LECHTANSKI.NET

Thursday I headed up after work for my first mid-week ski training. I got to the ski area just after six p.m. All of the midweek rain in Bellingham meant more than a foot of new snow at Baker. I was the only person at the ski area. Understandably, the ski area is closed, but the place was totally abandoned. And it was foggy as hell.

Since I don’t know the ski area all that well, there was absolutely no one else around, and I don’t want to get stuck in a tree well or under an avalanche, I was a little uncomfortable. So I did a half hour of hill training in view of my car and headed back home.

But Saturday. Now Saturday was perfect. Sunshine. It was almost 40 degrees when I arrived at the ski area at 9 a.m. There were about a dozen cars, and a few people heading out for snow hikes or some late season snow boarding.

I geared up and headed into the ski area. I’m not sure of the race route, but there were several cat tracks looping around. I stuck to those and had a great time.

I had two epiphanies.

1. I was out of breath. Way faster than I should have been. And then it occurred to me. This is frickin’ mountain air! I normally go running at 68 feet above sea level in Bellingham. But Mt. Baker is more than 3500 feet above sea level. If I lose 5 percent of my oxygen for every 1000 feet in elevation, than I’m up here dealing with 15-20 percent less oxygen. No wonder. The solution: the more I head up and train, the better I’ll feel.
2. Downhill on XC skis is not like downhill with downhill skis. Turning is not the same. Stopping is not the same. The key is how I shift my weight. Something clicked in my head, and I started shifting my weight. It was almost like… I knew Kung Fu.

I think I have three more trips to the mountain. And Bart is going to lend me some XC skates, so I can check out the difference. I’m rolling with touring skis right now.