Juneuary Again.....

The snow situation on Mt. Hood and throughout the Pacific Northwest is looking mighty thin.  Apart from a series of storms during Christmas, and a small dusting on MLK Day, we've seen no white stuff the entire month of January.  Adding to our mountain's misery, the weather has been either a streak of unseasonably warm days, or torrential rain - neither of which are good for a dwindling snowpack.  For the third consecutive year, we're experiencing "Juneuary" once again.

Panoramic group shot

Now finally able to ski, and making up for lost time, I've been taking every opportunity to get on the mountain.  On the last Thursday of Juneuary, (oops, I mean January!) though the weather called for toasty temps, and the snow base was minimal, I decided to ride the ski bus up to Mt. Hood anyway.  Hey - it beats being at work!  (I always say, a crummy day skiing is better than the best day working.)

Poor Mt. Hood is looking bare

Due to the poor conditions, my usual ski buddies all stayed home.  All by my lonesome, sliding down a slope, I met up with a group of ladies from my bus.  I knew most of them from past ski lessons.  Seeing my single situation, they invited me to tag along.

Conditions were downright awful.  Our local ski area (ahem **Mt. Hood Meadows**) must've thought no one would be skiing that day, because they didn't bother grooming anything except the bunny slope.  Bumping over frozen mounds of cut-up snow was challenging, to say the least.  One poor lady in our group kept falling on the same run.  Trying to banish the bad ju-ju, she kept going back up and trying again.  But when not only her, but yours truly suffered a wipeout, we decided it was time to break for lunch.  (Luckily, no injuries - nothing was hurt but our pride.) 

I captured my grand biff on the GoPro and posted it here for you to enjoy.  I really don't know what  happened - one minute I was skiing along, and the next I was sliding face first down the hill.  I blame a snow snake!  (And if you don't know what a snow snake is, check out this post)

We decide to try Vista Ridge

Our group sat down to lunch, grousing about the poor conditions, trying to decide if we should go back out for the afternoon.  Now finally able to ski, I didn't want to sit in the lodge for the rest of the day.  I convinced the ladies to try a couple more runs before hanging it up.

We find the best run of the day on Vista!

Someone suggested we try a run off the Vista Lift.  Normally not one of my favorite places to ski at Meadows, but I figured, what the heck.  As my group ascended to the top, we noticed the sky clearing.  By the time we started down Vista Ridge, blue patches were elbowing out the gray clouds.

The snow here was fantastic!  No bumps, sun-softened, and smooth as silk.  We enjoyed our best run of the day.  Conditions were so wonderful, we all boarded the lift, eager to do it again.

We made several trips down Vista Ridge.  Each time the sky cleared a little more, until the top of Mt. Hood towered over the horizon.  I got out my GoPro to capture the grand scenery.  I'm getting much better at holding the pole, and shot a video at an angle I really liked.  My favorite mountain stayed in the background through most of the ride down.  Check it out!

Cold beverages on the patio - great way to end a day of skiing!

My group of friends and I ended up lasting nearly until 3:00, well past our original quitting time.  The day ended with everyone enjoying sunshine and a cold beverage on the patio.

Okay, the snowpack is wearing thin, rocks and stumps are sticking out all over, and snowstorms keep missing the PNW.  But for this one sunny Juneuary day, I had a wonderful afternoon making slushy tracks in what's left of Hood's snow.  Still better than sitting in the office. 

(But, darn it weather gods, send us some snow!)