I'd received tip-offs from friends during a day of working from home that the snow conditions were great for nordic skiing in the forest above the house. As soon as the final Skype meeting of the day was complete I grabbed my skis and boots and drove up to the top of the road. The blue sky of earlier in the day had been replaced with a grey mist which had the feeling of more snow about it, and it was already past sunset. No matter; if you don't embrace the darkness at this time of year in Scotland, you'll have short days out!
My friends had been up over a couple of days and there were good tracks to follow thanks to Les, Lorna and Linda, which made for fast skiing. The rhythm of movement on ski came back gradually as I headed up into the forest.
I'm not at all elegant on nordic ski, but so good was the snow that even I was able to strike out in a fast kick-and-glide style; on level sections it was possible to get up quite a speed, and to glide the downhill parts of the forest roads. It's been a long while since I've experienced "Goldilocks" snow of this sort - not too deep, not too thin, not too packed and not too powdery - it was great!
Soon I was well up into the forest and at the end of the forest road, well after dark. A brief rest and it was time to head back, mostly downhill. For about 15 minutes a light snowfall had been apparent, but it was about to get a bit heavier...
...in fact quite a lot heavier! My outward tracks were already filling in but were still good enough to give some speed, the head torch beam showing that this was no passing snow shower.
The last kilometre or so was slower as the amount of snow coming down meant that I was effectively breaking trail in tracks I'd made just an hour earlier. It was all exhilarating, aerobic and the perfect after work exercise - what a privilege to be able to do this just a few minutes from home!
Back at the car, it was plain to see how much snow had come down in a short period. The drive back down the steep Suie road was....carefully done! So that was the "one good thing" about today, and it looks that conditions will be perfect for more of the same.
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