Snow, Snow Everywhere, but No Riding

I came home today after a long weekend trip to visit family in Michigan, which is home to over 30 ski areas. Skiing and riding in the Great Lakes state isn’t about epic terrain; it’s about enjoying the winter and doing so close to home.

It’s a sad irony, then, that even though I lived in the state for 30 years, I never stepped into a pair of skis or onto a snowboard until I was living elsewhere.

Since moving away, I have gone riding at three ski areas in the state. Two, Indianhead, and Big Powderhorn, are in what residents call Yooperland (the Upper Peninsula) while a third, Boyne Mountain, is in the Lower Peninsula (that’s the part of the state that looks, from space, like a mitten).

Whenever I visit my Michigan family in the winter, I think of going riding. But so far, I’ve never combined a family visit with a ski area visit. The time that I have in the state is typically too short, nobody in my family who lives there skis or rides, and I don’t feel comfortable going by myself. Doing so strikes me as rude, or at the least, passing up some more valuable opportunities for sitting around the table playing Euchre (a popular pastime in Michigan), enjoying a chilled beverage over conversation, or taking in one of several activities together.

My total days spent riding this season has been, so far, a stunning number: Zero. If my Thanksgiving Day vacation had been longer, I might have thought of making the 1.5 to 2 hour drive to visit some of the better-known areas. But it wasn’t, so I didn’t.

Today I had to fly back home to cold but snowless Minnesota. Wouldn’t you know it? Michigan experienced a snowstorm overnight, and I had to drive through 6 inches of snow to get to the airport. (OK, I had to drive through 6 inches of the driveway; the highway department did a good job of clearing the major roads.)

Though Michigan is nothing like Aspen, the day did remind me of Aspen in one respect: The best snowfalls usually come on the days that I’m leaving down.