December 14th... are you a snow person?

People laugh when they find out I live in Vermont and have never downhill skied. Never even tried. Never even stood in downhill ski boots. Oh, wait, I may have once... because I remember asking "What if you fall ... wouldn't this stiff boot snap your shin bone?" and I am pretty sure the answer was "It could." ... and I probably walked away shaking my head at people who live that risky of a life.

I did cross-country ski for a while with my family when growing up. I enjoyed it. And a few memorable trips in college, one on groomed trails where somehow my friends and I ended up on a professional trail. Basically downhill on packed snow with cross-country skies strapped to our feet. We may have walked part of it. Once again I am smug in the knowledge that no one whipped out an iphone and posted videos all over the internet.

Snow-shoeing can be fun, I've done my share and own a decent set of snowshoes. I also own a great pair of ice cleats. They had an unexpected learning curve. If you stand too long in one place fiddling with your camera the cleats can freeze in place. And then you fall when you try to walk again. Probably on your face because you are trying to save the camera. True story.

See, the biggest problem is that I really don't like being cold. My nose gets cold. And then it runs. My teeth get cold. My glasses fog up. Then my eyes start tearing. I have technical gear so I can pit zip with the best of them, and I wear layers, so I spend a lot of time standing around zipping things up and down, and untucking and retucking, and trying to clean my glasses off. Fun times.

So, no. I am not a snow person. And yes, I realize I live in Vermont, and No, I don't plan on moving anywhere warmer.