Be ready for anything

On Sunday, March 1, I was helping Mary Connor teach a skate skiing class at our annual Winter BOW in Big Bay, Michigan.

Lucy, an accomplished classic skier from the Detroit area was practicing her freestyle V 1 glide when she fell face first. I turned just in time to see she was okay and smiling but her ski was still rocketing down the lane.

That's not something you normally see on a cross-country trail. Unlike alpine gear, nordic skis usually don't come off. As I poled toward the runaway ski, I figured she probably had snow build up in the binding bar on her boot and didn't get a secure lock when she stepped into the binding.

Boy was I wrong.

When I caught up to the ski I saw instead that this crazy woman had skied so fast and so hard that she had separated the outer plastic sole right off from her boot.

I've never seen that happen before but it's reason to add duct tape to your waist pack.

I laughed so hard the squirrels had to come out and check on all the commotion.