Willamette Pass
8:55 on a Wednesday in the rental shop. The guy at the counter tells me "it's like having your own private mountain" on the weekdays at Willamette. I don't know, I haven't tried it enough.
Rental (and sometimes ticket) counter at Willamette Pass
I've been waiting around for weeks for it to snow. I keep having this thought that I'm doing it all wrong. My friend, and former/current ski buddy, Paul Carter put a note in his family Christmas letter that he got 101 days in last year and was trying to do that again this year. He more or less spends the winter in Steamboat. I spend the winter waiting around for it to snow. Hence, my hunch that I'm doing it all wrong. I have been keeping my schedule clear on Wednesdays in the hope that I might get lucky with the weather.
This day, however, was all right. It's actually been snowing a lot, just not on the days that I can ski. So, when this last weather pattern moved in, I paid close attention. Monday was President's Day and the mountain was open. Monday night it was cold and rained hard in town. That continued through Tuesday. Tuesday night was not as heavy, but when I got up at 6:30 on Wednesday the DOT said 4" overnight and the mountain said 12". I didn't necessarily think they had the 12" overnight, but it was definitely plausible that they had that much since Monday night. Good enough for me.
Two turns was enough to know it would be an epic day. The snow was deep, fluffy and bottomless. Stoke ensued.
On the second run up, I started talking to the guy that hopped on with me. He yanked my chain for a bit, but it didn't take long for me to figure out it was my colleague and former student Ethan Nelson. Great, now I have someone to ski with--not that that would change anything.
The requisite selfie
The trees were exquisite in the way that only happens in the NW. Lots of snow, and lots of fun. In fact, there's more snow in the parking lot than I've seen in five years. That kind of surprised me, since it's been raining on and off.
8.5' of snow
Tree skiing, Oregon style.
I.
II. There's a better version on my Facebook feed.
Northern Exposure was great today. There's nothing like floating down a 45 degree slope in 15" of snow--at least if you know how to do it.
Good Time Charlie trees are a little bit tamer slopewise, but the trees are denser. There's a better version on my Facebook feed.
Going back to the question of the season, "why do I ski?" Today is why I ski. Is it important? It is to me--it's great therapy.
I'm hoping I'll get another day or two of this before the season ends.
Epic!
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