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It has always been my dream to try cross-country skiing, and today my dream was finally realized at Camelback Mountain. The day had started off promising with ample freshies inbound. I headed to East Gourmet Buffet and had pepper chicken, oysters, white rice, bananas with red gel, and tap water. I tipped the waitress one dollar. Then I headed to Camelback and received the awesome news that preferred parking was free for all today. My day was just getting better and better, and I saved 72 steps (mostly uphill). Little did I know that I would need all the energy I could muster to survive cross-country skiing. The snow was coming down like crazy, and the mountain looked identical to Colorado. I knew crowds would be pretty heavy because other mountains (i.e. Blue) are in extreme remote Alpine tundra backcountry and only accessible by sled dog. I called it right - Upper Marc Antony was indistinguishable from the Schuylkill Expressway at rush hour. Due to the massive undertaking earlier this season to open snowtubing before Blue, no other trails were available, and all skiers congested the narrow passage, causing major delays and several near-misses. At this time I discovered two new cross-country trails. The first was at the top of Upper Marc Antony, and the second was right before Honeymoon. Due to the slow snow, getting down the mountain required an incredible amount of exertion at both of these spots. I pushed and pushed and wore my arms out. I also tried using the ice skating technique, but that wore my legs out after a while. A former instructor gave me a lesson on how to ski cross-country more efficiently. I improved a little after receiving his wisdom, but by this time my energy levels were drained, and ski wax was far beyond my reach. I made 25 runs today, less than half compared to last Saturday when conditions were epic. To conclude, the scenery today was spectacular, and the snow was amazing. If Camelback had opened either Upper Cleo, or even James’s Way, those trails would have replaced the need to ski on ultra flat terrain, and I'd likely still be skiing for 4 more minutes. Those two trails would not have required a lot of snow, and Upper Cleo would have also alleviated much of the congestion on Upper Marc Antony. Overall, I am a little disappointed with the terrain today, which could have been much, much more fun especially with the surprise blizzard. But a Camelback official assured me that half the mountain will be open by next weekend. Hopefully by this time the gnarliness will return to Camelback.