The Story of the Snow

Originally Posted: Jan 11, 2006 on MySpace

I've had a number of opportunities to try skiing over the years in a number of different places but I've always managed to miss out on them (the one I regret the most was not going to Germany while I was in high school), so when the chance came up with a couple of guys from work, I finally had the time and managed to get the cash to afford it as a Christmas present and was finally ready to try this new sport. (for those of you who know my personal web site, you can find pictures there to follow the story)

Now, Megan's family lives in Bend and her brother, Spencer, actually works at the lodge on Mt. Bachelor, so while Megan was back for Christmas she gave me some pointers and we even considered going out to the mountain for a day to give me a beginner's course. Come the morning of, we backed out, deciding instead to just spend the day together comfortable and lazy. So when I finally did head out there with Simon, Forest, his wife Anna, and her friend Christina I was still the newb.

The cabin we'd rented for a couple days was fully furnished with a full kitchen, fireplace, and hot tub. Very comfortable. While there I got to try Simon's tasty spinach souffle, play his "Lord of the Rings" board game (*) and then Forest's new "Across the Desert" board game, and I took a little time to finally beat "The Secret of Monkey Island." All great experiences. I also got to find out that Simon was not exaggerating when he said he snored. I swear I thought he was trying to inhale golf balls at one point. I did manage to get some sleep though and bright and early the following morning we went for the slopes.

In case you didn't know, my truck has never had a working defrost. This usually doesn't bother me on my own, but with more than one person in the car, it fogs up quickly and the only solution for it is to open the windows and chill the cabin. However, with three people in the cab and freezing rain falling outside, even that wasn't enough to keep the window from sweating. This also wasn't so bad until we hit the snow covered road leading up the mountain which was completely white making the curbs almost indistinguishable from the road. It was a long, slow, cold drive during which I got out to scrape the ice that was forming on the window as we drove and dropped my brand new, unused goggles half way up the mountain.

A new (overpriced) pair of goggles later and I was ready for my first lessons. Much as South Park explained it to me, I spent a lot of time in the "pizza" position trying to keep from sliding down the mountain. At one point during these first lessons I failed to make a turn correctly and spun around 180, landed flat on my back, feet in the air, and continued to slide some number of feet farther downhill. It was great! I was also exceptionally grateful for the waterproof pants I'd borrowed from Forest at that point.

About 2 hours and two trips down the Sunrise slope (read: Bunny Hill), it was time to take a break for lunch. Hot chocolate never tasted so good as in that crowded lodge as I was waiting for my pony tail to thaw out so I could take out my hair tie. Feeling a little more confident I headed back to the Sunrise hill alone, leaving Forest and Simon to attempt more difficult runs, and put in about seven more trips down before days end. I only had two more wipe outs that afternoon, both of which sent at least one of my skis flying, and one that twisted the knee of the foot that still had a ski in a fairly unnatural direction. By the time I met up with the guys again to leave, I was soaking wet, freezing cold, and completely exhausted. I had had a blast!

A short adventure of digging out the truck later and we were on our way. Once again the issue of my malfunctioning defrost came up, this time making the return trip exceptionally uncomfortable for three damp men. This problem was exasperated by being almost completely out of gas by the time we made it back down and getting to learn what my engine feels like when its trying to run on fumes. Not fun and it cost us an extra 15 minutes out in the cold trying to find and then use a gas station. I think it took me a total of 45 seconds from the time we got in the cabin door to be stripped of my ski gear and thermal wear and be in the hot tub. It burned so good by that time!

With the weather only getting worse we decided not to make another run at the mountain in a complete white out and braved the blizzardy mountain pass to head back to Eugene. I'm was glad we decided to call it in early. The trip home was no picnic, so its good we did it early, plus my knee was still sore from that wipe out.

Now I can say I've finally been skiing, and I got out over the holidays with some friends and coworkers. Good trip, but an expensive hobby, so I doubt I'll be up to doing it again any time soon. Maybe sometime with the Morgans... we'll see.

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(*) Lord of the Rings: The Board Game - I was at first confused by the strange rules associated with this, but after an introductory (and lost) game I was thoroughly impressed. What I enjoyed the most was the fact that it was a co-operative game. The point of the game is to help support each other to survive through strategy and self sacrifice. We lost the game, but we lost it as a group, so it was really satisfying.