V-Day and B-day

I love having a winter birthday.  It means I can go skiing on my special day.  And every once and awhile my B-day coincides with a ski bus Thursday.  Like it did this year.

The bus is all decked out in red

Although my B-day isn't on Valentine's Day, it's mighty close.  My ski bus loves to celebrate V-Day and has a special "Valentine's Bus" on the Thursday closest to this holiday.  Our bus moms decorate for the occasion, and encourage riders to wear red.  There's a prize for the man and the women with the most articles of red clothing. 

Kerry models his red clothing

Some folks get all decked out for this impromptu fashion show.  Over the years riding this bus I've seen tons of red hats, shirts, coats, ski pants, socks......and every once and awhile someone will admit to donning red underwear.  (One time an older gentleman actually dropped his drawers to reveal a pair of red boxers with hearts!  Woo-woo!)

Dave gets his heart sticker from Dixie

Our bus mom Dixie comes around with a packet of heart stickers to place on each person's cheek.  While the women think it's cute, the guys aren't real crazy about having a pink heart stuck to their face.

Dixie has heart stickers for everyone!

But you don't dare say no to Dixie!

My "fat girls" are ready to taste some pow!

While the V-Day celebration is good fun, my main focus is always on skiing.  I've decided that from now until retirement, I'm taking my B-Day off work and heading to the slopes.

Mmmm.....Three Bowl is lookin' good

What a fine day it was!  Mt. Hood had received another goodly dump of snow overnight.  I'd packed my "fat girl" powder skis in anticipation.  And wasn't disappointed.  Right off the bat, Three Bowl called my name.

Pat scopes out a line

Oh yeah!  It was a silky smooth ride through calf-deep snow.  Although the pow was not as light and fluffy as some other areas of the U.S., here in the PNW we take what we get and are darned happy for it (especially this year!)

Skiing with the guys in red on V-day

Glen and Pat, my ski buddies for the day, were properly attired for Valentine's celebrations.  Both wore red coats.  Sure made them easy to find on the slopes.

Photographer Grant doin' his thing

My friend photographer Grant was out and about, capturing us snow-riders enjoying the day.  I thought he deserved a photograph of his own.  Can you see the monster lens he's using?  Wowie!

Grant caught me in action!  (Photo by Grant Myrdal)

Grant does a great job gettin' shots of us.  He managed to catch this awesome photo of me zipping through the pow (right before his camera battery died).

Checking out "Inner Limits"

I love it when conditions are good enough that you can ski anywhere.  Heading in for lunch, I persuaded the guys to take "Inner Limits," a steep, narrow gully that's a blast to ski in fresh snow.  A run that, due to insufficient coverage, I hadn't been able to ski this year.  That is, until today. 

Glen takes in the view

Not only is it a fun trip, the views on top aren't too shabby.

Glen ready to tackle "Elevator"

After lunch, Pat suggested we try another run that really hasn't been skiable until this week - Lower Elevator.  True to it's name, this trail is a super-steep pitch leading snow-riders into a deep gully.

Pat entering "Elevator"

Of course, Glen and I were game.  (Glen always jokes he'll try anything once.)  I went first, launching myself down a line that was barely tracked.  Oh my!  The snow parted beneath ski edges like a hot knife through butter.  White fluff billowed around my head.  It felt like floating in a pile of feathers.  Upon reaching the bottom I instantly knew a repeat visit was in order.

Looking down the "Elevator" shaft

The rest of the afternoon, my pals and I made lap after lap down Elevator's steep dropoff.  Conditions continued to be amazing.  The wind had apparently blown all the loose snow into this gully, creating a deep blanket of super-soft fluff.  Hands-down it won honors for "best run of the day."

Doug photobombs my selfie

Back on the bus, my friends had a B-day surprise for me.  Last year, as a gag gift for another rider, a few of us created the "Purple PECR" award.  PECR is an acronym we came up with that stands for "Perfectly Executed Carved Runs."  A fluffy purple bird pen was purposed (and - ahem - "modified") especially for the occasion.

 

I received the "Purple PECR" award

Well.......guess who was chosen as the 2014 "Purple PECR" recipient?  Yup - little ol' me!  I get to keep this purple birdie trophy until next year's Valentine bus, and then chose the next lucky winner (aka - victim).  Hey, it's not everyday you receive such a prestigious award on your B-day! :)

No better way to spend a birthday! (Photo by Grant Myrdal)

Any day spent skiing is a good day, but when your B-day and V-day bus both land on the same calendar square, it can't be anything but extra special.


Sharing with:  Our World Tuesday.

50

I love birthdays - especially when they're mine!  And milestone B-days?  Double the fun.  But turning a half century?  Gotta do something special.  No way was I gonna be at work the day of my big 5-0!


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

Birthday ski day!

I decided long ago to spend the day of my 50th birthday on the slopes.  Unfortunately my b-day didn't land on Thursday.  That meant no celebrating with my ski bus friends.  But, no problem, Meadows had buses running other days of the week.  So I hooked up with the Wednesday bus.  I was a little sad to be spending my big day with strangers, but the desire to ski on my b-day ended up trumping those feelings.

It's my birthday!

I was in for a surprise.  Getting on the bus that morning, I was pleased to discover Dave and Vito, two Thursday regulars, on board.  Yahoo - someone to ski with!

My skiing companions (aka "the bodyguards")

I saved my pink princess hat helmet cover that I'd worn in Alta.  Time to try it out at Mt. Hood Meadows.  It was a big hit.  Lots of people smiled, laughed, and wished me a happy birthday.  One of the liftees announced my b-day to everyone (on the megaphone) and sang the "happy birthday" song.  Photographer Grant caught me as I skied by, and got lots of photos of me wearing my special headwear.

Photographer Grant caught me on the slopes (photo by Grant Myrdal)

Vito and Dave teasingly called me "the princess" and dubbed themselves my "bodyguards."  They were great guys to ski with.  I had a blast tearing up the slopes with them.

Afternoon birthday snowfall

Although the day began with sunny, blue skies, by afternoon the weather had a change of heart.  Clouds moved in and it began to snow.  Wow - fresh powder for my b-day.  A great gift courtesy of Mother Nature!

Vito says "Let's go!"

Later in the afternoon, the same liftee who'd earlier announced my birthday asked my name.  He instructed us to come back to the lift next round.  My friends and I did as we were told, skied back down the hill, and got onto the same lift.  As our chair swung away from the loading area, I looked down at the ground below.  Written into the snow were the words: "Happy Birthday Linda."  Awwwwww!!

We head out to ski the new pow

After a wonderful day of skiing, I boarded the bus and popped open a beer for the trip home.  I soon discovered the Wednesday riders were a fun group.  They were super-friendly, brought tons of treats, and freely shared their wine.  Someone told a joke over the PA system, and before you knew it, there was a parade of people heading up to the microphone to share their funnies.  Even the bus driver told a few.  It was a merry ride all way back to Portland.  I've never laughed so hard!  By the time I deboarded, it felt like I had 25 new friends.

So this is what 50 looks like!  (photo by Grant Myrdal)

It was a fabulous way to commemorate hitting the half-century mark.  How do I feel about turning fifty?  Well, as my dad once said upon turning 65; "I'm 65 and I'm still alive!"  I'm grateful to be in good health, have a wonderful husband and kids, a great job, lots of super friends, and be able to enjoy skiing, hiking and running.  I'm proud of all I've accomplished over the 50 years I've spent on this planet.  And I'm looking forward to many more good times to come!

Tomorrow I had plans to ride my regular Thursday bus.  And rumor was my bus friends had something in store for me...... 

Check out my next blog post for all the details!