More gratuitous photos of snow

After last weekend's mini-vacation to Sovereign Lake/Silverstar, I had plans to stone grind my skis and to put on the summer storage wax for the rest of the year. I didn't get in nearly as much skiing as I would have liked this winter, but the season was late to start and now spring is (theoretically) pending. At this point my thoughts and energies are approximately 98% consumed with all things triathlon, but yesterday, the mountain called to Aaron and me. Sure, the Mt. Spokane Snowline reported that it was zero degrees Fahrenheit, but the sun was shining and the winds were calm. The result?

More pictures of Aaron skiing. The lucky guy always gets to be on the other end of the camera.

It was a gorgeous day on the mountain. We are so lucky to have it as a recreational resource not only in the winter, but for mountain biking, trail running, and berry picking in summer. Which seems really, really far away. Especially because it snowed for 2 days straight and then a deep freeze involving record low temperatures sets in afterwards. My last blog post about the roads being clear was a bit premature. We got just enough snow and just enough cold to negate the previous month's warming.

Nonetheless, after 3 consecutive days of trainer riding, I was determined to do today's 90 miler outside. It may have been 7 degrees when I woke up, but, like yesterday, it was sunny and windless, which makes just about any temperature tolerable. The ride was awesome. I didn't really get to stop and take pictures except during one food stop (mittens and zippers are not conducive to eating on the fly), but I was completely awed by the landscape of the snow covered Palouse on a sunny day. It's a beauty so different from the deciduous pastoral landscape I fell in love with in college in Vermont. Worlds away from the Tuscan olive groves and Italian Alps that wowed me when studying abroad, and drastically different from the rides I used to do along ocean side cliffs in New Zealand. The Palouse may not be as spectacular, but it is home, it is special, and it is undeniably beautiful. I only wish that the weather had been such that I could have actually taken pictures that do the landscape justice.

As much as I love living and training here, I'm sick of being cold. SOOOO, next week I'm off to San Diego/Guatemala. Hopefully then I will be able to post some pictures that actually involve a variety of colors.