Winter without snow lacking something

S o last weekend, I finally got tired of waiting for winter to find me. I took matters into my own hands and sallied forth to find winter.

Well, it really wasn't nearly that dramatic. I had promised a group of kids that there would be a ski trip. I had dim hopes as we headed out on Friday night, but as we climbed into the Hondo Valley, my perspective began to shift. I began to believe, once again, that there might truly be a wonderful white world of winter awaiting us.

Regular readers of this column know how fond this writer is of the winter outdoors, and how much griping I have doubtless done about our minimal snowfall this winter. New readers can surely understand, given the context, that many of us prefer four seasons, and felt we missed out on one during 2013-14.

In the early morning, climbing up Sierra Blanca and beginning to see actual snow on the ground, it struck me that a winter without snow is definitely lacking in something. By the time we reached the ski area, I remembered exactly what this time of year, and the preceding three months, are supposed to feel like.

It wasn't important that I ski, myself. I am a cross country person, and it would have been too much to hope for, that those trails would be covered in white. They weren't.

The real thrill of the weekend lay in two directions. The first, that the young adults we were responsible for would have a blast. The second was to introduce my granddaughter to the reality of life on skis. As it happened, and as I suspected would be the case, she ended up loving it, and the investment of a few dollars in an hour and a half of lessons was well worth the money to get her legs under her.

My winter was too short in terms of what I consider winter. Especially was this so, considering the glamorous start which we had in our pre-Thanksgiving blizzard. However, that closing weekend, and the excitement of the Ruidoso trip, made up for what never happened in January or February.

Clyde Davis is a Presbyterian pastor and teacher at Clovis High School. He can be contacted at:

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