Spoiling a good ski

2006-09-24

In honour of the end of the Ryder Cup, Brian and I decided to enjoy the good weather with a quick round of golf. Brian is more of a natural golfer than I, and almost hit the balloon terminal from the tee near the signpost. I'm still improving and often had trouble hitting the ball, let alone the distant targets.

As courses go it's certainly unusual. The snow surface is fairly hard and runs very well, but is crossed by sastrugi -- irregular hummocks and pits crafted by the wind. A running ball will end up settling in the bottom of one of these half the time, and can only be hit out in the east-west direction along which the sculptured snow lies. If the ball is lofted too high it will plummet back to earth and burry itself about an inch beneath the surface, requiring some hefty extraction with a wedge and, worse, making it tricky to see from anywhere further than a few feet away. The course has few obstacles and is mostly flat. The greens are, well, white, as is the fairway, the rough and pretty much everywhere except the player and, if you're lucky, the sky. The traditional white ball has no place here. There are no golf carts, but you can ski the course. It's wise to remove the skis before taking a shot, though, as they impede the proper twisting of the toes during followthrough.

Taking a swing

Spoiling a good ski

Brian throws up some snow

Frost forms around my face