welcome to the haikutimes
Issue #106, February 11-13, 2005, Margy's Hut, Colorado. Additional haiku by Brian Montgomery and David Teitler.
discussing ski gear
at Lenado trailhead
frosty silence abounds
crowing about gear
enthusiastic prelude
to snow adventure
poised for a snowstorm
an expectant forest
slumbers peacefully
recording haiku
analog and digital
direct from the source
last autumn's leaves
revealed in february
on south-facing slope
familiar bells
of maroon variety
off in the distance
all about the gear
four boys excited
the start of the trip
a hundred bucks on each foot
three little birds chirping
maybe four
i don't know
could be a hundred
i have decided
easier to speak haiku
than it is to write
we ski on by
a host of corporate scams
and a house of cards
the mushroom of growth
surely not to be found
here in the forest
a whiff of coffee
emanating from my pack
mingles with pine sap
while i toss and turn
she, of goddess enchantment,
dreams next to me
blessed with pure silence
forest retains dignity
watching, listening
as the day wears on
snow falls on top of snow
white upon white
Mike: 8 turns man...
Dave: 8?
Mike: Well, I don't know..I mean just...
Dave: I think 14 or 15..
Mike: it's a lot of work, though, Dave
Dave: Yeah, but...
MIke: I don't know.. first time i've ever done this.
Brian: You are doing good - just gotta get dialed a little better- feet,
comfort, you know, you could get big fatter skis...
Mike: but these are nice...
savor the moment
brian calls for reverence
before we move on
white on white
don't go back
winter nectar
frozen back country
reveals playful aspect
delicate hoodoos
amongst conifers
and their reproductive cones
i pass in silence
wind blowing over
conifer pine tree tops
alone in the forest
snowing steadily
oceans of fat white crystals
landing on my skis
older man tells jokes
somewhat tasteless but funny
laughs at own punch line
if it's that good
can't last long
notions of telemark skiing
20 seconds to the bottom
20 minutes up
the last five inches
brightly illuminated
in the morning's sun
fat flake on bald head
midnight storm brings five inches
i scurry to the loo
peacefully skiing
in track left by snowmobile
only silence now
and the wind under my hat
the distant peaks
etched in sunlight
against aqua-blue sky
big change from the
gray, snowy environment we were in
for the last two days
the slight hesitation of cloud cover -
the reticence of a heavy sky -
the brilliance of orange and yellow brambles -
the thin layer of sun-warmed ice -
the twenty turns downhill and
the two hundred feet back up -
the quick beating of the heart -
the lactose in the legs -
the friends that wait back in
the hut to make dinner -
snowmobile guide
smoking cigarette
hauling case of beer
jet flying above
snowmobiles rush beside
lingering exhaust
a cacophony
of brambles in johnson creek
meet overcast sky
an invisible hand
sun-peeled layers of snow
on south-facing slope
talking about chi
the life force we were born with
and how long it lasts
still talking money
into the midst of sparrows
comes our discussion
we ski past a mortgage
and a few mutual bonds
instruments of finance
while the forest looks on
concerned in our mind
about the economy
financial collapse?
silent
in between talking friends
and slow-skiing friend
it would be so cool!
all those possibilities
listening to brian
transfixed
by my own motion
kicking and gliding
approaching snowstorm
from cozy window of hut
mountains now obscured
my friend michael
swollen feet and blistered bones
cutting his his insoles
glistening, sliding
rocky mountain snowsealing
rare activity
in colorado
talking about canada
and the good skiing there
my buddies, behind
lacking the proper wax
skins off, on, off, on...
peeing in outhouse
woodpecker breaks the silence
first light on far peak
all about uma
yesterday's trip log reflects
stories in haiku
why do we ski?
this pristine environment
always renewed
conditions - extreme
equipment - serene
loving the weather
it is enough
to arrive at a hut
after a long day of skiing
and hauling the pack
to feel grounded
in that moment
it is not necessary
to talk of other trips
other adventures
places i have yet to go
those times might come
but in the meantime
i am present, at attention
engaged with my surroundings
the hut rotation
people arrive, people leave
the forest watches
strangers become friends
common denominator
a hut in the woods
so transitory
an instant community
we are all part of
It was meant to be
and we thank the universe
I see more now than before
Silence snow abounds
At the apex we admire
Blank canvass express
solo/group kukai
drawing/writing/photography
jonathan machen