled in the arctic is opera. It is gorgeous, much respect given, but it is SLOW and difficult. 

I will start by saying, having a long trail with winter infrastructure like warm huts with kitchens and snack shops is an adventure miracle. Having a warm place to stay and chat with likeminded folks out on similar journeys is a joyful way to end the long days out and the wildness of the landscape in between the huts is like nothing I can compare. 

We had incredible weather, 10-20 degrees and really just one windy day. Even so, my face feels like a leather balloon. There are not enough lotion samples in the Duty Free shop to fix this fast. I can’t imagine if we had been there a week earlier with colder temps and skiers extending their stays in the huts from high winds. A typical day was wake up, breakfast, ski, ski, quick snack, ski, ski, wonder where the freaking hut is, ski, ski, YAY arrive, collapse, CHOP WOOD, carry water. The huts are maintained by the guests which meant after the ski there was wood to chop and water to collect from a hole in a lake or spring. Dinner was in the shared kitchen with skiers and snowshoers from all over Europe and beyond. Stories were told, routes were shared, then we did it again the next day. 

The best parts were unlocking a new endurance adventure mode and full immersion in a most gorgeous place. It was a week-long soul bath. 

The worst thing was my right ankle got absolutely smashed by my ski boot and I am hoping that a few days without anything touching it and some rest will calm it down. I will see you next week for live Strength Training for Runners, no class tomorrow. Instead, go outside and give yourself a soul bath. 

I loaded a few pictures here and will be posting to Instagram this week about the adventure.