Welcome To Juneuary

What a difference one week makes!  On my first ski bus Thursday, we were skiing in a snowstorm and enjoying epic powder.  But the second week, summer decided to come early.

Linda, Judy and Chris ready to ski!

An inversion hit the Portland area.  While the city sat under a cold, gloomy fog, temps on the mountain were downright spring-like.

Checking out the bra tree

Another storm the weekend prior dumped an additional two feet of much-needed snow on Hood's slopes.  This gave Mt. Hood Meadows enough coverage to open almost all of their runs.  Then the sun came out and turned the white stuff into soft, wonderful corn.

Linda shows us how it's done

Seeing the forecast was for sunny skies, I decided to bring my "big girl" camera and capture some action photos.   I usually ski with a small pocket point-and-shoot camera.  Although this camera takes decent shots, the one thing it doesn't do is capture movement well. 

Glen makin' some turns

 And I don't want you readers to think all my friends and I do is stand around on the slopes!

Enjoying the views from Shooting Star Ridge

Ski buddies Linda, Judy, Chris, and Glen were willing subjects.  One by one, they swooshed by my lens as I fired off multiple frames.

 A little synchronized skiing

Then my friends got the idea to ski down in unison.  I managed to get a couple good shots of their "synchronized skiing" attempt.  (Hmmm....synchronized skiing......a new Olympic sport?)

Judy's having fun

After the group ski, I had each of my friends slide by a location with a killer view of the mountain.  I attempted to catch a photo of each one with a Mt. Hood backdrop.

Chris slides gracefully by

And of course I had to get some group shots too!

Okay everybody - skis up!

The weather was so warm, everyone was shedding layers and opening jacket pit zips.  It felt like spring skiing, not a day in mid-January.  Coming into the lodge for lunch, one of the ski keep workers commented  "Welcome to Juneuary."

Nice Hood views are everywhere

After lunch, we all decided to head to the highest point of the ski area, the Cascade Lift.  My friends hoped the higher elevation would mean cooler temps.

Checking out the vistas from top of Cascade

Although the air wasn't any colder up high, the views were totally worth it.  Mt. Jefferson dominated the southern sky, with the Three Sisters mountains directly east.  If one looked hard, Broken Top Mountain and Black Butte also made appearances.

Lovely scenery to ski in

A grand view to ski down with!

I got captured in action!

My friends felt bad that no one was getting any pictures of me skiing.  So Chris offered to take my camera and try her hand at a couple of shots.  She didn't do half-bad!  I liked this image in particular.  Now you know what I look like when I'm skiing.  The fanny pack around my waist is how I carry my camera on the slopes.

Mt. Hood close-up

Later that afternoon, I ran into my old friends Katie and Sue, aka the Tele Ladies.  Wanting to catch up, I joined them for a couple of runs. 

Katie droppin' the knee

And, of course, a few photos.

Sue is all smiles

I especially like this shot of Sue.  She has a great smile, and I'm glad I was able to capture this happy moment on the slopes.

The infamous "back of the bus" crew

Another great ski bus Thursday!  Although there was no fresh powder, the sunny skies, soft snow, and warm temps were almost as good.  And I got to ride home with these fun people - aka "the back of the bus gang."

What will next week bring?  Join me again for more skiing fun!


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