The freshly fallen snow was great for fresh skiers Celeste and Jordan. Photo: Sam Kersebet.
I’ve lived in Wisconsin most of my life and vacationed in Colorado, but somehow I’ve never put my feet on skis.
My family was never interested in winter sports, except for occasional tubing, ice fishing, and ice skating at our cottage on Lake Winnebago. I wasn’t even very good at ice fishing – I went into a hole once and had to sit out the rest of the day. I’ll try this again another time.
Skiing has never been a part of my family’s activities, but now that I live in Door County, it seems like a necessity.
The other day, I left work early with a co-worker and picked up my boyfriend to catch the last rays of sunshine at Newport State Park, my favorite of the five state parks in the county. I was immediately mesmerized by the fresh layer of snow covering the trees. The slopes were fluffy and ready for our skis.
Putting them on was a challenge I didn’t expect. It took about a million tries with each foot to squeeze into the skis, and I almost fell over in the process. It was fun, but secretly I was also very frustrated.
Ten minutes later we set off on the Europe Bay Trail. It took me a second to get the moves right, but soon I felt like we were sliding along the trail.
And then I fell. Damn, it was difficult to get up. It didn’t aid that I was laughing so difficult.
It was around 4pm when we started, so the sun was shining on the treetops and we knew it would soon disappear. Another person on the trail suggested we catch the rest of the sunset on the other side of the trail, near Lake Michigan.
We turned around, crossed the street and jumped on the trail that starts on the other side. After a while we were on the beach, admiring the sunset in front of us. We sailed along the lake with the most attractive view and I can honestly say that it was my favorite winter moment so far.
On our return trip along European Lake, we caught the Hotz Trail. This part of the trail was more straight forward, so I tried to focus more on technique.
I noticed that every time my skis left a groomed section of trail, I was likely to fall. The skis would cut into the snow, causing the weight of the snow on the skis to throw me off balance. I also found it challenging to apply both hands at the same time to push me forward unless I was going down.
My approach was to stay as straight as I could on the groomed sections. Is there more to it? I don’t really know, but I felt like I had it figured out.
We finally made it to the road again, so we hopped back on the Europe Bay Trail just like we started. It was already murky, so we turned on our headlamps and moved on. I also had to unzip my jacket because I was definitely toasty.
It was nice to ski in the murky. Most of the time I was lagging behind the group, so at some points I felt like I was skiing alone. It could have been scary, but I was so focused on my legs that I didn’t feel it. The silence was so peaceful and before I knew it we had completed the loop.
It was great to finally put on my skis and enjoy the freshly fallen snow, even though I fell a few times. I can’t wait to do it again.
Watch Celeste’s ski adventure in a fresh film produced by Peninsula Filmworks, available now on Doorcountypulse.com or on Youtube – just search for Door County Pulse!
