Sunday had a much different look & feel than Saturday. It was cloudy and foggy. Any chance of seeing the mountain peak was definitely out of the question, at least for the time begin. Tommy & Mary Ann were both up when I made my way downstairs. I was ridiculously thirsty all through the night and not matter how much water I took in I couldn’t shake the dry mouth. I chalked it up to the Transderm Scop patch and altitude.
I left for my run taking the exact same route I took the morning prior – down hill first. The chilly air felt good. It began to snow and continued through the duration of my run. I felt pretty good physically, but it was a challenge lugging my rear back up the hill to the east end of Gov’t Camp. For whatever reason, I was craving donuts. There was a bakery next door, the Ratskeller. Immediately after my run I went back to the condo to fetch my wallet.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have donuts. Instead, they had a broad assortment of muffins and breads. The prices were so stiff that a dozen muffins would have cost me nearly $40. No! As an alternative, I went in the Gov’t Camp Store below our condo and bought a dozen Hostess donuts for less than $4.00. They would complement our breakfast burritos just fine.
The day’s ski plans called for a short trip to Mt Hood Meadows ski resort. The biggest reason for the venue change was to take advantage of their Sunday night skiing since Timberline would close at 4pm. Mindy wasn’t too keen on the idea but kept her desires somewhat to herself. She expressed comfort with Timberline. By the time everyone had eaten, showered and was ready to go, it was almost 10am. We arrived at Meadows around 10:15am, but had to park in their ancillary lot and were shuttled to the actual ski lodge.
Meadows has a much more intimidating look, especially to newcomers. The slopes you see after your first step from the lodge are incredibly steep. It took only about 20 minutes to get our ski gear on and head to the lift ticket line. We were a bit taken back by the price of their lift tickets. They were $64 each, more than double Timberline. This was due mostly to the lack of the same discount we enjoy at Timberline for being a lodging guest.
Glenn was the only skier completely familiar with the terrain, although I’ve skied here two other times. The skies were foggy and it was snowing making it difficult to see much further than about 100 yards at times. We all rode up the lift together and planned to take the green trail down to get our legs. The blues looked much more difficult than any at Timberline. Mindy was noticeably intimidated from the outset. I was careful to stay right by her side after yesterday’s events. We were the final two down the hill.
We met again at the first check point and again discussed the trail we’d be taking down. There are typically several ways one can go. Once again, we were the last to launch, and Mindy took a minor spill so we lost sight of our group. We slowly made our way the direction that we thought the others went but obviously got crossed up. It wasn’t long before we were staring down a long, steep blue run. This brought tears to Mindy’s eyes. She wasn’t pleased. Her displeasure turned to several repeated spills. I felt awful for her. It must’ve looked daunting staring down the mountain. It didn’t get any easier, either.
It took us about 45 minutes to find our way down. It seemed like an eternity. I did my level best to remain positive in Mindy’s gloom. I tried my hand at getting her to refocus her attention from the steep downhill. It worked well enough to get her to the bottom in one piece. I can’t recall the exact details but we finally stumbled upon Glenn and Mary Ann. I begged for Glenn to stay right with us since he was the only one who knew the trails intimately, and because Mindy was our most inexperienced skier. Mindy, I knew, was ready to throw in the towel. In fact, if it wasn’t for Mary Ann I am sure that she would’ve. Mary Ann not only was empathetic, she shared her fear of the ominous looking slopes too. Glenn heeded the request to ski with us to ensure that we stayed on the “green” trails.
Eventually, we found the others and we all agreed to ski the green trails that were still quite challenging but not nearly as steep. Mindy soon regained her composure and got her ski legs back. Soon everyone was having a good time traversing the mountain. A couple of us took a few blue off-shoots but they eventually merged back to the same green trail.
We hit the lodge bar around 130pm where we enjoyed a few pitchers of pricy beer and food. Mindy & I split a cheeseburger that went for $14.50. That had to be the most expensive burger I’ve ever eaten! It was good but not $14.50 good. Ouch! We must’ve hung out in the bar for at least an hour. I was careful not to eat too much. I wanted to ski well during our afternoon runs.
The afternoon took us back to the long green trails we all skied earlier. Mindy eventually agreed to take a few blue off-shoots, which she handled quite well. Mindy & others headed back to the bar around 4pm while the rest of us did more skiing. We eventually met them there after a few more runs. There we enjoyed a couple more pitchers of good beer. Glenn, Bob and I headed out for more night time skiing.
Our first run took us down a mogley black run just under the lift. Not long into the run I bit the dust, or shall I say the powder, pretty damn hard. I hit so hard that I lost both skis and both poles. Lucky for me, Bob laid back and eventually skied to my aid. I am not sure how exactly I did it, but I injured my left shoulder much the same way I did a few years ago out here. It hurt badly. I laid there for a few trying to assess the damage. At least I knew I could move my arm and fingers. That was a good sign. Once I was confident that nothing was broken, I tried to get my skies back on, but that was easier said than done. Bob helped me get it together. The slope was steep which only served to complicate the process. Finally, after about 20 minutes we skied on with my shoulder still smarting from the earlier fall. But I fell again, not yet having my confidence back. Truth is, I was in pain. I wanted badly to ski more so I toughed it out. In all, we took three more runs. I didn’t fall again, thankfully. We took two blue runs, but they were still quite challenging.
I was ready to quit when we did. From experience, I knew that if I stopped moving my shoulder that it would seize up and really start to hurt. That’s exactly what happened. Even as we met up in the bar with the rest of our group it was beginning to throb with pain. Others helped me with my gear. Just carrying it sent shards of pain shooting across my shoulder. I was worried that it might be damaged more than originally thought.
We made our way back to the condo with little trouble. We chose to head directly to the Huckleberry Inn right next door for dinner without stopping in our condo first, because if we would’ve, some of us might not of made it to dinner. The food there was surprisingly good. I had a hearty Reuben and a Coke. The Coke tasted so good I was really thirsty.
It was 9pm or so by the time we made our way back to the condo. Mindy helped me out of my ski clothes and into comfy flannels. My shoulder was in extreme pain with minimal movement. We watched the movie, The Departed, downstairs on the flat panel. It was very good. There were only four us remaining at its conclusion. The others, save for Mindy, had seen it before. Mindy was still awake when I headed up to bed. She gently rubbed my sore shoulder before we went to sleep.
I left for my run taking the exact same route I took the morning prior – down hill first. The chilly air felt good. It began to snow and continued through the duration of my run. I felt pretty good physically, but it was a challenge lugging my rear back up the hill to the east end of Gov’t Camp. For whatever reason, I was craving donuts. There was a bakery next door, the Ratskeller. Immediately after my run I went back to the condo to fetch my wallet.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have donuts. Instead, they had a broad assortment of muffins and breads. The prices were so stiff that a dozen muffins would have cost me nearly $40. No! As an alternative, I went in the Gov’t Camp Store below our condo and bought a dozen Hostess donuts for less than $4.00. They would complement our breakfast burritos just fine.
The day’s ski plans called for a short trip to Mt Hood Meadows ski resort. The biggest reason for the venue change was to take advantage of their Sunday night skiing since Timberline would close at 4pm. Mindy wasn’t too keen on the idea but kept her desires somewhat to herself. She expressed comfort with Timberline. By the time everyone had eaten, showered and was ready to go, it was almost 10am. We arrived at Meadows around 10:15am, but had to park in their ancillary lot and were shuttled to the actual ski lodge.
Meadows has a much more intimidating look, especially to newcomers. The slopes you see after your first step from the lodge are incredibly steep. It took only about 20 minutes to get our ski gear on and head to the lift ticket line. We were a bit taken back by the price of their lift tickets. They were $64 each, more than double Timberline. This was due mostly to the lack of the same discount we enjoy at Timberline for being a lodging guest.
Glenn was the only skier completely familiar with the terrain, although I’ve skied here two other times. The skies were foggy and it was snowing making it difficult to see much further than about 100 yards at times. We all rode up the lift together and planned to take the green trail down to get our legs. The blues looked much more difficult than any at Timberline. Mindy was noticeably intimidated from the outset. I was careful to stay right by her side after yesterday’s events. We were the final two down the hill.
We met again at the first check point and again discussed the trail we’d be taking down. There are typically several ways one can go. Once again, we were the last to launch, and Mindy took a minor spill so we lost sight of our group. We slowly made our way the direction that we thought the others went but obviously got crossed up. It wasn’t long before we were staring down a long, steep blue run. This brought tears to Mindy’s eyes. She wasn’t pleased. Her displeasure turned to several repeated spills. I felt awful for her. It must’ve looked daunting staring down the mountain. It didn’t get any easier, either.
It took us about 45 minutes to find our way down. It seemed like an eternity. I did my level best to remain positive in Mindy’s gloom. I tried my hand at getting her to refocus her attention from the steep downhill. It worked well enough to get her to the bottom in one piece. I can’t recall the exact details but we finally stumbled upon Glenn and Mary Ann. I begged for Glenn to stay right with us since he was the only one who knew the trails intimately, and because Mindy was our most inexperienced skier. Mindy, I knew, was ready to throw in the towel. In fact, if it wasn’t for Mary Ann I am sure that she would’ve. Mary Ann not only was empathetic, she shared her fear of the ominous looking slopes too. Glenn heeded the request to ski with us to ensure that we stayed on the “green” trails.
Eventually, we found the others and we all agreed to ski the green trails that were still quite challenging but not nearly as steep. Mindy soon regained her composure and got her ski legs back. Soon everyone was having a good time traversing the mountain. A couple of us took a few blue off-shoots but they eventually merged back to the same green trail.
We hit the lodge bar around 130pm where we enjoyed a few pitchers of pricy beer and food. Mindy & I split a cheeseburger that went for $14.50. That had to be the most expensive burger I’ve ever eaten! It was good but not $14.50 good. Ouch! We must’ve hung out in the bar for at least an hour. I was careful not to eat too much. I wanted to ski well during our afternoon runs.
The afternoon took us back to the long green trails we all skied earlier. Mindy eventually agreed to take a few blue off-shoots, which she handled quite well. Mindy & others headed back to the bar around 4pm while the rest of us did more skiing. We eventually met them there after a few more runs. There we enjoyed a couple more pitchers of good beer. Glenn, Bob and I headed out for more night time skiing.
Our first run took us down a mogley black run just under the lift. Not long into the run I bit the dust, or shall I say the powder, pretty damn hard. I hit so hard that I lost both skis and both poles. Lucky for me, Bob laid back and eventually skied to my aid. I am not sure how exactly I did it, but I injured my left shoulder much the same way I did a few years ago out here. It hurt badly. I laid there for a few trying to assess the damage. At least I knew I could move my arm and fingers. That was a good sign. Once I was confident that nothing was broken, I tried to get my skies back on, but that was easier said than done. Bob helped me get it together. The slope was steep which only served to complicate the process. Finally, after about 20 minutes we skied on with my shoulder still smarting from the earlier fall. But I fell again, not yet having my confidence back. Truth is, I was in pain. I wanted badly to ski more so I toughed it out. In all, we took three more runs. I didn’t fall again, thankfully. We took two blue runs, but they were still quite challenging.
I was ready to quit when we did. From experience, I knew that if I stopped moving my shoulder that it would seize up and really start to hurt. That’s exactly what happened. Even as we met up in the bar with the rest of our group it was beginning to throb with pain. Others helped me with my gear. Just carrying it sent shards of pain shooting across my shoulder. I was worried that it might be damaged more than originally thought.
We made our way back to the condo with little trouble. We chose to head directly to the Huckleberry Inn right next door for dinner without stopping in our condo first, because if we would’ve, some of us might not of made it to dinner. The food there was surprisingly good. I had a hearty Reuben and a Coke. The Coke tasted so good I was really thirsty.
It was 9pm or so by the time we made our way back to the condo. Mindy helped me out of my ski clothes and into comfy flannels. My shoulder was in extreme pain with minimal movement. We watched the movie, The Departed, downstairs on the flat panel. It was very good. There were only four us remaining at its conclusion. The others, save for Mindy, had seen it before. Mindy was still awake when I headed up to bed. She gently rubbed my sore shoulder before we went to sleep.
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