Ryan positioned himself on his sled at the crest of the icy hill, ready to embark on the journey down the snow bowl. He had chosen a path that bridged two intersecting routes and passed through a culvert onto a frozen riverbed at the bottom. His friends lingered around the fire, sipping hot drinks and sharing stories of their past expeditions in the mountains, seemingly unaware of what Ryan was about to undertake.
After a moment's hesitation, he shoved off, coasting over the edge unnoticed but confident that he would show everyone his speed and skill on the dangerous descent. He had to make it to the bottom without falling off — this was his challenge. Initially the run was smooth and invigorating, with flashing ice crystals and breath-stopping waves of cold air. A few yards further down the run, sunken areas began to appear, and the sled became a bouncing carnival ride. With a thud, Ryan's chin collided with the sled, leaving a minor gash and a slightly swollen lip. Nevertheless, he kept going, determined to finish the run.
At the bottom of the bowl, Ryan successfully navigated around two snow-tubers, crossing their paths and shooting straight into the culvert that ran underneath the road. Emerging on the other side, he was surprised to see the frozen riverbed continuing without obstruction down the walled valley. "Why not?" he said to himself, as he began to glide further downhill, following the translucent blue-green ice.
On each side of the river, sections of snow were trembling and sliding down, sending chunks of powder up into the air. Despite the beautiful display, Ryan pressed on, finding the motion, energy, and distraction invigorating. Eventually he became so immersed in it all that he was completely buried in snow, having lost his sense of direction.
As Ryan stood up, rose to the top, and emerged from the snow, he surveyed the frozen canyon walls encircling him, amplifying and echoing the sound of his movements. The rumbling sounds triggered small avalanches every time he yelled, as if to place special emphasis on his words. He found it was great fun to shout into the echo chamber: “No one likes you!” “You are the ugliest!” “You are a loser!” and then hear his own voice come back from the depths of the chamber. Each time he yelled, it seemed as if the force of his words made the chamber reverberate even louder. But then, suddenly there was another unexpected voice mixed in with the echos: “Why are you down there alone, standing in ice water?” Ryan turned to see a forest ranger on top of the slope, hands cupped to make a megaphone, “Why are you screaming all those noisy and demeaning thoughts at yourself – and at anyone else who might be around?”
Ryan chose not to answer, but climbed up the bank to see if the ranger had anything more to say, or might not even allow him to leave. Instead, the ranger simply said, “You are wet - why don’t we go over to the public ski lodge where it is warm? There is a fire in the stove.” Together they walked up to the lodge, pushed open the large iron-framed wooden door, and went in to locate the wood burning stove.
Suddenly, the lights flashed on, and Ryan was stunned to be surrounded by all his friends from the snow bowl! As a chorus of “Happy Birthday to you..." filled the air, Ryan was presented with a delicious lunch, hot cider, and lots of stories to reminisce on. Ryan said to himself: "What amazing friends I have, and what an incredible birthday!"
This brought up memories for me as there was a ski resort named Snow Bowl by my high school. I remember sitting in various classes during the winter and staring at the slopes and daydreaming rather than paying attention to the teacher. Also memories of skiing and the warmth of the lodge afterwards. Ice cold feet. Hmmm, not so good. Thanks for the memories :-)
Good story brings back memories of the bowl. Once took a toboggan from the hill shot across the road and to the bottom of the bowl and lived.