Phillip: First day on skis

This was our first day on skis since our vacation here last winter. Most years we would have 12 or more days skiing in Vermont before coming out west, but this year... Anyhow, there was 8" of freshies on the ground this morning so we took the tram-a-lama-ding-dong to the top and had a great run down Rendezvous Bowl. The visibility was good and the snow was light.
Everyone looked good. Mimi and Frank are amazing as usual, but the rest of us skied well too. Changes from last year: 1) Nick seems to have outgrown his skis. 2) Melissa is now airing it out off every bump, showing Nick where the good hits are. 3) Frank is skiing new "Bro" skis that are really fat and straight. Only 50 or so have been made and each is numbered. Frank requested that his have number "55" even though they were actually pair number 48 or something like that. When we asked why he chose 55, he said he show us after dinner.
The North Hoback was really nice in the morning, mostly untracked powder. We took a short cut to get there, just a narrow path through the woods, with whoop-de-doos and branches you have to duck under. Michelle and Melissa call it "Mr Frog's" after Mr Toad's Wild Ride, the traverse into Casper Bowl. We also skied powder in Ten Sleep, Cirque and "Moron" Woods. After lunch we skied bumps in Bivouac Woods and on Ranger under the Gondola. So by the end of the day my legs were beat. Our last run was Saratoga Bowl; on the AV chair up we reminsced about a couple of years ago when I took Nick there for the last run of the day and froze his fingers, encouraged him to jump off a rock and hurt his leg, and thoroughly made him miserable. Today was much better, but Nick fell on the traverse out, lost a ski, and sort of hurt his ankle. So he still doesn't like Saratoga.
I feel old. I've had all sorts of minor aches and injuries in the last year, starting with the pulled calf muscle towards the end of last our last ski trip out here. Then I had a groin pull trying to play a game of pick-up soccer with the kids during the summer. Then just before my karate test this December I pulled a hamstring. Now I have tendenitis in the elbow and am feeling sorry for myself. Perhaps something good can come of all this, because I am trying to ski smarter and smoother and be easy on my body instead of just muscling [?] the skis down the mountain.
Apres ski was beer and chips while the kids hot tubbed. Then off to Mimi and Frank's for a super chicken dinner out of her new slow cooker. Then Frank showed us the video that inspired the 55 on his skis. It's called Shfifty-Five; check it out at http://www.ebaumsworld.com/schfiftyfive.html. Frank told me there was another funny clip at the same site, but that it wasn't appropriate to watch with the kids. In the car back to the Teton Club, Alexa told me Frank must have been refering to "End of the World" at the same site. So much for protecting high schoolers from swear words. To judge for yourself, go to http://www.ebaumsworld.com/endofworld.html and click "start."
Before I go to bed I need to put the batteries in the transceivers and pack my shovel and probe. We are planning to take the kids up the Headwall. Don't worry, Mom.