The Bra Tree and Katie's Sled Ride

Another bluebird ski bus Thursday!  Today I had lots of friends to ski with.  I met up with Glen, Linda, and the Tele Ladies.  We skied together for one run before Katie and Sue decided to check out another lift.  Before we parted, I promised to meet back up with them for the afternoon.

Size matters!  Click on any photo to enjoy a larger version.

Glen and I yukkin' it up

That left Glen, Linda and I to enjoy the sunshiny morning.  We found some nicely groomed runs and zipped down 'em.  Yahoo!

Another bluebird day!

Hood looked her usual lovely self, all covered in white.  And just look at that sky - could it be any bluer?

Glen spots something......

Taking a trailside rest break, Glen noticed something hanging from an old gnarled tree.  We all skied closer to investigate.

What's hanging on that tree?

Oh my!  There were four bras tied to a branch, flapping in the wind!  It was kind of like the Mardi Gras trees at other ski resorts, minus the beads and panties.  This was the first one I'd ever seen at Meadows.  I tried to get Glen to go down and stand next to the tree for a photo, but he used the excuse that the snow was too icy (a likely story).  Linda and I both jokingly remarked this was a waste of good bras - they're not cheap, you know!

Oh my!  Where'd the brassieres come from?

After lunch, our threesome rejoined the Tele Ladies, and we all headed up the Cascade Lift.  Sue and Katie had skied there all morning, and assured us the snow was great.  But starting down, my party found much different conditions.  The temperature had dropped, freezing the soft snow into icy chunks.  Katie hit a rough patch and went down.  When she came up, we discovered her binding had separated from its ski.

Katie vents frustration at her bindings

I stayed with Katie, while Glen headed down to inform the other members of our party what happened.  Katie and I tried to figure out how to reconnect her binding with the ski.  But it was a special backcountry tele binding, and we were both at a loss of how to put it back together.  Finally, two ladies skied by and offered to get the ski patrol.  Katie was embarrassed to ask for a lift down the hill, but really couldn't ride on only one ski.  So she reluctantly consented to the ski patrol's assistance.  While waiting she vented her frustration, first by saying the worst curse words she knew (really not that bad and actually kind of funny) and then giving her binding the finger (which in keeping with the family-friendliness of this blog, I've attempted to blur of the photo).

But she got a ride down from this cute ski patrol guy!

After what seemed like a long wait, a young patroller approached us pulling his sled.  Katie sadly resigned herself to hitching a ride - not the way you want to travel down a ski slope.  But I told Katie I was glad it was the ski that was broken, and not her. 

It turned out Meadows repair shop was able to fix Katie's binding right away.  And she later gave a glowing report about the nice (and cute!) ski patrol guy and how expertly and carefully he guided the sled down to the lodge.  Katie's story had a happy ending after all.

Always something funny and interesting happening when you ski on the slopes of Mt. Hood!