You can’t go home if you’re already there

SUZIE HARRISON

I tried to go home for the holidays. I had been fantasizing about

getting back on the slopes and reliving my ski bum years. But a

curious thing happened on my vertical excursion down the mountain --

I got a strong longing for my sun-kissed Laguna abode.

My vacation was at the No. 1 ski resort in North America,

otherwise known as Vail, as ranked by Ski Magazine.

I used to live in Colorado and know skiing the Rockies well. I was

the ski and snowboard writer for the Colorado Daily in Boulder for

four years. Boarding Vail was like being home. Except Laguna Beach is

now my home. It was weird because I missed Laguna Beach; I align

myself here instead of there, though I once thought of myself as a

mountain girl.

Picture a Bavarian village -- Vail is the quintessential winter

wonderland. The perfect peaks were immersed in layers of snow. In the

pedestrian village, horse-drawn carriages, ice sculptures and holiday

lights were lighting up the town, adding to its picture-perfect

seasonal essence.

The main walkway into the village is through the covered bridge --

to get onto Bride Street, one of the main thoroughfares in town.

Though I hadn’t made that trek in years, it felt familiar -- the look

of Gore Creek as it rumbled by with snowy boulders in place. On the

other side was the clock tower and the village, which was filled with

people doing their holiday shopping -- or, like me, heading up to

ride the Vista Bahn chair lift to experience the 5,289 skiable acres.

Last time I skied Vail they had a mere 4,000-plus acres. When some

friends and I lived in Vail right out of college, we chose the route

of being ski bums instead of rushing into the real world thing. Our

days consisted not of 9 to 5, but 11 at 11. That meant meeting up

with everyone at the top of chair 11 at 11 a.m.

Back then I would get in as many hours of vertical each day, as

many days each week. However, things have changed. Perhaps I was

doing a little California dreaming on such a winter’s day, but it was

a lot, lot, lot colder than I recalled. Instead of spending every

waking moment on the slopes, I found I would take a few runs and then

go inside to chill, I mean warm up.

I asked myself, “When did I become this person?” -- kind of

wishing the weather was more like summer and I could be biking up

Vail Mountain instead of snowboarding.

I use to tell anyone who would want to listen that my favorite

thing in the world was snowboarding Vail, doing runs in the chair 11

area. I still had a blast, but though my board was planted on the

mountain, images flashed in my mind of all the fun things I dig in

Laguna, and I missed the beach.

Then the powder started to build under my board -- giving the

feeling of floating on a cloud. But I found that it was kind of hard

to enjoy the best feeling in the world when I was numb from the cold.

I guess I want it all -- the warmth, the sun, Vail and Laguna at the

same time.

Yes, I liked my holidays and that rocky mountain high in Colorado,

but I found it’s a good thing I Iive here. I know Vail isn’t going

anywhere. Though Vail remains my favorite ski destination, Laguna is

the place I like to call home.

* SUZIE HARRISON is a reporter for the Laguna Beach Coastline

Pilot. She may be reached at (949) 494-4321 or

suzie.harrison@latimes.com.