Sun and Snow

March 2021

This stunning crisp ski day is now a wonderful memory. The snow is melting quickly, the good ski conditions long gone, and the mud is here. But this sunny day, skiing at Lajoie Lake, was the kick off to several truly glorious ski afternoons with the school kids. (Thank you Kat, professional photographer and school mum, for the spectacular photo).

On the particular cold and clear day in January I was invited to be school bus driver and adult helper. As the outing went on, I loved watching our tired, hungry, (blistered) kids tough it out in a way they wouldn’t if it were a family trip. An upside of having peers along.  And the awe shared with friends was special.

Staying on here at the cabin beyond our ‘one term experiment’ at the Gold Bridge school allowed us to take in the fullness of the winter experience. And it was good and right that we did. I suspect the memories of daily sledding on steep hills in the school yard, skating on the various nearby lakes and skiing with school friends will be part of a new heart for wintertime for my kids.

As their teacher observed in her monthly write up in the community newsletter, The Mountain Telegraph:

“ Fortunately the students of our Gold Bridge Community School have been able to continue their schooling with a very minimum of disruption....For the time being, our school continues to conduct its classes in real time with real human being in a landscape of peace and sublime beauty.”