Rain at Mad River ...

but plenty of snow in Mansfield. Even the most conservative forecast called for 4-6 inches of fresh snow beginning overnight and lasting through the day on Saturday – a full blown winter storm, according to most pundits. However, I woke around 7:30am and knew instantly that our ski trip was in jeopardy. Not only was it not snowing, but there was less snow on the ground than there was when we got home last night. The streets were wet from the steady light rain. Uh-oh! All of the sudden, going skiing didn’t seem plausible. Landon and Rocky were awake, so I addressed their initial early morning needs. Landon needed changed and Rocky asked for cinnamon waffles. I made coffee before starting the waffles. I made them both waffles. While the boys were enjoying their breakfast I started my exercises. And when Mindy finally joined us downstairs, I took Ykraps on his morning walk. What a crappy morning weather-wise. There was an abundance of ice in the streets and on the walks, but unlike the icy days past, the ice was rough and textured preventing a lot of slipping. Still, I had to be careful. I told Mindy that I didn’t want to go skiing under the conditions despite Mad River Mt. reporting fresh man made snow. The thought of skiing in the rain & sleet wasn’t what either of us had in mind. While browsing the latest revision to the weather forecast, Bob Imber phoned. He said that their plans had changed. They were now going north to Snow Trails where they were still in the midst of a winter storming warning. In kind, the weather report agreed. Columbus would receive nothing but sleet and rain. Same for Bellefontaine (Mad River Mt.). Mansfield, however, was still expecting nothing but snow. That caught us off guard, and by then I had all but resigned myself to a day of leisure. We told Bob we’d call if our plans changed. While enjoying coffee, we decided that the opportunity of snow up north was too tempting. We began preparing to ski after all. Before any of that, however, I had to run. Mindy agreed to organize our ski attire while I was off running. The weather was miserable – 30 degrees and raining/sleeting. Yuck! I trimmed a mile off of my run to gain back a little time, churning out just three miles. Mindy had our ski gear out and in various piles. We keep it in a tub in the basement already. We simply needed to decide what we did and didn’t need to take. We called Kelly to let her know our plans were still in order but that we’d be an hour later than planned – 11am versus 10am. We left the house at 11am destined for Kelly’s. Incidentally, we purposefully didn’t mention the visit to the boys until just before we left. We didn’t want to cause any undue trauma if the plans fell through, which they almost did. The fuel light popped on in route to Kelly’s I was bothered that Mindy would allow her new vehicle to run so low. She gave me some story about checking the mileage, but you can do that at any point. I worried that we might run out. Good grief! Kelly was waiting at the door for the boys. Noticed that Kelly got her hair whacked. Looks one heck of a lot better. The hand-off was smooth. Soon Mindy and I were alone and had the whole day ahead of us. We were both a little giddy. We left Kelly’s and headed straight to the gas station at the corner of Briggs Rd. and Rt 62. We filled the Honda with 18 gallons of gas at $1.96 per gallon. I phoned Bob Imber to let him know that we were set and on our way. They were already at the Steak & Shake a mile or so west of Snow Trails having lunch. We jumped on the freeway at Mound St and headed up I-71N. The rain never did change to snow even though Bob indicated that it was snowing when we called. The temperature was five degrees colder up north – only 28 degrees when we arrived. Plus, there was an appreciable amount of fresh snow covering everything. Travel was slow from the freeway to the resort, but it’s only a mile or so up the road. We were there in a jiffy. Bob phoned just as we were parking to check on our whereabouts. Best guess, we’d be about 30 minutes getting organized and settled. It cost Mindy & I $152 for two all-day lift passes, rentals, and ski check. Costly yes, but not that bad for an all-day date. We headed up the Mt. Mansfield double lift first. We cruised down the mountain two or three times before spotting Bob & Mary Ann who were just coming off of a break in the lodge. As Bob indicated on the phone the snow was really nice – just the right amount of fluff. Immediately obvious was Mindy’s skiing prowess. She picked up right where she left off last winter, sailing down the mountain gracefully and without any trepidation. We skied for over two hours before heading into the lodge for a break. Even though the snow was incredible, the precipitation was mostly sleet. As a result, my bum was cold and damp after riding on a wet lift chair too many times. Snow Trails has made some improvements since the last time I was there. My last visit might’ve been 2 years ago, or maybe even longer – an entire generation. There are more trails, more lifts, and more terrain options. And like other local ski resorts, they’ve opened a tubing park right next door. They’ve done a nice job creating a tiny village feel to their ski shop & day lodge. I noticed some cabins/chalets at the top of the mountain (hill) just to the east. Internet research conducted later proved these to be available for rent providing a decent ski-weekend getaway option all within 70 miles of home. Nice! We spent a good 1.5 hours in the lodge enjoying beer and snacks. A large fire ring sits in the center of the lodge with an equally large circular metal chimney carrying away most of the heat. My only complaint was that it threw off relatively little heat to us patrons, most of it going up the chimney. Like many others, we had wet asses and looked to the fire to dry us out. That proved to be a difficult challenge. Time, beer, and in Mindy’s case, the wine would have to suffice. We headed back out around 4:30-5:00pm. Mindy was feeling no pain after three glasses of wine. She fell maybe once or twice on the slopes but fell many times getting off the lift. Numerous times she told us how good she was feeling. J We skied until 6:30pm when we finally called Kelly to discuss our return home. She agreed to keep the boys overnight allowing us to keep skiing. Cool! We ended up skiing until 8:30pm or until we were tired. By the time we stopped everyone was covered in a thin sheet of ice. The warmth of the ski-return building was heavenly after a long day in the winter wonderland. We left the resort just before 9pm. We discussed stopping for some food at one of the many fast food outlets at the freeway ramp but in the end opted to hold out for Barley’s believe it or not. We both craved a Barley burger. The drive home was easy and the roads fine after the first ten miles or so. We arrived at Barley’s just before 10pm. Mindy drifted in and out of sleep the entire way. Beth was working the bar. Mindy ordered ice water. I ordered a Stoudt Double IPA. We ordered a Texas Barley burger that we’d share. Mindy ordered a side of greens, too. I didn’t partake. We weren’t there long, just long enough to eat our burger. We were home before 11pm. Right away, I walked Ykraps. In hindsight, I probably should’ve asked my dad to come by and walk him earlier. Poor little guy. My dad, that is. :) I checked the score of the football game before heading to bed. The Cardinals were beating the Panthers rather handily.