Being on a ski lift feels a lot like floating. You can see everything, from the paper white mountain tops to the cheery town at the bottom. The air is so crisp, no humidity whatsoever. It is about 10 degrees outside, which is enough to make me shiver with 3 layers of shirts on and a jacket! I can see the puff of air every time I exhale. My toes feel like they are about to fall off. My hands clench down on the little hand warmer package inside my black gloves. They feel like fire against my palms because it is so cold out!

As we climb closer to the top of Bald Mountain, which is called that because of its lack of trees, you can see more and more of everything. Little multi-color dots that sway side-to-side are other skiers having a great time, just like me. The trails look like white lines in the Christmas-tree like forest that goes on for miles. The sky is crystal clear, enabling you to see for miles in every direction. There are countless mountains up here, all snow covered and beautiful! This is the kind of view you can only get in Park City, Utah.

I see the familiar signs as we are almost there, like the directions that tell you how to get off the lift. They signs say, “ski tips up,” like they have said all eight years I have been here. When you get to the end, you go under a roof-type thing, where the supervisors are. They just wave, and are there to help if you have any difficulties or young children. Once I get to the end, I say in my head, ski tips up, to keep the action stuck. After this, we slowly glide down until we hit a certain spot right at the center of the hill. When you get off the lift, it’s like gravity has pulled you way down for a second!

The wind hits my face, for no longer am I in the middle of others on the lift. That’s where the tiny cabin waits for us to go inside. The smell of smooth hot cocoa with whipped cream on top is just irresistable. The milk chocolate color is very inviting, and the fluffy whipped cream is just like the cherry on top! I see other people pass by with their own cocoas, and it just makes my mouth water.

We go inside the small building and see the familiar sights; the pictures of skiers from the past on the wall, the cozy log fire in the hearth, and the benches and chairs along the sides. Hardly ten people can fit inside, making it all the more cozy. I immediately get a blast of creamy chocolate smell from the machine in the upper right corner. There are a few chairs against the wall, but people mostly sit along a window-seat like arrangement all along the walls. The fireplace is right smack in the middle, heating the whole place up. There is a rack above the fire for people to dry their snowy ski gear.

I sit down and take off my helmet and gloves. I remove my boots quickly, because my feet need to de-frost in front of the fire. My dad goes over to the food counter and orders the usual; hot cocoas and turkey jerky. When he comes back, I smell the aroma of cocoa. I grab the cocoa from his hand and my hands immediately start to burn. I put it down very quickly and smash my hands together because they hurt so badly!

The next thing I grab from him is the small black package of turkey jerky. I open this immediately, and the fumes of spiced meat fill my nose. I dip my hand into the greasy bag and get a piece. I try to take a bite; the meat is almost rock-hard! My teeth start to hurt a little bit while I am ripping the piece of jerky in half. Once I succeed, the turkey flavor fills my mouth. This really hits the spot up here in the mountains!

The hot cocoa has finally cooled down a little. I hold the cup up to my lips and gently sip, because it is steaming a little. Before I let anything into my mouth, I prepare my tongue for that burning sensation I get whenever I drink cocoa. I suck the chocolate drink into my mouth. The taste is smooth and comforting, and my body automatically responds to this by heating up when I swallow.

After my brother, dad, and I finish our jerky, we head out. We all walk over to the fireplace and get our snow gear. It is not wet anymore, but warm and dry. It feels so much better on my face, especially when we step back outside! We look at the map and decide where to go next, but there really is no telling where we’ll end up. After we have clicked out boots into our skis, we slowly glide onto the slopes.