The stillness is deafening. I startle to someone coming up behind me until I realize the swishing is from my own skis, legs scissoring across the powder, cutting into the silence-laden air. My quadriceps, my calves burn under layers of cotton, of smart wool. My nose ignites with the chill of exposed skin, nares dripping with shock. I pull my hood tighter, cocooning my half moon ears.
We come to a pond, sheets of ice overlay sections, tempting the foolhardy. A carved wooden sign marks it a “swimming hole.” I try to imagine a sticky summer day when a jump in those waters would be desirable, a welcome cooling. But all I can think about are my fingertips, numb and double-gloved, constantly flexing interphalangeals, willing the circulation to return.
I hear the river’s rush before we see it, the waters churn over smooth rocks, under the precarious bridge. The sound floats on the air, over the snow, down the trail, amplified as if running parallel, overhead, all around, rushing through us as we ski closer to the river’s edge.
The trail forks, we turn right, enter a grove of birch trees, slender white bark complementing the elegance of the silent snow. There’s a muffling to the drifts, an insulation and paradoxical amplification of sound. I like the set grooves in the trail, a designated place to put my slim skis, a comfortable path to follow. They keep me focused, respectable, out of harm’s way.
Today though, it’s too cold – single digit temperatures jolt this moderate-weather gal. We’re unable to enjoy the journey, frozen extremities too distracting. We hurry back to the warming hut, thermosed hot chocolate and a rush of heat greet us.