Lackluster Ski Season So Far

Here we are in early February with perhaps the worst ski season I've seen at Schweitzer in my nearly 50 years skiing here. Snow cover is marginal and even the Nordic trails are in occasional trouble. This is a financial strain, perhaps a disaster, for many who count on the ski area for winter employment. At this point in time with 6" of new snow, most of the back bowl still remains closed and the Nordic trail crew has just been able to restart grooming, but just for one day. The trails have dirt patches and an occasional creek running crosswise. My guess is that the Nordic trail system will recover somewhat and that the alpine runs may limp along until season's (potentially early) end. Of course, I would like to be surprised by better conditions.

As a skiing couple, we are less concerned than we would normally be. In particular, my wife had a hip replacement on Jan. 23 and will schedule the other hip replacement around 3 months later. The first hip is recovering nicely. Nevertheless, this has obliterated her ski season. Because her surgeries have earned her such attention, I have scheduled cataract surgery to compete. My right eye will be done on Feb. 19 with the left eye on March 11. This will obviously impact my ski season as well. Post surgery, should I fall on my head or run into a tree, this would be unfortunate. The way I ski, such events remain quite possible. Perhaps Nordic skiing would be a possibility if delayed long enough after the surgery.