There is nonstop screeching and laughter as we come bumping and barreling down the hill, everyone blind from the flying snow as most of the time there is so much powder we have to close our eyes. The little ones have learned the joy of goggles to see what's coming - we adults would do well to learn that too.
It doesn't take long before the big people start to wander higher up the trail and into the trees....and the little ones, of course, follow. Perhaps it's our sense of immortality as humans, but careening down the trail through the trees with your eyes closed is a popular pasttime for more than just my family. I hear people screeching and laughing out there in the middle of the night all the time.
And every once in a while someone gets wounded. D-I-L got it the worst this time when she stuck her foot out to keep herself and Miss M from running into a tree, but ended up spinning around with her leg stuck between two saplings. Scuffed up her shin pretty bad, but nothing was broken. Oh, and to top it off, as F.O.S. was inspecting her leg to make sure she would be ok, Sir S came barreling down the trail on his sled and wiped out both F.O.S. and D-I-L like so many bowling pins. I know she was hurt, but it was impossible not to laugh. All that was missing was the sound of the bowling ball hitting the pins. Those of us watching from down the hill tried really hard to cover our mouths and stifle our laughs until we heard F.O.S. laughing up the hill. Then we all burst out laughing. And I still laugh when I visualize it.
