In case you have been living under a rock, the post title comes from the greatest musical of all time, Les Miserables. And no, I am not talking about hard times and finding your way through them. I'm just simply talking about winter.
See, when I told people I was moving to Montana, the majority said "Oh winters up there suck" and "it's way too cold!" and "you're going to get sick of the snow" and I just blew them off. I've lived in Utah, I know what real winters are like. I ain't stupid. Well, one thing about Utah winters are that they are, apparently, about a month shorter than Montana winters.
I swear, every time I move somewhere with notorious winters, they then have the audacity to have the hardest, snowiest, and coldest winter in recent memory. It happened when I moved to Logan (and that one sent me over the edge) and now it's happening again in Montana! So, MT, you're welcome. I have brought you the most snow in years. Yay for less fires this summer!
The Bitterroot Valley is at 140% snow totals for this season. And that is awesome, as it means that the spring and summer are going to be gorgeous. As in, the greenest greens and the most vivid wildflowers and beautiful mountains and canyons. Sigh. It seems impossible now. The thought of anything being green is just laughable. I moved here in late October, just catching the very end of the fall colors. Since then, everything has been brown and grey and dead. I can barely remember what a summer in Montana looks like, since I only experienced it for a short time last July.
However, like the title suggests, even this dark time of winter will end. The sun will shine again for days on end, instead of a couple hours here and there during the week. The two feet of snow in my front yard will melt, to be replaced by green grass and hopefully some flowers (that I might get around to planting). The mountains will be alive again with the new life that is spring, and I can finally get around to exploring the peaks and canyons that I have been staring at all winter. My heart longs for the trails so badly that it's all I can do not to go crazy!
All I have to do is get through March. I have decided that February and March are the worst months of the year in a place such as this. Now, if I had unlimited amounts of money I would buy my own ski gear, get a year pass to Lost Trail, and be there all weekend. My ski lessons from January into mid-February were a real blessing. It gave me something to look forward to during the week, and those lessons allowed me to get some good outdoor time. Oh, and I absolutely LOVE skiing, and feel like I could actually get really good at it. My instructor told me I have a fearlessness that is crucial in downhill skiing. I'm not afraid of going fast, and I have gotten pretty dang good at making sharp turns when I need to. I am so excited to make skiing a regular part of my winters from now on!
I'm only writing this post today because there is a full-on blizzard going on outside. The roads are impossible, making me housebound. Snow days are not all they are made out to be! Haha. The past couple weeks have just been snow on snow on snow, but at least I have gotten excellent at driving in snow and I still appreciate how beautiful freshly fallen snow is. I especially love running in a winter wonderland. I even bought trail shoes to run on the snow and ice with. Still haven't fallen once! I'm going to keep that streak going for as long as I can :)
This post has been super random and brought to you by cabin fever.
No comments:
Post a Comment