I woke up at 5:30am and quickly prepared myself for exercise and running. Since we were scheduled to depart Glenn’s at 7:30am for our Mt Hood ski trip, there was little time to waste.
I ran only about 4 miles for wanting to be back at Glenn’s with time to shower, eat, and ready for skiing. I was back by 6:30am. We readied all of our gear and headed out about 15 or 20 minutes behind our preferred schedule. Glenn’s friend Tom was planning to join us too, so we stopped by his house to see if he was riding with us or planning to take a separate vehicle.
Once at Tom’s we learned that his friend Matt was going too, so the plan to take one vehicle was nixed. Soon we were on our way to the slopes. The morning sky was crystal clear with brilliant sunshine and warming temps. It had all the makings of a perfect ski day!
Well into the mountains we stopped at Starbuck’s for some coffee, probably about 30 minutes from the slopes. As we wound up the windy highway an occasional glimpse of the sun soaked, majestic Mt Hood came into view. The white capped mountain against the deep blue sky was captivating.
We arrived at the Timberline Ski resort sometime around 9:30am. By the time we had dawned all of our gear and retrieved our rentals and lift tickets, it was 10:30am. Mindy scheduled a lesson but that didn’t start until 12:30pm so her and I took off on our own. First we took on the bunny hill to re-establish the skills she learned her first time skiing back home. She did well. After two runs down the bunny hill, she wanted to do the green slopes on the mountain. We began following the trail where she fell a number of times but always softly. The green slopes are fairly tamed and well groomed taking you in and out of a forest of mature conifers. We did that a couple of times until we encountered Glenn and company. They informed us that we had only 20 minutes before Mindy’s lesson would begin. To get to the starting point we had to go down the mountain and take a different lift up that would put her off right at the meet point. We weren’t too sure we could make it in 20 minutes. To our amazement, we did!
While Mindy took her lesson, I joined Glenn & brother Tommy for some fun skiing. We tore up the blues and even took a few little black slopes. I really enjoyed myself. The thin dry air was making me incredibly thirsty, however. After a flight down the magic mile, we found our way to the lodge for some beers and munchies. There we met up with Tom S and Matt (Glenn’s buddies). We shared four pitchers of beer. Come 2:30pm, I went looking for Mindy. A quick glance over the rail of the ski lodge revealed her coming in. She quickly joined us at our comfy table. She enjoyed wine while we continued sucking down the good beer. To satisfy our hunger pains we ordered some nachos and wings. Once everyone was buzzed and refueled, we took to the slopes. Mindy was ready to put her lessons to work.
She agreed to attempt the magic mile. To get there, however, one would have to ski down the hill’s she had already skied first. From the bottom of the mountain you must take two separate lifts to get to the top. The view from the pinnacle is something to behold and always picture worthy. And because you’re above the timberline, the temperature is always much colder.
After some pictures form atop the mile, we began our descent down. Mindy feel a number of times but always managed to bounce back up. Suddenly she went zooming past me picking up quite a bit of speed. I knew that it wouldn’t end softly. J As she got about 100 yards out in front of me she lost control and took a spill. From my vantage point it didn’t look to bad, but you never know until you talk with the skier. As I approached she assured me that she was OK. But I could tell that her spirit was broken. She laid there for a few minutes before trying to get up. After she got up she reported landing on her face. She didn’t look any worse for the wear, however. Regardless, she said that she wanted to go to the lodge. We skied slowly down the rest of the hill. Once parallel to the lodge, she requested one more trip down the green hill. There she did exceptionally well and exhibited confidence and the skills learned in her lesson. After riding the lift back up the lodge area, she headed into the bar and asked that once I found brother Tommy to relay the locker combination so that she could get the book that she wisely brought along. I went on skiing by myself looking for the brothers and Tom S. I had a wonderful time taking in many of the lower mountain trails. I was just beginning to get dark. I never did find the brothers on the slope. As the sun began to set I decided to head to the lodge in hopes of finding Mindy and possibly the brothers. A glance at the peak of Mt Hood revealed her white cap all aglow with the setting suns fiery orange color. I wished I had the camera with me because it might have been the picture of pictures!
Sure enough, the lodge bar revealed everyone gathered around a table enjoying the warmth, food, and libations. Brother Tommy agreed to stay back with Mindy and tour the grand old Timberline lodge while the rest of us skied a little more under the lights. By now the sun had completely set and the temperature dropped like a rock. It was cold! After three or four quick runs, I was done and so was Glenn’s friend Tom. Glenn stayed on the trail for a couple more runs alone. What a great time. Within the hour we were all satisfied with the skiing we had done and were ready to head home. Mindy had taken herself to the first-aid facility where they gave her an icepack for her somewhat swollen face. We made it back to Glenn’s by 9:00pm. Mindy went right to bed. Not only was she sore and wounded, but she was also a little nauseous from the drive home. Glenn, Tommy and I watched the Best of Will Ferrell. After it ended I headed for bed too.
I woke up at 5:30am and quickly prepared myself for exercise and running. Since we were scheduled to depart Glenn’s at 7:30am for our Mt Hood ski trip, there was little time to waste.
I ran only about 4 miles for wanting to be back at Glenn’s with time to shower, eat, and ready for skiing. I was back by 6:30am. We readied all of our gear and headed out about 15 or 20 minutes behind our preferred schedule. Glenn’s friend Tom was planning to join us too, so we stopped by his house to see if he was riding with us or planning to take a separate vehicle.
Once at Tom’s we learned that his friend Matt was going too, so the plan to take one vehicle was nixed. Soon we were on our way to the slopes. The morning sky was crystal clear with brilliant sunshine and warming temps. It had all the makings of a perfect ski day!
Well into the mountains we stopped at Starbuck’s for some coffee, probably about 30 minutes from the slopes. As we wound up the windy highway an occasional glimpse of the sun soaked, majestic Mt Hood came into view. The white capped mountain against the deep blue sky was captivating.
We arrived at the Timberline Ski resort sometime around 9:30am. By the time we had dawned all of our gear and retrieved our rentals and lift tickets, it was 10:30am. Mindy scheduled a lesson but that didn’t start until 12:30pm so her and I took off on our own. First we took on the bunny hill to re-establish the skills she learned her first time skiing back home. She did well. After two runs down the bunny hill, she wanted to do the green slopes on the mountain. We began following the trail where she fell a number of times but always softly. The green slopes are fairly tamed and well groomed taking you in and out of a forest of mature conifers. We did that a couple of times until we encountered Glenn and company. They informed us that we had only 20 minutes before Mindy’s lesson would begin. To get to the starting point we had to go down the mountain and take a different lift up that would put her off right at the meet point. We weren’t too sure we could make it in 20 minutes. To our amazement, we did!
While Mindy took her lesson, I joined Glenn & brother Tommy for some fun skiing. We tore up the blues and even took a few little black slopes. I really enjoyed myself. The thin dry air was making me incredibly thirsty, however. After a flight down the magic mile, we found our way to the lodge for some beers and munchies. There we met up with Tom S and Matt (Glenn’s buddies). We shared four pitchers of beer. Come 2:30pm, I went looking for Mindy. A quick glance over the rail of the ski lodge revealed her coming in. She quickly joined us at our comfy table. She enjoyed wine while we continued sucking down the good beer. To satisfy our hunger pains we ordered some nachos and wings. Once everyone was buzzed and refueled, we took to the slopes. Mindy was ready to put her lessons to work.
She agreed to attempt the magic mile. To get there, however, one would have to ski down the hill’s she had already skied first. From the bottom of the mountain you must take two separate lifts to get to the top. The view from the pinnacle is something to behold and always picture worthy. And because you’re above the timberline, the temperature is always much colder.
After some pictures form atop the mile, we began our descent down. Mindy feel a number of times but always managed to bounce back up. Suddenly she went zooming past me picking up quite a bit of speed. I knew that it wouldn’t end softly. J As she got about 100 yards out in front of me she lost control and took a spill. From my vantage point it didn’t look to bad, but you never know until you talk with the skier. As I approached she assured me that she was OK. But I could tell that her spirit was broken. She laid there for a few minutes before trying to get up. After she got up she reported landing on her face. She didn’t look any worse for the wear, however. Regardless, she said that she wanted to go to the lodge. We skied slowly down the rest of the hill. Once parallel to the lodge, she requested one more trip down the green hill. There she did exceptionally well and exhibited confidence and the skills learned in her lesson. After riding the lift back up the lodge area, she headed into the bar and asked that once I found brother Tommy to relay the locker combination so that she could get the book that she wisely brought along. I went on skiing by myself looking for the brothers and Tom S. I had a wonderful time taking in many of the lower mountain trails. I was just beginning to get dark. I never did find the brothers on the slope. As the sun began to set I decided to head to the lodge in hopes of finding Mindy and possibly the brothers. A glance at the peak of Mt Hood revealed her white cap all aglow with the setting suns fiery orange color. I wished I had the camera with me because it might have been the picture of pictures!
Sure enough, the lodge bar revealed everyone gathered around a table enjoying the warmth, food, and libations. Brother Tommy agreed to stay back with Mindy and tour the grand old Timberline lodge while the rest of us skied a little more under the lights. By now the sun had completely set and the temperature dropped like a rock. It was cold! After three or four quick runs, I was done and so was Glenn’s friend Tom. Glenn stayed on the trail for a couple more runs alone. What a great time. Within the hour we were all satisfied with the skiing we had done and were ready to head home. Mindy had taken herself to the first-aid facility where they gave her an icepack for her somewhat swollen face. We made it back to Glenn’s by 9:00pm. Mindy went right to bed. Not only was she sore and wounded, but she was also a little nauseous from the drive home. Glenn, Tommy and I watched the Best of Will Ferrell. After it ended I headed for bed too.
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