Sunday was a great ski day at Brundage. Hank traveled to the top of the mountain where he enjoyed the blue bird day views and the ice sculpture of Ullr, thought to be the god of snow. Hank has never skied from the top of the 7640 foot peak and we were all a bit nervous. After a tentative and full wedge beginning Hank met a school friend who was also making his first adventure from the top. The adults still had a role to play but peer pressure and competition took over. Hank and his friend raced to the bottom without a fall-amazing confidence. It is great to have friends to ski with and fortunately for Hank he reaches out and quickly makes new connections. I have enjoyed watching the normally enthusiastic reception of children to their peers who include them. Children are not judgmental, they are open-minded and curious—I wonder how we preserve those exceptional conditions as they grow older.
I was curious about Ullr, turns out he is the product of Norse mythology. In our country he has been prayed and danced to as we beseech the powers of the universe for snow. Ullr is the son of Sif and the stepson of Thor, the god of Thunder. To most skiers Ullr is the God of Snow. When snow arrives skiers assume the god is happy! My research points out that Ullr is a Norse god of the Aesir, meaning multiple gods. These deities live in Asgard, one of the Nine World’s, which is located in the highest sunniest branches of the world tree—Yggdrasil. Odin is the “Allfather”, chief of the Gods. We could use a leader with Odin’s expertise which was associated with wisdom, healing, knowledge, poetry, sorcery and battle. Ullr is known for his beauty and skill with bow and skis and some reports point to him representing justice and dueling-his name may come from translations of “glory or glorious.” The ice sculpture at the top of Brundage was inspiring and Ullr was an excellent choice to serve as a model. If you attended the McCall winter carnival you saw some amazing carvings, Ullr got a well deserved second place.
I feel fortunate to live where we get to enjoy four distinct seasons. Many great writers have utilized winter to compare and contrast. John Steinbeck said, “What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” Samuel Coleridge opined “Advice is like snow. The softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon and the deeper it sinks into the mind.” Shakespeare observed “Blow, blow, thou winter wind, thou art not so unkind as man’s ingratitude.” To Hank’s relationship skills, “there is no winter without snow, no spring without sunshine, and no happiness without companions.”
Enjoy the week end and please do your best dance to bring snow, Mike