Back on the Bus

My weekly ski bus started January 8th.  But still recuperating from foot surgery, I had to sit out the first two weeks.  Oh, it nearly killed me being at work, knowing my friends were up on the mountain having fun in the snow! 

All smiles on a sunny morning!

But after the doc's blessing, and trial run on MLK Day, I was ready for a triumphant return.  Nervously watching the weather all week, things weren't looking good for ski bus Thursday.  The weatherman predicted rain on the mountain.  Nooooo!  If it's raining at the ski area, the bus is usually cancelled.  I was afraid I'd be spending yet another Thursday stuck at the office.

Glen waves "hi" for the camera

The big day dawned.  Rising early, I checked the weather at our local ski resort.  Conditions didn't look good.  They were reporting drizzle, fog, and warm temperatures.  I kept expecting a cancellation phone call from my bus mom.

But no call came.  The ski area website said nothing about bus cancellations.  Okay.....it appeared to be all systems go!  I packed up my gear and headed to the bus stop.

Glen, Judy and I ready to ski

Sure enough, the bus was waiting.  It was great to see all of my friends again.  Everyone expressed doubts about the weather (and some folks did cancel), but the rest of us had made our plans and decided to stick with them.  Whatever the conditions, it was better than being at work!

My group in action

All the way up the mountain, I fretted about skiing in the rain.  Imagine my surprise when, rounding the final turn into the parking lot, I glimpsed sun peeping out from behind the clouds.  A tiny patch of blue sky was starting to show.  Maybe we'd have a good day after all!

I met up with friends Glen and Judy.  We were all jazzed about the unexpected dry weather.  And the snow was soft and wonderful.  Without further ado, we hit the slopes.

Action selfie

This time, I remembered to bring my selfie pole, and attached my GoPro camera.  Time for some action videos!  It was great fun practicing skiing while holding the camera on a long pole.  Glen was a gentleman and offered to take my extra ski pole, so I didn't have to hold them both in the other hand.  But after a few runs, I got the hang of things, and took both poles back.

All of the photos in this post, except for the first one, are screen shots from videos.  I was proud of myself for figuring out how to capture still screen shots from a video.  (Hopefully no one is sick of all these selfies!)

And, of course I had to include a short clip from my grand video experiment.  Although I still need practice, it didn't turn out too shabby!

Our nice day turned into foggy snain

Sadly, by late morning, clouds enveloped the mountain, and soggy flakes began to fall.  The snow became wetter and wetter, until it was more water than ice (the folks in the ski resort business refer to this as "snain.")  The warm precip made the snow wet and sticky.  It wasn't much fun to ski, as everyone worried about the grabby conditions causing sudden stops.

This isn't fun anymore

So we decided to take an early lunch.  My foot was beginning to bother me, so I was ready for a break.  After sitting around the lodge for a good hour, Glen and another guy decided to go back out.  But with the lousy snow conditions, I didn't want to risk an injury, so I spent the afternoon in the bar with Judy.  We each nursed a glass of beer and caught each other up on our lives.

Time to hit the bar!

The weather turned wetter, and huge raindrops began to fall.  More and more skiers came into the lodge, all shaking water from their jackets.  Pretty soon, we had a large crowd around our table.  Nearly everyone from our ski bus had gathered for drinks and conversation.  A pleasant way to pass the rest of the afternoon.

The "back of the bus" gang

On the way home, I hung out with the "back of the bus gang" enjoying some more liquid refreshment.  And I learned a GoPro camera, although great for outside action shots, doesn't do so well capturing indoor images.  Oh well, I had fun trying!

Although I only held up for half a day, it was still great to be back on the bus.  Missing all my skiing friends, it was wonderful to reconnect.  Here's to more fun Thursdays - and a huge dump of snow on our mountains! 


Sharing with:  Our World Tuesday and Wednesday Around the World.

It's Ski Bus Time!

Every year in early January I eagerly await the start of another wonderful activity - the midweek ski bus!

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

A fun ride to the mountain!

Mt. Hood Meadows, my local ski resort, offers bus transportation for Portland area snow-riders during the week.  I've been a regular on my bus since 2001.  For a skiing maniac like myself, it's the best thing that's even happened.  Skiing on uncrowded slopes and not having to drive.  For more background about the bus, check out the blog post I did a couple of years ago right here.

Midweek skiing crowds....

I pick Thursdays as my ski bus days.  It's great to be at on the mountain on a weekday.  Lift lines and crowds are nonexistent.  Just me and the trees.

Rush hour on the slopes

Over the years, I've made many friends on the bus.  People you get to know well during the 8-week session, then you don't see for the rest of the year.  The first day back, it's so much fun to reconnect with everyone.

Linda and Judy pose for Mt. Hood

My streak of sunny ski trips continued with yet another day of bluebird conditions.  That meant more great views of Mt. Hood.  Here's bus buddies Linda and Judy posing with my favorite mountain.

The camera phone photo I sent my work friend

It was such a beautiful day, I couldn't resist snapping a photo of myself with my new camera phone and sending it to my friend Kim, hard at work.  I know - not a very nice thing to do!  (And my friend texted me back a word that starts with the letter "b" and rhymes with "itch")

I found the Tele Ladies!

The Tele Ladies also ride a midweek bus, although a different one than mine.  I ran into them after lunch, and of course had to tag along.

Yet another Mt Hood photo....

We headed up to the top of the Vista Lift to check things out.  On the way up, I couldn't resist snapping this view of Mt. Hood from the chair.  Gorgeous, huh?

Impressive clouds on top

On top of Vista, the snow was wind-packed and icy.  Ugh!  But we couldn't stay up here all day.  Eventually we'd need to ski through the crummy snow.  At least there were some good views to enjoy on the way down.

Icy tree and White River Canyon

The icy-crusted trees were especially scenic.  And you could see across the White River Canyon to the Timberline Ski Area.  In this photo, you can just barely make out the towers of Timberline's Palmer Lift (upper right hand corner).

Katie the tele queen!

The snow gods had dropped 6 inches of fresh snow overnight.  Sadly, by the time our bus arrived, most of it had already been tracked out.  But.....once we got past all that icy crap on top of Vista, Katie, Sue and I made a wonderful discovery.  Powder.  An entire slope of it.  Still fresh and not too badly cut up. 

Whoopee!  It was a blast sliding through this nice snow.  My friends and I had so much fun, we skied back through that crummy icy stuff and hit the run again.  And again.  To capture this happy adventure, I set my camera to "movie" mode and created a short clip.  Those of you wanting to see what a telemark turn looks like, check out the video above.

Mt. Hood plays peekaboo

After many happy turns, it was time to head back to the lodge and catch our respective buses.  On my last run, I spied this great view of Hood peeping out between the trees.  It was a moment worthy of Eastman Kodak!   Of course I stopped and captured the scene.  Now you can all enjoy it.

Bus mom Linda with the important beverage!

Back on the bus, our "bus moms" Linda and Dixie get busy serving us hungry skiers goodies.  Although the bus doesn't supply alcoholic beverages, they do allow riders to BYOB.  And most of my bus-mates are willing to share their vino.

Bus mom Dixie with the less important beverages

But Dixie also supplies sodas for those not wishing to imbibe.  She thinks of everything!

"Back of the Bus" gang

I sit with the notorious "Back of the Bus" gang.  Don't they look like troublemakers?  But give 'em some wine, and they turn into pussycats.  Cheers, guys!

I'm so happy it's ski bus time again.  Here's to another great year of sun, snow, skiing, and friends!