Nov 5, 2005: Skiing at Snoqualmie

A mere 4 days after arthroscopic surgery to remove part of my meniscus, I went skiing. I was on my backcountry (Randonnee) skis, Lauren on snowshoes, Josh on Randonnee skis. We went up the mellow trail from the Alpental parking lot towards Source Lake. There hadn't been quite enough snow on the ground yet at Hyak, but there was just enough here. We had a few stream crossings that later in the year would be entirely invisible under all the snow.

Lauren and Josh were patient. When I started to feel my knee a bit after about an hour and 15 minutes, I said I'd like to be conservative and turn around. I said I felt ok to head back to the car by myself and sit and read, if they wanted to keep going. Lauren didn't feel comfortable letting the still-healing cripple go back by herself. She asked what would happen if I fell over in the deep thick powder and couldn't get up. I said at worst, I'd wait for them to pass by on their way out. She decided to turn around with me, and Josh also returned with us. Still, even at a very mellow pace on an almost flat backcountry trail, two and a half hours is pretty good for 4 days after surgery. It was also beautiful out there.