Snow Basin, Utah Day 4 (Friday 22-Feb)

After 3 lost days, I thought I'd try to get out today. I wasn't feeling great but had enough energy to put the boots on and lug the skis over to the lifts. There was an inch or 2 of new snow and it was snowing. Perhaps my usual enthusiasm for skiing would bring me out of this influenza funk.

It was not to be. I took 3 runs, called it a day, went back to car, put the seat back and slept for 1 1/2 hours. I was exhausted.

However the rest of the crew kept up their usual frantic pace and skied till they closed the lifts on them. And they continued their determined search for powder claiming they found many places with up to 6 inches of fresh snow.

With this flu, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting too old for this sport. But back in the lodge there were 2 different gentlemen that helped convince me otherwise. The first had to be at least 70. I saw him get down on the floor and put his head down and then lift his feet up and he stood on his head for at least a minute. While up there he did a routine of stretching his legs in many different poses. The balance alone was amazing forgetting the strength required. When he got up, I commented - "Feel better?" He said no but that he was convinced that he had to show "us younger folk" a certain vitality to convince us that getting old wasn't so bad.

Then this really old guy sat down next to me. Making small talk, I said "Visibility was pretty bad out there today wasn't it?". He proceeded to tell me a long story about how he'd had a lot of brain damage in the war and that he had no visibility on one side at all and that the only way he skied was with his son directing him down the mountain. He was 87. So they gave me encouragement that I have a lot of years left and I can really blame my current funk on this damn flu.