As the snow-drought continues...

As I always say, I do my best to suppress any expectation as far as snowfall goes, but since I'm a born-optimist, there's always a beam of light in a corner of my mind making me hope that big snowfalls still will come.

Yet, we've passed January and have had so far the worst snow I've ever seen in Park City for the past thirty winters. So what's an avid skier to do? Keep hoping of course, and most importantly, make do with what Mother Nature has been serving so far.

That's when skiing turns from fun to interesting. Skiers have to actively seek the good runs, the interesting paths, those opportunities to work on technique and hone the necessary skills to avoid rocks, stumps and other obstacles. All that with the permanent fear that the existing snow cover may not quite last through mid-April if the weather keeps on being so bad.

This is what I'd call the “creative” side of skiing...