By Linda Kal SanderFinalist, 2010 Target® Teach
Iridescent diamond powder floats in the azure palette. The wind picks up the fresh snow and whisks it into little whirlpools in front of your face creating a magical dance of color and light. The sky so bright, my transition lenses turned black to offer my eyes a bit of protection. I spent my first day in Alaska with diamonds.
One of my greatest passions is skiing. Although I am here to work, my first interview was not until 7:00 pm. This meant that I had the day free to myself, so off to the Alyeska Ski Resort I went. The 45-minute drive from Anchorage to Girdwood brought me to a stretch of road called the Turnagain Arm. It hugs the Cook Inlet with the Kenai Peninsula framing the other side. Majestic black mountains spill into the water, while their peaks are blanketed in their white warmth. The skiing here is not for the beginner. Most of the runs are considered Black Diamond level. Although I consider myself a very good skier, I was still intimidated by Alyeska. I stayed off the diamond runs and stuck to the blue square runs (intermediate). By any other ski resort’s standards, these would have been expert runs. The challenge offered by the mountain helped me reflect on the hardships encountered by early prospectors who traversed this steep terrain without the aid of a ski lift. I would often stop to simply look where I was skiing. Look up, huge open bowls void of any trees. Look left, huge peaks pierce the blue sky. Look down, an ice covered inlet trying to break free and flow into to the ocean. Alyeska. Truly a diamond.
