Olympics

Watchin' the Olympics reminds me of my first skis. Guess they were actually my only skis. Same as the Olympians - Atomics. I called 'em my nuclear fission skis. I got them in Omaha at a sporting goods store before going skiing sophomore spring break. The smartest thing I did was to get better boots (Nordica) than skis. I also got good bindings.

I guess my skis were probably as good as I was - not too. But they worked and hey, I never had to worry about them getting ripped off! I sure got my money's worth out of them - as I used them for ten years or so. Finally sent them out to the landfill a few years back - realizing they were probably a safety hazard!

Those skis were pretty good to me - helping me to avoid any serious falls. In fact I didn't fall much at all while skiing. Cuz I'm chicken shit! We of course skied differently with the guys than we did when it was just us gals. We liked shooting up through the trees - sometimes we'd get off the beaten path, where one could actually suffocate in snow if one fell just wrong in the loose packed snow.

When we were with the guys, we liked to find "jumps". They were just bumps we could ski over quickly to get some air time. One of the most memorable times we had skiing was at a smaller resort called A-Basin - knee high powder and short lift lines made for a fantastic day on the slopes.

One other memory I have from our ski trips were the trips - the drives out. The Olympics always bring back the infamous Wood River stay. The year was 1982 (I think) - we took off in the evening, because everyone knows the only way to drive across NE is at night or drunk. (haha) Around Lincoln it began to snow. By Grand Island it was impossible to see - right past GI is Wood River and that's where we pulled off and got the last motel room, a double for 7 people. Vic, Fred, Pablo and me, Moose, and ?? not sure who else...

There was a truck stop across the parking lot and we ate every meal there for 2 days - the Interstate was closed! Some people were living at the truck stop as there was no room in the Inn. The Winter Olympics were on - pretty much our only entertainment. (we took to rating farts, much like judges for figure skating...)

Finally on the morning after the 2nd night in that awful motel, the Interstate opened up and we hit the road toward heaven - Winter Park and the slopes!