land of oz

round valley is tucked in between a few lines of hillocks on the eastern side of park city. a trail system winds around the valley, with three trailheads, and over twenty-five kilometers of groomed nordic track. it perches at about 7200′ of elevation, and is primarily multi-use, open to the public, and well used by skiers, walkers, runners, and dogs. there are also many kilometers of single-track trail for fat-tire bicycles, snowshoers, hikers, and runners to utilize.

there are two sections of “ski only” track–hanscom’s hollow, and the land of oz–where dogs, bikes, and walkers are asked to stay off the track. (dogs, bikes, and shoes all leave impressions on ski tracks that negatively impact the quality of the track; as well, dogs add an element of uncertainty to one’s skiing experience, as their behavior can be unpredictable!)

for the past two years, the land of oz has not been open to anyone, due to lack of snow.

and thanks to the bountiful snow this season, all four kilometers of this beautiful meadow are groomed and open for business.

the other morning I was the first to ski it after its morning grooming. the meadow rests on a gradual slope, and the track loops up and down and up and down and again and again. a third of the time you’re flying downhill, a third of the time you’re working your way back up, and the rest of the time you’re on a perfect track of very slightly up or down which is where I can best work on my form. the goal is efficiency, and over the years I have inched toward that place, but all too often I find myself getting up the hills any way I can. gradual ascents allow opportunity to focus on how I do what I do.

two years ago I was terribly disappointed there wasn’t enough snow to open oz. last year I was more resigned to its continued closure. and this year, it feels like everything is falling back into place.

the ascents and descents of the land of oz are a microcosm of the ebb and flow of its ability, over the years, to be groomed and utilized, which is, in effect, reflective of how life presents opportunities to us. sometimes we receive what we want, and other times we don’t; however, the overarching theme of impermanence reigns.

what is here today will eventually shift into what’s here tomorrow.

and this, too, shall pass.

I suppose our task is simply to keep working on our form–how we move through the world–for the more efficient we become at flowing with what is, the easier it is to ride the ebbs and flows. a friend of mine talks about the importance of “looking up,” and he is spot on. at the top of the last ascent this morning, I turned around and looked up, and the picture you see here is what I saw.

ah. more wonder, please.