I’m sure skiers and snowboarders have started their preseason exercise routine to make sure those recalcitrant muscles are ready for the slopes.
Right.
Experienced snow-riders know they should do this but, as in other areas of our lives, what we know and what we do are often different concepts.
That’s why skiers return to the office on the first Monday after skiing, gingerly walking and sitting, swearing once more that they’re never going to start another season without exercising first.
Hope springs eternal …
For first-timers and the inexperienced, remember this: Skiing involves muscles that you didn’t realize were part of your body until the day after the downhill experience.
Even if you know that the muscles at the front of your thighs are called quadriceps, it may not be part of your knowledge bank that they are the most-used muscles in skiing.
Many books and Web sites offer good advice on preparation once you decide that better and less painful skiing is more fun than the alternative.
Off the beaten path: Most skiers have their favorite areas and their favorite runs or backcountry routes on large tracts of land with high-speed chairlifts, expensive tickets and, unless you’re in the backcountry, crowds.
But not all areas are expensive or crowded, including some that are unknown to most, such as the Badger Mountain ski hill outside Waterville, northeast of Wenatchee.
This is a community-built and maintained ski hill with a terrific view across the Waterville Plateau. Waterville is the state’s highest incorporated community.
A gazebo at the top of Badger Mountain represents one of President George H.W. Bush’s Thousands Points of Light, which honored community organizations “spread like stars throughout the nation, doing good.”
One of those points of light is the volunteer force that created a family-friendly ski hill on Badger Mountain and has maintained it for 71 years. The most difficult run is a steep 750-foot drop to the base at an elevation of 3,050 feet.
There are three rope tows for the Bunny Hill, B Hill and the longest, most challenging A Hill, as well of miles of cross-country skiing and open terrain.
“The A Hill is legendary in Waterville,” skier and volunteer Jacque Clements said. “The saying goes that if you can ski A Hill you can ski anywhere. It’s short but very steep … (close) to black diamond difficulty.
“It can be a struggle to get down. You have to be pretty experienced. You can always bail and head down the back track.”
The small lodge has food cooked by the Lions Club, including the Waterville Lions Burger. The food counter’s front is covered with old skis.
“My skis from the early ’80s are there,” Clements said.
People donate skiing equipment that can be used for free with the daily $10 (yes, $10) ticket.
On a busy weekend, up to 100 people will be at play. But compare those numbers to a Stevens Pass or the other well-known ski areas.
The nearest ski area is Mission Ridge.
“The locals go to Badger on the weekends and Mission Ridge during the week,” Clements said.
Sounds like a plan.
For more information, go to www.ci.waterville.wa.us, click on Parks/Recreation, then Badger Mountain Ski Hill.
To sled or not to sled? Olympic National Park has closed the Sunrise snowplay area near Hurricane Hill due to hazardous conditions; the small children’s snowplay area will remain open.
Hazardous, however, doesn’t refer to snow-related problems but to the lack of parking, large number of vehicles and pedestrians, and driving conditions.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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