"Cross Country skiing is great, if you live in a small country"-- Steven Wright

I didn't ski until I was in my fifties when my brother took us to Whistler, British Columbia. I was OK if nobody else was on the slopes; otherwise, I was terrible. My kids were better than I was but one morning my brother and I went out early to a blue slope. There was not another person there and I went down that slope like Jan Hudec. That was my last ski experience but it was worth all the falls and faceplants, and there were many, that I experienced while going for gold.

What's that got to do with anything? You might be asking yourself. Not much I am afraid, but I think of it every time I go for a walk. You see, a good friend gave me a set of trekking poles. So now I am in Whistler as I pole myself along the pavement. Believe me, these things are good for PWP. Not only do they guard against a lack of balance, you can go faster and further without the fear of falling and, it is quite a good upper body workout.

Somebody once noted about skiing:

• traverse; one of two ways for stopping while skiing
  
• Trees: the other way.

The blogger has left the building.