More than meets the eye
A first-time cross-country ski lesson in Breckenridge sounded like plenty of adventure for one day.
There’s the question of “Will anyone be willing to commit to going with me or will I be adventuring solo?” There’s also the 2 ½ hour drive up and back on I-70 that’s almost always an adventure in winter, the likelihood of snow storms in December, the gear rental, the cost ($83 to ski, plus food), the all-day time commitment, and the crucial question “Can my brain and body work together enough to figure this thing out?”
As it turned out, Abby, one of my newer, more intrepid friends, thankfully overcame all the obstacles above plus some — including the uncertainty about not only her ability to ski, but also her enjoyment of it (she’d never been on skis at all, not even downhill!), and the necessity of finding rides and childcare for her 4 young kids — and joined me.
Traffic wasn’t terrible, weather was good (the winter advisory began 6 hours after we left), the Nordic Center was ready for us, the rentals fit well (ski boots you can walk around in without endangering the bones in your ankles?! Brilliant!) and our non-private class included only two other girls (they’d traveled from Indiana!) who didn’t seem ready to point and laugh if our skiing ability was sub-par.
The instruction was straightforward and our A-list class of learners: Amy, Abby, Alexis and Ashley (seriously) were pretty quick to pick up the skills. Within minutes we were skiing in the tracks, stepping outside the tracks and even going downhill around some wide corners. Yes, there were falls here and there, but overall, coordination and athleticism ruled the day. Abby and I even felt confident enough to go out for another couple hours to explore on our own in the afternoon.
As always, it was a fun challenge to learn something new, especially outdoors and active. I definitely enjoyed the sport (it kept me toasty on a cold day), and highly recommend the Breckenridge Nordic Center. But the question became: would I travel 5 hours round trip and spend an entire day and a good amount of money to do this activity on a regular basis? I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m hooked on cross-country skiing.
What I do know was that once again another adventure was hidden inside the planned one: getting to know a new friend on a deeper level. And that, I would do 100 times over!
Sharing hours in the car going deep in conversation; looking fear and failure in the face while learning a new skill in the name of fun; eating, laughing and taking selfies together; and pushing ourselves until we felt muscles burning we didn’t know we had… 12 total hours with never a lull in the conversation or feeling anything less than “I’m so glad we’re experiencing this together”… This was my favorite part of the adventure hands-down.
Gaining a close new friend – is there really any better adventure than that?!
And while we’re on the subject of friends… there was an added bonus in my day: catching up over lunch with my amazing, pregnant friend Sarah, who moved to Breck awhile back. She was truly glowing!
So I guess the takeaway is (and this seems to be a recurring theme): The adventure isn’t always what you think it is. It’s better, richer, deeper. Sometimes it’s totally different than you anticipated. But it seems there’s always a pay-off for stepping into the unknown.
Now I’m wondering about my future quests: “What might be the adventure within the adventure?” No clue, but I can’t wait to find out!
