Last Saturday, feeling thoroughly exhausted and lazy, I decided to stay in and watch Will Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness"(2006). When I went to bed, I had hoped to wake up early and pursue my own form of happiness, proper spelling and all.
With a purposefully light schedule this term, I had planned to go skiing multiple times each week, only Mother Nature hasn't been willing to cooperate. Instead of spending my abundant spare time skiing, I was spending it, well, going to Vegas, I guess.
As I saw January turn to February, I started to feel as if I hadn't accomplished much at all through the early part of the term. And unfortunately, if you don't accomplish much early in Winter term, well, the term's over before you know it.
I had a goal, however unlikely, of spending 50 days on the slopes this season. Through January, I had 15 days under my belt. While impressive under normal circumstances, at this pace I would fall substantially short of my goal. Undeterred, I resolved to continue my pursuit, however futile it may ultimately prove to be. And so it was as I woke up Sunday morning, thinking I could have a full day at Okemo before returning to campus for what would turn out to be a fantastic Super Bowl. Then I looked at the clock...
Noon. Crap. I made my way to Bagel Basement, kicking myself for waking up so late when I hadn't even gone out the night before. I consumed New Hampshire's finest bagel with cream cheese and lox, trying to find a silver lining to wholly soiling my Okemo plans. And then it hit me: The Dartmouth Skiway.
I had written the Skiway off my first winter here. The mountain simply wasn't challenging enough in my humble opinion. And let's be clear, it's not a very challenging mountain, wouldn't you agree?
That doesn't mean I wasn't willing to give the mountain a second chance, and I'm glad that I did. I had hit up the Skiway a few times in January, mostly because I wanted to ski for an hour or so and didn't have time to head to any of the more "legitimate" mountains in the area.
Each time, I've found myself skeptical of my decision during the drive through Lyme, only I'd find myself surprisingly happy to be out there by the time I was riding my first lift up.
And Sunday was no different. Day 16 in my quest for the unattainable 50, and I was just happy to be out there. For the two hours I was able to get in before the lifts shut down, I carved through the loose granular snow (read: spectacularly mediocre) doing my best to reach double-digit runs on the day.
A quick aside, I'm a complete nut when it comes to run counts on the slopes. I refuse to do less than five. If I'm at nine, then I have to do 10. I'll ski 11, my lucky number, but not 13, even though I've never viewed it as especially unlucky. And on the whole, I like to hit milestone numbers, but I'm getting away from myself. Back to my original point -- I was happy.
I suppose you could say that in my time here at Dartmouth, I've come to appreciate all the school and the surrounding area have to offer. The Skiway is no exception -- it's a valuable asset to the school, and it should be seen as such. How many other schools give you the chance to take a quick 20-minute drive and be on a lift faster than you can say "18 and one?"
I rode the lift up with a local from Norwich, a man who had lived every ski bum's dream of spending that precious first year out of college skiing in Colorado and has since been relegated to the "hills" back east. And yet, he loves the Skiway, just as countless other Upper Valley residents do.
As Dartmouth students, we should be no different.
In my pursuit of happiness, I might not reach some grand and magical number, fulfilling every obsessive-compulsive aspiration I've ever had. But I might find that, sometimes, what you're looking for is right in your backyard.
While I doubt I will return to the Skiway after my time at Dartmouth is done, I fully plan to take advantage of the "little mountain that could" for as long as I am here.
After all, it is, as I have said, a small mountain, and yet there are those who love it.
