Ski Anniversary

It must’ve been near 6:30am when I finally rose. A glance out of our bedroom window looking west revealed a clear sky and a beautiful ¾ moon still hovering in the west – southwest sky. While I began my sit-ups Mary Ann emerged from their room preparing for her morning walk. This time, however, Bob was up too. I was more than a little surprised. Those two took off on foot for a morning walk even before I set out on my run. I wasn’t far behind. It was chilly, probably about 22 degrees best guess. I ran the downhill toward the MT Hood Brewery first – about ¾ mile. That little stretch deadends into highway 26 where I turned and ran up hill for approximately a mile and one half, and then back down hill to our condo. I was exhausted at runs end. Not only was I running at a mile above sea level but also uphill.

By the time I was back, everyone else was already up or getting that way. Mary Ann & Mindy whipped up a breakfast of bacon and scrambled eggs that satisfied everyone’s hunger. The food and accommodations were superb, but we weren’t there for that. We were there for the skiing. With that in mind, we all prepared for our day on the mountain. We left the condo eager to hit the slopes even before 10am. The road to the lodge is reported to be 6 miles as it winds up the mountainside. Meanwhile, the snow is stacked high against the guardrail giving you the feeling that you’re in mouse maze. Four of us needed to rent gear, which is more often than not the most time consumingpart of getting on the slopes. This time, however, it went about as efficiently as one could imagine. We each did a three-day rental which saved us about $8 each day - per person. In addition, because we were staying at the Lodge at Government Camp, we got our lift tickets for $31 each – a savings of $18 each. That made our skiing cheaper than at Mad River back home!

We hit the slopes just after 1030am. The plan was to take the route we’ve taken the two years prior - a green run to get our legs underneath us. I was one of the first to descend. Mindy, on the other hand, was one of the last. That didn’t surprise me. She’s still rather new to skiing. But what did surprise me was that she and Tom S. began pegging their way towards Bruno, the beginner lift. Even as I yelled they failed to acknowledge. Glenn surmised that perhaps they wanted a quick jaunt down the beginner lift just to get acclimated. That made sense to the rest of us, so we decided to make a fast run down the blue trail returning to fetch Mindy & Tom in a short amount of time.

After two quick runs my cell rang but I was too late retrieving it from my pocket. I figured it Mindy saying she was ready for the real mountain. By then I was one step ahead and already back at the starting point by the day lodge. I called Mindy’s cell only to learn that she was at the Stormin’ Normin’ lift. She was there alone, separated from Tom S by accident. She wasn’t happy and let me know it! Yikes!!! Truthfully, I can’t blame her for being scared. I wouldn’t want to be out there alone. The thing is, we didn’t abandon those two on purpose. Instead, it was innocent miscommunication. But Mindy, still angry over the mishap, continued giving me the dickens! I apologized as we mounted the lift for another ride down. We skied until 1:30pm – our agreed upon break time. We pretty much skied together in a pack until then, although we often took different paths to the same end, mostly to better match the varying skill levels.

Some of us skied the Magic Mile just before lunch. I can’t remember who did and who didn’t. One thing I do remember is that it was socked in with fog adding a bit of mystique. They expect the fog and have fog markers placed strategically to aid in the skier’s descent. Still, even with the fog markers, it’s a bit unnerving soaring down the wide open slope towards the lodge with no more vision than about 20 feet ahead. You see, the Magic Mile lies above the timberline, where no trees can sustain growth. Clouds can and do descend in a matter of seconds and the calm that typically resides down in the tree line suddenly is replaced by cold ripping winds. It’s definitely a thrill, and also the run where Mindy netted a black eye two years prior.

Our break was well deserved. We enjoyed several pitchers of beer and lots of good food in the day lodge pub. After lunch we launched our second assault on the mountain perhaps a bit more daring than earlier, thanks in no small part to the liquid courage. We skied our tails off. We stopped for another short break as evening emerged. Mindy & Tommy bagged it for the day. The rest of us skied some more. Eventually Mary Ann and Tom S called it quits too. Bob, Glenn, and I stayed out for another few runs under the lights.

We called it a night around 7pm so that we would have energy for tomorrow. We headed back down the mountain to our condo and eventually dinner at the Mt Hood Brewery Pub. I was drained and didn’t really feel like going to dinner. Mindy expressed her preference that I go. I did. After all, it was our actual anniversary.

This year we wisely drove to the Pub. Last year we walked thinking it much closer than it actually was. We had fun and enjoyed the food. I ordered my own 10” pizza. Can’t recall what others had. My pizza was tasty. We made it back to our condo just before 10pm. Instead of going directly to bed we decided to watch another movie, Super Bad. I am not certain, but I don’t think anyone stayed up through the very end despite its hilariousness. Live to fight another day!