Enough to Make you ALL jealous

We drove my truck for six minutes, jumped into our skis, and hiked for the next four or 3 and a half hours. Maybe four and a half, it was hard to tell because we were tired and excited. Ben was confident the whole climb that we'd have enough snow and be able to handle the descent. I doubted often, but voiced my doubts less often. Tim panted lighter than Ben or I, it felt unfair because he's the youngest and should have the hardest time... for some reason. We rounded our first corner after the road switched back twice, and scattered a herd of deer who we caught off guard. We all coveted their bodies as we watched them bound up the snowy mountain in an apparently effortless manner. I reassured myself that we were hiking to have FUN, and it was a GOOD thing we were feeling tired. It meant we would have killer turns. We talked about our friends, and classes next semester, and we looked back over our shoulders at the booming Mordor clouds that surrounded Cascade all day. We enjoyed the sun on our backs. The cheese curds Tim and Ben brought coupled perfectly with the Gushers I brought, and we hydrated frequently. Ben set a lofty goal to reach the summit of Little Baldy, Tim and I grunted reluctantly and I reassured myself again that it was all worth it for those turns. We hit the hardest hill at an angle. Ben told me to lead, and after two minutes spent getting myself tangled in the shrubs poking out of the snow Ben and Tim picked a different route. Tim handled the hill without hesitation. Ben put his skins and skis to their limits by trying to scale the hill directly, and failed. I spent ten more of the most frustrating minutes ever overcoming the mob of bushes, and just as I broke free I stepped hard on my right leg and my inner thigh cramped violently and I fell down. It was terrible. I felt so defeated and worthless.
But twenty minutes later (Tim and Ben waited patiently as I adjusted my gear and readied myself for the descent) we started turning in the crusty snow, and it was bliss.