January 2025 Backyard Bulletin

Cover photo by Christine Estrada

View the full edition at this link.

I spent several very joyful days downhill skiing at Loup Loup Ski Bowl this month, and a particular moment has stuck with me. I had just summited for my final ski run and made a few turns down a mellow ridgeline before stopping to wait as a friend adjusted her boot above me. It was nearing 3:30, and the sun was low in the sky casting golden rays through sparse clouds. I looked generally west toward the Sawtooths. Below the drama of the setting sun I took in the near-field view of fir trees still caked in snow and the far-field view of jagged peaks extending out as far as I could see. I was feeling grateful for the moment of stillness, when a man skied up and stopped nearby. He stood facing the same view and was clearly grateful, too.

The man didn't say anything until his teenage son pulled up next to him, music blaring from a speaker tucked somewhere within his jacket. The kid was ready to keep skiing, but his dad stopped him. "Take a moment," he said gently, pointing out to the horizon. The son looked out over the landscape, and you could see something flicker in his eye. We were all briefly enchanted. The dad looked over at me and said, "We don't take enough moments." Then, after a brief pause: "The only thing ruining it is that rap music." The two skied away happily while I smiled at both the comedy and profundity of the experience.

Bridger Layton, Education Programs Coordinator