This year, my holidays are split into three parts:

• Vermont Skication with my aunt and uncle
• Family Christmas in Vermont with the Rudolph, Diamond and Myer families
• St. Croix with friends

Since Tuesday evening, I’ve enjoyed lots of quality time with my Aunt Rusty and Uncle Randy both at home and on the slopes.

Yesterday, after a quick 4 mile run and weights session at their local gym, my uncle and I headed to the Bromley Mountain for a few hours of skiing. While Bromley is definitely smaller than Stratton, where we normally ski, it was a great place to get back in the groove after 9 months off skis. The weather was overcast and mild, reaching 35 degrees by mid afternoon.

I didn’t want to get too warm so I only wore the OUC Half Marathon technical t-shirt and Nike running tights, which were unlined, under my ski pants and ski jacket. I also discovered that Pro Compression socks make awesome ski socks!

We did a few runs together warming up before he headed for the black diamonds and I spent the day skiing solo on the green trails. Oddly enough, I really enjoy skiing on my own. I love taking in the sights, enjoying the cold, fresh air, and focusing on practicing the skills I’ve learned during the past two years of lessons.

Bromley randomly had really cute, wildlife cartoon signs along all the trails.

After a day of skiing I was pretty exhausted. Therefore, since I was in charge of dinner last night, I went with the simplest thing I know how to make that always delivers: roasted chicken. I followed my normal perfect roast chicken recipe and made a salad and reheated the previous night’s roasted root vegetables while the chicken cooked.

The chicken turned out wonderfully and both my aunt and uncle enjoyed it along with a glass of Chardonnay while watching Road to Perdition.

This morning, since the weather looked so nice when we woke up, Uncle Randy and I headed over to Stratton Mountain, which is about 15 minutes from the house, for a morning of skiing.

Stratton had four of their main lifts running, including the Gondola which goes all the way to the top. After doing 2 runs on the smaller, shorter greens I decided I was ready to conquer my fear and head up the gondola. Last year I did this run with Margaret a few times after 2 days of skiing. Today, I rode the gondola to the top on my own and was so excited when I stepped out. The top of the mountain was gorgeous, above the fog, and looked like a winter wonderland!

I spent the next 2 hours doing the long green and blue runs from the top, making friends along the way with a few other skiers of a similar skill level. We would follow each other down the mountain and then chat on our way back up the gondola. It felt good to realize just how far I’ve come in two years of skiing. The beautiful sights didn’t hurt either! Check out all the snow and blue sky!

After four great hours of skiing we headed back home for an afternoon of decorating. I hope I get to come back and see Frosty at least once more this trip. But, if the weather doesn’t allow, these 2 half days of skiing have been the perfect dose of winter to get me into the holiday spirit!

Your turn: Are you a skier? If so do you prefer the trails that are sharp and fast or do you prefer winding your way down the mountain?