Favorite Ski Trail Names

Every ski area I know assigns a name to each of their trails.  There are lots of conventions used in naming runs.  Some are geographical, some are historical, some are named after famous persons, and some are totally unimaginative (take the bowls off of Mt. Hood Express at Meadows, One Bowl, Two Bowl, Three Bowl .....you get the idea).  There are a lot of "strong" names, such as Thunderbird, Olympian, Powder Keg, and Show-off.  There are some silly names, which are usually green runs on the bunny hill (like Marshmallow and Buttercup).  And then there are some names that make you say "what were they thinking?" (For example, Dentist's Way)

Some ski trail names that rate among my favorites:  Chunky Swirly at Mt. Hood Meadows.  It's very fitting, because this run is usually bumped up and it trips up a lot of beginning and intermediate skiers.  You always see lots of bodies sprawled across it's slopes.  Oh Shoot at Mt. Hood Skibowl.  Although I've never actually skied this run, some day I want to!  And White Lightning at Schweitzer.  The name makes you feel super-fast as you blast down it's slopes. I like the run too, one of my favorite long steep trails.

But my two favorite trail names (so far) are..... (drumroll)....... number 2......

Wingles Wiggle at Timberline.  The name just makes you laugh!  And yes, it can be taken many ways. 

But my most favorite trail name is....... (another drumroll) ......

Kathy's Yard Sale at Schweitzer.  The first time I saw this trail sign, I almost died laughing.  Who hasn't done a yard sale at least once in their skiing lifetime?  I'm sure there's a great story behind this name, and someday I'd love to hear it!

Have any of you seen a great ski trail name?  Please comment on this post and let me know your favorite. Give me the name of the run and the ski area where it is located.

Happy skiing!

Powder Day

This ski season started out with some nice sunny bluebird days.  These days are nice for views and photo-taking.  But my favorite days to ski are powder days.  Powder days are usually stormy with low visibility.  But there is nothing better than shushing through fresh snow that is falling so fast it fills in the trail behind you.  First tracks every time!

New snow!  Happy, happy, happy!

Last Sunday, Kim and I arrived at Meadows to find it snowing and blowing.  There was already a foot of snow on the ground.  It was gonna be a good day!

Beautiful snowfall

Kim spent the morning with her daughter, so I headed for the bowls off of Mt. Hood Express.  The snow was knee-deep powder in some places.  I had the most excellent runs. 

The snow was really comin' down

It snowed heavily all morning, and the wind was blowing strong.  I went over to ride the Vista lift, and saw there wasn't a line.  After riding to the top, I found out why.  It was really, really windy and cold.  I headed back to MHX and the bowls.

Afternoon clearing at the Shooting Star lift

Kim put her daughter in an afternoon lesson, so she was free to ski with me.  We headed over to Shooting Star to check out their runs.  About this time, the snow let up and we even got a little bit of clearing.  Although it was nice to have the visibility, I would have loved to see more snow falling.

Kim tryin' the powder on Columbia

The snow was pretty tracked out by afternoon.  But we found little areas that still had powder pillows.  We skied down Apollo (and there were no snow snakes!) and then I got Kim to ski down Columbia.  The snow was good, although the lift ride up was a wee bit nippy.

Bottom of Heather Canyon

Heather Canyon was looking good.  I asked a couple guys on the lift what Heather was like and they said it was great.  I skied over to the edge of Twilight bowl and looked down.  The snow was cut up and a little bit bumpy, but it looked soft and totally skiable.  Kim was a little skeptical, but in the end, she decided to follow me into Heather.

The snow was great!  We had a good run down to the bottom of Moon Bowl.  Then we hit the runout to the lift.  It was a bunch of icy moguls.  Ugh! 

Kim trudging up the hill to the Heather lift

At the bottom of Heather, there is a long, flat runout and a small hill you need to climb in order to get to the lift.  To get up this hill, you have to tuck it before the bottom of the canyon, and scream across the runout as fast as you can.  I forgot that this was only the second time Kim had ever been into Heather Canyon and neglected to remind Kim about this.  So she ran out of momentum halfway up, and had to shuffle and pole the rest of  the way.  Ooops, sorry Kim!  Luckily she's still my friend.

It was a great day.  I skied lots of pow, and enjoyed every minute of it.  Good thing I got my powder fix, because the next weekend the weather did a total 180.  It was super warm and rainy for the entire weekend.  Ugh!  No skiing for me.  Guess I'm stuck looking at these photos and dreaming of another powder day. 

:(

The Love Bus Rides Again!

During the months of January and February I look forward to Thursdays.  Every winter for the past 10 years, I've joined a midweek bus that travels up to Mt. Hood Meadows for a day of skiing.  I shuffle my work, sweet talk my bosses, and save up my vacation days to make this happen.  It is so worth it!

Passengers on the "Love" bus

If you ski, you probably know most ski resorts are crowded on weekends.  If you work, that's usually the only time available to get up on the mountain.  But if you can swing it, midweek ski days are the way to go.  Empty slopes, short or nonexistent lift lines, and lots of runs make it worth burning a vacation day.

Linda and Dixie, our "Bus Moms"

Dixie Love is the advisor for our bus.  We are the "Love" bus!  She's been running the Mt. Hood Meadows ski buses for many, many, many years.  Linda, Dixie's sidekick and friend, helps out with marketing, serving the food and drink, and ticketing passengers.  Dixie runs a tight ship (bus), but she does a wonderful job and we all love her.

Some of my bus friends - Linda, Linda, and Judy

Most of the people that ride the ski bus are retired.  There's a few lucky younger folks, like myself, that either have flexible work schedules, or take vacation days.  The retired people on the bus are amazing.  Most of them are super fit and good skiers.  Very inspiring!  I hope I'm still riding the bus and skiing every week when I'm in my sixties and seventies.



More bus friends, Doug and John


The other great thing about the ski bus is we're well fed.  Each week, the passengers take turns bringing food.  We have breakfast in the morning on the way up to the mountain, and snacks in the afternoon for the trip home.  Dixie brings coffee and hot water for tea to go with our breakfast, and offers pop with the afternoon snacks.  However, most of us bring our own liquid refreshment to enjoy on the ride home.  Bottles of wine are uncorked and passed around to share.  It's a merry atmosphere on the bus after a day of skiing.

Unusual cloud over Mt. Hood

The past week the weather was warm and rainy in town.  As the bus was heading to the mountain that morning, some of us were discussing the possibility of a rainy day skiing.  One man said the snow phone reported "heavy mist" (aka - rain).  It didn't look good.

More of the "Love Bus" gang

When we arrived and emerged from the bus, the first thing I noticed was the really warm temperatures.  Oh-oh this was definitely not good!  The mountain was obscured by a large foggy cloud.  Looked like rain.  I decided I wouldn't need all my warm layers, but I'd for sure need my most waterproof gear.

The "Love Bus" gang at lunch

I buddied up with some of my fellow "Love Bus" riders, Linda, Linda and Judy.  Yes, we have an abundance of "Linda's" on our bus.  I think we had six Lindas on board that day.  Maybe we should rename ourselves to the "Linda" bus!

Me and my shadow

The first run down, I realized the warm weather had softened the snow to a nice consistency.  It was totally skiable - very much like spring corn snow.  Maybe today wouldn't be so bad after all.  The clouds and "heavy mist" seemed to be abating.  About an hour later - to our happy amazement - the sun came out!  Spring skiing in January!  Who would've guessed?

Cool clouds form at the top of a run

I had my tele skis that day.  When skiing on my tele boards, I usually take several breaks per run to rest my burning quads.  But the ladies I was skiing with were die-hards.  They didn't stop much!  I wore myself out trying to keep up with them.  With no lift lines (the threat of rainy weather had scared everyone away and the place was a ghost town) there wasn't much opportunity for a break.

Look ma, no people!

Close to noon, my companions decided to head in for lunch.  By then, the snow was so nice, I decided to take another run or two.  On my next run, I found out the wonderful sunshine was not our friend anymore.  The sun was so warm that the snow was turning sticky and grabby.  It was really like spring skiing now!

A toast to a great day of skiing

So I went in for lunch to rest up and fortify myself.  I found most of the "Love Bus" crew gathered around a table in the upper floor of the lodge.  On most Thursdays, we have our pick of tables for lunch.  Another great benefit of mid-week skiing.

After lunch I really wanted to go back out and continue skiing, despite the sticky snow conditions. If the snow and weather conditions aren't good, some bus riders will stay in the lodge for the afternoon. But since I take a day off work to go skiing, it's got to be really bad before I'll do that. So I strapped on my skis and headed for the slopes.

The Love bus gang, enjoying apres-ski

And I had a great afternoon. I learned quickly that if I stayed on the runs in the shade, the snow was just fine. The crowds were even smaller in the afternoon, so there was never a line at any of the lifts.

Dixie and Lisa share a laugh

I saw the Meadows ski photographer set up on the Apollo run.  This run is an "easy" black diamond run, and would've been no problem had I been on my alpine skis.  But I had my tele skis that day, and I'm not real good on black runs yet with my teles.  I did want to get my picture taken doing some tele-turns, though, so against my better judgement, I headed down Apollo.

Apollo was all bumped up with moguls, as per usual.  My first run I was kind of nervous, made a couple of good turns at the top, and then made some terrible flailing turns.  I stopped next to the photographer and teasingly told him I was psyched out by his presence.  The photographer encouraged me to come back and try again, and said "just ski right by me - pretend like I'm not here."

Arrghh!!  Doug does his Captain Hook impression

So up I went, and traveled back down to the top of Apollo.  I sat at the top of the run, and let a large group of people ski by me.  I wanted the photographer to have a clear shot when I came skiing down.  Finally, the coast was clear.  I started down, making good turns, and trying to tune out the camera.  I got into a rhythm and the turns came easily.  The snow was still good, and slid effortlessly under my skis.  I was feelin' like a pro!  I swished up to the photographer, and yelled a "woo-hoo" as I passed by.

And then I'm not sure what happened.  I think it was another snow snake (I'm convinced they all hang out on Apollo!).  The next thing I knew, I was on my back, skis pointing uphill, in an uncontrolled slide.  That nice sun-warmed snow was really slippery, and I had a hard time swinging my skis around into a downhill position to stop myself.   When I finally arrested my slide, I looked up at the photographer and said "I hope you didn't get a picture of that!"   But of course he did, and when I looked at my photos online the next day, he had one shot taken right at the moment of impact.  The image caught all the snow flying up as my body hit the ground.  It was actually kind interesting.  But not interesting enough to buy!

Enjoying a little vino on the ride home

About 3:00, I'd had enough, and I decided to head into the lodge.  Most of the bus riders were gathered in the bar, enjoying a liquid libation after a day of skiing.  I joined my fellow bus-mates at a table.  The Linda's and Judy told me they'd witnessed my great fall as they were riding up the lift.  There are no secrets at Meadows!


Howard, our bus driver extraordinaire

Our bus driver is the best.  His name is Howard Hugger (yes, he fits right in with the "love" bus theme!)  Howard has been our driver for the past several years. He always helps load your skis into the bus, helps carry everyone's stuff, has the bus waiting at the front of the lodge and lays out our ski bags at the end of the day.  He gets us safely up the mountain and then home again.  And he is a really, really sweet man.

Tired, but happy, the "love" bus riders piled into their seats, broke out the wine, and enjoyed the trip home.  This is the very best part of riding the bus - not having to drive home! 

I'm so happy it's ski bus time again.  I had a great first day and I'm eagerly looking forward to the next seven Thursdays.  Here's to Dixie and the "love bus" crew!  Ride on!

New Year's Eve (Ski) Day

Mt. Hood received a ton of snow after Christmas.  On the heels of several storms, sunny weather was forecast for New Year's Eve Day.  My friend Kim and I decided to go up to Mt. Hood Meadows and check it out.  Little did we realize the mob scene that awaited us. 

Apparently half of the Portland Metro area had the same idea.  The congestion started before we even got to the parking lot.  We sat in a long line of cars, winding down Meadows' access road, before Kim finally secured a parking spot in the last row of the main lot.  And this was at 9 am!  But the fun was just beginning....

Beautiful view from the top of Wee Bee Gee Bee Run

Kim got her kids situated, and then we were free to hit the slopes.  A long lift line awaited us at the Mt. Hood Express chair.  But Kim and I inserted ourselves in the fray, and slowly inched towards the loading area.

Woo-hoo!  Kim is ready to ski

The Wee Bee Gee Bee run looked good from the chair.  It appeared to be nicely groomed.  Kim and I decided to try it before the run got all bumped up.

What a glorious view from the top!  The sky was a brilliant blue.  The sun shone, trying to warm up a cold winter sky.  The snow gleamed its brightest white.  The nearby Cascade peaks were clearly visible.  It was a postcard-worthy scene.  We launched ourselves down Wee Bee for a smooth, fast trip to the lift.

Ice-covered trees

And then, we were back in the huge mob.  No, the line hadn't shrunk in the least!  The lift kept stopping, and that didn't help matters.  Once Kim and I were back on the lift, it stopped twice on our way to the top.  Kim and I decided to try another chair, to see if the line, and the lift, was better.

Kim bundled up against the cold

We got in line at the Vista lift.  The line was long, but seemed to move a lot faster than MH Express.  But it was a cold, windy ride - and this lift stopped too!  One we unloaded, Kim and I found Vista's slopes were crowded and super-cold.  After one run at Vista, we decided to go somewhere else.

Kim skiing by pretty snow-covered trees

We tried the old, slow Daisy lift (aka "the Buttwhapper").  There was no line, but this lift was really slow, made even slower by a couple of stoppages.  No wonder it wasn't busy here.  Time to move on!

Kim is happy to be skiing!

Finally late in the morning, Kim and I ended up at Shooting Star.  The snow was nice, the crowds were better, and - yes - the lift made it all the way to the top without stopping!   We decided to stay put for awhile.

Can you tell I'm in my happy place?

After some great runs down Shooting Star's slopes, both Kim and I were getting cold.  Our feet felt like blocks of ice.  We were ready to head in for a warm up and some lunch.

The lodge was an absolute zoo.  Somehow, we found space at a table.  Kim went to order her food, while I held our spots.  It took awhile for Kim to get her grub, but my feet badly needed thawing out.  I was grateful for the extra time to defrost.

Lift line sadness

After lunch, it was back into the crowds.  MH Express wasn't doing any better, and seemed to be stopping even more frequently.  Time to head back to Shooting Star!

Kim and I had some more excellent runs at Shooting Star.  However, I was bombing down Apollo, ready to hit the bumpy steeps, when I suddenly found myself doing the splits and then crashing onto my back.  Somehow, my back made contact with my skis.  Ouch!  That didn't feel good.  I don't know why I wiped out.  All I could tell Kim was "damn snow snake!"

A beautiful mountain on a beautiful day

There wasn't any lift lines at Shooting Star.  So I'm not sure why we headed back to MH Express, where the line had not shrunk in the least.  And the lift was still stopping!  Kim and I said very loudly "there is no line at Shooting Star!" hoping some of the people would head over there.

At 3:00, Kim headed in to pick up her daughter.  I decided to take one last run.  I buddied up with three other guys, and as we were loading onto the chair, I complained about the lift stoppages to one of my companions.  I made a comment that "as much money as we give Meadows, you think they could afford to better maintain their lifts!"  Turned out, one of the other men on the chair used to be the head lift mechanic at Meadows.  He explained that the busier the day, the more people having trouble loading and unloading on the lifts, therefore more stoppages.  Apparently, ski lifts are designed to stop if they sense any little problem.  The philosophy for skier safety is when in doubt, it's better to err on the conservative side and shut down.  After that explanation, I felt a little foolish about my rant.

The lights are on for night skiing

When it was time to leave, the main highway was at a standstill.  All the people from the three Mt. Hood resorts decided to head for home at the same time.  Kim turned around her vehicle, and we took the long way home through Hood River.  After driving slippery roads, and then through the Gorge, poor Kim was beat.

Lesson learned.  If there's a sunny day forecast after many stormy days, and it's the week between Christmas and New Years, stay away from Meadows!  (I should know better than to ski at resorts during the holidays). 

Yet it was a great way to spend New Year's Eve day.  I got home too tired to stay up until midnight, so 2011 came without me.  Oh well, I've rung in enough new years. 

With 2011 comes the promise of more great ski days.   Happy New Year!

:)

Christmas 2010

Before I knew it December 24th was here.  After a busy day filled with Christmas preparations, I looked forward to sitting down with my family and unwrapping our gifts.  Our tradition is to unwrap presents on Christmas Eve, and then go to church ("midnight" mass at 9 pm).

Our poor, unstable Christmas tree

But during the day, we had a small catastrophe.  Our Christmas tree, which always had a lean to it, gave in to gravity and fell over.  I came downstairs to find Roger and Cody desperately trying to right the tree.  The stand had also tipped, spilling water all over the carpet and dousing some of our presents. 

My family imitating our Christmas tree

We tried to get the tree to stand up straight, but it wouldn't cooperate.  In the end, Roger gave up and left it leaning against the wall.  That evening, while shooting family photos, we decided to do a pose that would make the tree feel right at home.

Family photo by our leaning Christmas tree

We also did a more traditional pose.  It took awhile to get this one right.  Bear kept following me into the photo!  We had lots of outtakes with Bear's rear end in the middle of the frame.

I unwrap my "fraglie" present

Then it was time to commence the gift unwrapping! I got a nicely wrapped package marked "fraglie."  Hmmm.....I wonder what's inside?  And what does it mean that it's "fraglie?"  The gift turned out to be wine glasses, and my daughter misspelled "fragile."

Cody digs into his present

The kids had more gifts than Roger and I (as it should be) so I had fun sitting back and watching them enjoy opening their presents.

Denise has a BIG present!

Roger had gotten the kids each jackets from China.  Denise got a Spyder ski jacket, which Roger wrapped in a really big box.

Denise mugs for her mom's camera

The kids were pretty cooperative with the photo-taking.  I guess they knew there was no way they were getting out of it on Christmas Eve.

Cody models his jacket from China

Roger got Cody a nice North Face jacket in China.  Of course, it was black (now Cody's favorite color!)

Denise expresses her surprise in getting the game of "Clue"

Now that my kids are older, and practically on their own, it's hard to buy gifts for them.  While we were shopping the after Thanksgiving sales, Denise gave me lots of hints.  One store had all of their board games buy one get one free.  Denise picked out two games she wanted.  Since I was already there, I went ahead and bought them even though Denise was with me.  I told Denise to act surprised when she opened them on Christmas.  When she opened these gifts, Denise gave a performance worthy of an academy award.

I caught Cody smiling!

Cody also gave a few good performances for my camera.

Merry Fishmas!

There are some things you see in the store that are so perfect for that special someone, you have to buy them!  (Even if they are total junk)  Such is the case with the chocolate fish in the above photo.  Oh - this wasn't the only gift I gave my hubby.  Roger did receive some "good" stuff from me too!

The men of the family working on more gifts

Even if there is a large amount of presents, gift unwrapping seems to go quickly.  Before you know it, all the gifts have been opened, and you're left with a big pile of wrapping paper and bows.  So sad.

My kids, clowning for the camera

It was nice to have everyone together for the Christmas holiday.  My kids seemed to enjoy each other's company (for the most part!).

Roger and I pose in front of the tree

Roger and I smile for a couples photo in front of the tree, although we ended up blocking most of it.

Bear gets his own doggy blanket

Even Bear got a Christmas gift - his very own doggy blanket!  But he was too busy chewing on his toy to fully appreciate it.

Another holiday season has come and gone.  It's been good to have everyone here and celebrate as a family.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

:)