Ahhh.
I'm spoiled. I can still feel the wind whipping across my face.
Today, it snowed for the second day. My daughter and I did not have our snow day yesterday (she had a cough and we didn't want to aggravate it) but Doreen decided to work from home. So, I smiled and asked, simply ... "Hon, may I .. SKI SKI SKI SKI SKI SKI!"
I made an awesome 900 calorie breakfast. It was buffalo sausage, eggs, olive oil, and cajun jack cheese in an omlette with a slice of whole wheat toast and all natural peanut butter on the side. I don't eat on the slopes unless I'm with company that eats, so I like to fuel up.
I drove to the slope, not sure what to expect. After all, while we just had two days of snow, it had been 60 degrees for several days. The parking lot was filled with snow, and the slopes looked nice, powdery and white.
So, I walked up. And ... for a second I thought I had missed something, that the place was closed. I mean, the chairlift was running ... but there wasn't a soul in sight! I stepped onto the lift and asked the attendant, "Is there snow up there?" He smiled and said, "It's actually pretty good." So, I rode to the top and stepped off.
WOW. First, I may have written about this before, but the view from Terry Peak is breath-taking. You are literally on top of the Black Hills, and can see not only to the distant peaks and ranges, but out onto the plain. In the midwest, the horizon is always a swirl of color where the multi-colored clouds meet with blue sky. It was beautiful, so I enjoyed the view, then stepped off of the slope. The temperature was in the teens. Going downhill with the wind whipping in my face only added to it. Let's just say by the time I reached the bottom, my face was a bit puckered. However, I had the most amazing run. It felt like I was just gliding over the surface and I felt, for once, in TOTAL control. I mean, there was just no though of falling or losing balance ... I was in flow, in the zone, and having a blast.
I rode up and down a few times and then stopped by the bar for a cup of coffee and baileys to work the numbness out of my fingertips before tackling the slope again. There were two young girls (I'm getting old, I can't tell if they are high school or college age any more) and a gentleman I had seen skiing (one of the few other people out there - it was awesome to pretty much own the slopes ourselves). He sat next to me and we chatted a bit. Then I set out and skiied another run.
While I was going up the chairlifts, I had been eyeballing the Ben Hur run. I have never skiied a black run (the more advanced runs) but have faithfully stuck to greens and blues. Well, I was looking at that run, and, well, it didn't look too bad. In fact, I felt ... yeah, I can take it. I got off of the chairlift and said, "I'd better ask someone first" so I skiied down a blue run. Felt awesome. No one at the bottom. No line. Back up the lift. Looking at that run again.
Okay, no one to ask ... let's see. How do I feel? I feel I need to make that run! I realized there was no choice, no convincing - only the conviction that I would do it and have fun. So, I got off, and steered to a new direction - the top of Ben Hur. Up and over the hill, and there it was, steeply descending to the base of the mountain. No fear, only thrill and excitement and I was off. About three seconds later, I was off again - this time, off my skis. I had hit a nasty ice patch. Nothing hurt, so I picked myself back up and headed down. This time I was going so fast, my coat was actually flapping into my face and the wind just felt like it was hollowing my face inside out. It felt GREAT. I made it to the bottom and realized it was one of the most fun runs I had been on.
I can't explain why, but just the last time I went out, some of those runs looked steep and I actually had a little fear. Today, there was just no run that phased me - I literally would look down the steepest slope and just think, that looks like fun!
After Ben Hur, I bumped into the gentleman at the bottom, so I asked him if he wanted to ski. His name was Elroy and he runs a dairy farm out east, near Sioux Falls. Apparently, he has been skiing for years. Very friendly man, told me a lot about the area and the history of the slope. Then, he proceeded to show me some various ways down and new runs I hadn't been on. In fact, he had a great little spur that allowed us to connect with Ben Hur below where the ice patch was. We did runs for a few hours and then it began to snow. We had time for maybe two more runs. He was parked at a different lodge, so we were going to go down this run and then ride back up and split up at the top. Well, I had no goggles. I had learned the lesson of putting my hood on and closing the part that blocks off my mouth (which was great, because I felt I could ski about 50mph faster that way without the wind kicking into my face) but no goggles. As we went down the run, a squall hit the mountain and there was a solid wall of snow. A solid wall of snow IN MY EYES. I practically did the entire run blind.
So, at the bottom, I politely told Elroy that I would be sitting out on the last run. We shook hands and parted ways.
On the way home, I realized the reason my feet didn't hurt on the slope was because they were frozen numb. They began to thaw in the truck and started hurting. Fortunately, I had some time when I got home to get into the hot tub. My daughter was excited - she always loves the hottub, especially when it's snowing. We break off icicles and watch them melt (and of course she tries to eat anything frozen).
After that, we went to watch my son play the last home game of the season. They did not win, but they put up a good fight and played some good ball. We went to the local restaurant (it's called the Stamp Mill) and while I had an urge to have a glass of wine, I reminded myself I had enjoyed myself over the week. So, I had steak, potatoes, and water.
Of course, this was not just a day of play! I put together a press release because I'm excited that my weekly interview show now has a podcast available. If you aren't familiar with these, it's like an audio magazine. You are reading a blog - the podcast is like an audio blog. People can "subscribe" and receive not just updates when I do new interviews, but receive the actual audio as well. Makes it convenient for those who can't make the show. I also spoke to a few of my visitors and this evening trained the newest member on my network marketing team. It always takes a few months to see how serious someone is. Many want to "get rich quick" and are disappointed when they learn this is a business and requires learning, training, and consistent action to work. However, the few who stick with it with an open mind begin to see the power of the leverage built into the business model. This new team member is incredibly proactive and has done more before our first one-on-one training session than some team members did their first month. It's a great start and with his focus and willingness to learn, I feel he is going to be a great success.
Now, I am sore and stiff (haven't been on the slopes in awhile ... although I did notice that it felt MUCH better after all of the Combat Conditioning I've been doing - thanks Matt - hey, maybe that's why I didn't feel wobbly or like I would fall?) Time to enjoy a nice cup of tea with Doreen next to our pellet stove fire and then get to bed early.
Blessed be,
Jeremy Likness
I'm spoiled. I can still feel the wind whipping across my face.
Today, it snowed for the second day. My daughter and I did not have our snow day yesterday (she had a cough and we didn't want to aggravate it) but Doreen decided to work from home. So, I smiled and asked, simply ... "Hon, may I .. SKI SKI SKI SKI SKI SKI!"
I made an awesome 900 calorie breakfast. It was buffalo sausage, eggs, olive oil, and cajun jack cheese in an omlette with a slice of whole wheat toast and all natural peanut butter on the side. I don't eat on the slopes unless I'm with company that eats, so I like to fuel up.
I drove to the slope, not sure what to expect. After all, while we just had two days of snow, it had been 60 degrees for several days. The parking lot was filled with snow, and the slopes looked nice, powdery and white.
So, I walked up. And ... for a second I thought I had missed something, that the place was closed. I mean, the chairlift was running ... but there wasn't a soul in sight! I stepped onto the lift and asked the attendant, "Is there snow up there?" He smiled and said, "It's actually pretty good." So, I rode to the top and stepped off.
WOW. First, I may have written about this before, but the view from Terry Peak is breath-taking. You are literally on top of the Black Hills, and can see not only to the distant peaks and ranges, but out onto the plain. In the midwest, the horizon is always a swirl of color where the multi-colored clouds meet with blue sky. It was beautiful, so I enjoyed the view, then stepped off of the slope. The temperature was in the teens. Going downhill with the wind whipping in my face only added to it. Let's just say by the time I reached the bottom, my face was a bit puckered. However, I had the most amazing run. It felt like I was just gliding over the surface and I felt, for once, in TOTAL control. I mean, there was just no though of falling or losing balance ... I was in flow, in the zone, and having a blast.
I rode up and down a few times and then stopped by the bar for a cup of coffee and baileys to work the numbness out of my fingertips before tackling the slope again. There were two young girls (I'm getting old, I can't tell if they are high school or college age any more) and a gentleman I had seen skiing (one of the few other people out there - it was awesome to pretty much own the slopes ourselves). He sat next to me and we chatted a bit. Then I set out and skiied another run.
While I was going up the chairlifts, I had been eyeballing the Ben Hur run. I have never skiied a black run (the more advanced runs) but have faithfully stuck to greens and blues. Well, I was looking at that run, and, well, it didn't look too bad. In fact, I felt ... yeah, I can take it. I got off of the chairlift and said, "I'd better ask someone first" so I skiied down a blue run. Felt awesome. No one at the bottom. No line. Back up the lift. Looking at that run again.
Okay, no one to ask ... let's see. How do I feel? I feel I need to make that run! I realized there was no choice, no convincing - only the conviction that I would do it and have fun. So, I got off, and steered to a new direction - the top of Ben Hur. Up and over the hill, and there it was, steeply descending to the base of the mountain. No fear, only thrill and excitement and I was off. About three seconds later, I was off again - this time, off my skis. I had hit a nasty ice patch. Nothing hurt, so I picked myself back up and headed down. This time I was going so fast, my coat was actually flapping into my face and the wind just felt like it was hollowing my face inside out. It felt GREAT. I made it to the bottom and realized it was one of the most fun runs I had been on.
I can't explain why, but just the last time I went out, some of those runs looked steep and I actually had a little fear. Today, there was just no run that phased me - I literally would look down the steepest slope and just think, that looks like fun!
After Ben Hur, I bumped into the gentleman at the bottom, so I asked him if he wanted to ski. His name was Elroy and he runs a dairy farm out east, near Sioux Falls. Apparently, he has been skiing for years. Very friendly man, told me a lot about the area and the history of the slope. Then, he proceeded to show me some various ways down and new runs I hadn't been on. In fact, he had a great little spur that allowed us to connect with Ben Hur below where the ice patch was. We did runs for a few hours and then it began to snow. We had time for maybe two more runs. He was parked at a different lodge, so we were going to go down this run and then ride back up and split up at the top. Well, I had no goggles. I had learned the lesson of putting my hood on and closing the part that blocks off my mouth (which was great, because I felt I could ski about 50mph faster that way without the wind kicking into my face) but no goggles. As we went down the run, a squall hit the mountain and there was a solid wall of snow. A solid wall of snow IN MY EYES. I practically did the entire run blind.
So, at the bottom, I politely told Elroy that I would be sitting out on the last run. We shook hands and parted ways.
On the way home, I realized the reason my feet didn't hurt on the slope was because they were frozen numb. They began to thaw in the truck and started hurting. Fortunately, I had some time when I got home to get into the hot tub. My daughter was excited - she always loves the hottub, especially when it's snowing. We break off icicles and watch them melt (and of course she tries to eat anything frozen).
After that, we went to watch my son play the last home game of the season. They did not win, but they put up a good fight and played some good ball. We went to the local restaurant (it's called the Stamp Mill) and while I had an urge to have a glass of wine, I reminded myself I had enjoyed myself over the week. So, I had steak, potatoes, and water.
Of course, this was not just a day of play! I put together a press release because I'm excited that my weekly interview show now has a podcast available. If you aren't familiar with these, it's like an audio magazine. You are reading a blog - the podcast is like an audio blog. People can "subscribe" and receive not just updates when I do new interviews, but receive the actual audio as well. Makes it convenient for those who can't make the show. I also spoke to a few of my visitors and this evening trained the newest member on my network marketing team. It always takes a few months to see how serious someone is. Many want to "get rich quick" and are disappointed when they learn this is a business and requires learning, training, and consistent action to work. However, the few who stick with it with an open mind begin to see the power of the leverage built into the business model. This new team member is incredibly proactive and has done more before our first one-on-one training session than some team members did their first month. It's a great start and with his focus and willingness to learn, I feel he is going to be a great success.
Now, I am sore and stiff (haven't been on the slopes in awhile ... although I did notice that it felt MUCH better after all of the Combat Conditioning I've been doing - thanks Matt - hey, maybe that's why I didn't feel wobbly or like I would fall?) Time to enjoy a nice cup of tea with Doreen next to our pellet stove fire and then get to bed early.
Blessed be,
Jeremy Likness
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