The Princess has no Pants

I slept really well on the soft pillow-top mattress in the master suite. But come 530am PT I was awake and pawing at Mindy. It must’ve been between 615-630am when I popped out of bed for good then grabbed the pile of running clothes I had strategically placed by the door for an easy, non-disturbing exit. I prepped a pot of coffee, did some sit-ups, and turned on the TV over the fireplace. As daylight set in, I could see that it was snowing moderately. After push-ups I pulled out Mindy’s laptop then attached to the condo’s wireless network. I was particularly eager to review the Mt. Hood snow report. I was surprised to learn that we’re expecting up to 30” of new snow on the mountain through Friday night. Cool! I delivered Mindy some coffee, her request, around 7am. Then, after giving the Yahoo headlines a cursory review I did some writing in my blog. I drank two cups of coffee before stretching and dressing for a run. I left the condo with Glenn and Mindy still asleep. I ran east and slightly uphill towards the entrance to Timberline. There was about 2” inches of slushy snow on the road. The Village of Government Camp snow plows were already busy clearing the parking lots, cul-de-sacs, as well as the one main road in the village. All totaled, it looked like about 8 inches fell overnight. I didn’t push my distance beyond about 3 miles knowing that I’d be getting a really good work out on the slopes throughout the day. It was 815am when I got back to the condo. I walked over to the pool/hot tub. Doesn’t open until 9am. Mindy got up soon after I was settled back inside the condo. She immediately offered to start making breakfast – bacon, eggs, and toast. Glenn rose about a half hour later, or about the same time our breakfast was ready. We reviewed the day’s plans over breakfast, agreeing to ski Mt Hood Meadows. Meadows offers skiing from 9am-10pm on Thursdays and arguably has the best and most varied terrain. We’ll most likely ski Timberline on Friday. After showers we were ready to hit the slopes. Unlike Timberline and SkiBowl, which are essentially adjacent to the Village of Government Camp, Meadows is a 9 miles drive up the road. We didn’t care. As we exited Collins Lake we stopped at the office to inquire about discount lift tickets. We knew from last evening’s arrival, we’d most likely have to listen to a brief sales pitch for their new Grand Lodge before be able to receive the discounted tickets. Mindy went in to check it out anyhow. She returned with a snow park parking pass only. Said we’d have to do the quick sales pitch but that they insisted it would take only a minute or two. Why not? We drove next door to the office to meet Valerie. Valerie was brief and to the point. She verified our names and current lodging accommodations then measured our interest in touring the Grand Lodge. Maybe later. She understood our eagerness to ski and quickly processed our request for Meadows ski passes. We got them for $49 each – an $8 savings over their mid-week rate, but she emphasized that the price remains the same even on weekends when the standard rate jumps to $74. Nice! We headed towards Meadows curving our way around the mountain. I wondered if we’d encounter chain restrictions. It was snowing at a pretty good clip, but for the time being anyway, the plows were doing a great job staying on top of it. We arrived at the Meadows ski park after a brief 15 minute drive. No sooner had we parked and started gearing up did Mindy announce that she forgot her ski pants. Glenn unsuccessfully tried talking her into skiing in her long johns and spandex ski tights. I knew better, especially on a snowy day – maybe on a sunny day. I’ll admit it now. I was PISSED! We’d had to drive back down the mountain and back to our condo. We dropped Glenn at the resorts entrance so he could ski. We drove off. The road conditions were worsening by the minute. I was betting we’d have to chain up somewhere along the line, but happily we didn’t. The drive back went OK as we went in and out of snow squalls. After a 30 minute ordeal, we were finally back at Meadows. Glenn was waiting at the lodge entrance. Said he just decided to wait for us. We were already geared up. We went right for the Mt Hood Express lift and up the mountain. I can’t accurately recall whether the mountain revealed itself on our initial run or if it was the second, but either way, the peak of Hood magically reveled herself shortly after our arrival. Despite a forecast for all- day snow, the skies turned blue and remained that way all day. The slopes received at least 8” of fresh now prior to the noon time clearing so the going was a little difficult, especially on the lower mountain. As I hoped they might, they opened Vista, the Meadows lift that equals the Magic Mile at Timberline. We headed up. Absolutely gorgeous – breath taking – incredible – heaven on earth. The run descending to the west takes you around the rim of a valley overlooking Timberline and the entire Cascade range. We were in awe. The skiing was awesome, too. The snow at that level was more piste-like making the cruise fast and curvy. I loved it! We took that long, lovely run three times before declaring it break time. Unless I’m mistaken, we took no black runs prior to our break. Most looked a little too rough to my eye. The recent heavy snow left most of the black runs with moguls galore – a Meadows trademark. Inside we found a table looking up the mountain where we could see the mountain’s peak. We ordered a pitcher of Ice Axe IPA. The food offerings here at Meadows are top notch, and so are their prices. A burger, for instance, is $11.50. I went with their Cuban and some chicken tortilla soup. Mindy had a burger and soup. Glenn, waffle fries. We must’ve spent a good hour breaking. At the table next to us was a group of mostly male seniors yucking it up. One guy in particular must’ve viewed himself as the alpha dog. He was loud and in every conversation. Somehow, he managed to fold the terms roadkill and Ebola into nearly every conversation. It was somewhat annoying but also funny. As we geared up for another run at the mountain I raised my glass and shouted Ebola!- much to the liking of our neighbors. Our second run wasn’t as long as the first. We skied a few black runs this time too. Mindy & I both took a tumble on a short, but heavily moguled black run. While helping Mindy gather her skis, I spotted what looked like a black wallet come sliding by, apparently dropped by another skier coming down the same run. Kind of funny. I snatched it up learning that it was a digital camera once we were back at the lift. That tumble tapped most of Mindy’s reserves. After another run she declared herself done for the day. In the same breath, however, she insisted that Glenn & I ski more. We did. We skied several more runs before heading in for some water. I was dehydrated. I drank only water this time. I almost fell asleep in the comfy leather chair. After another 30 minute break, Glenn and I headed out for a few more runs - three to be exact – a blue and two blacks. I skied without another tumble but skied both black runs ultra conservatively. My legs were gone and the ankle rub in my left boot was killing me. Glenn and I headed back to the lodge. Glenn went for his stowed back pack while I phoned Mindy asking her to meet me at the ski rack where her gear was stowed. After meeting Mindy, I went for the vehicle while she and Glenn waited. The lot now nearly empty, was iced over. I had to be careful navigating in my ski boots. Even though near empty, I still had trouble locating the vehicle thinking it closer than it was. I walked back and forth looking for it, and at least at one point worrying it stolen. It wasn’t. I finally hit the unlock button and noticed a white vehicle far away chirping its lights in unison. It was ours! I quickly debooted then drove to the lodge’s entry to fetch both Glenn and Mindy, who by then were starting to make their way towards me. We were back at the condo at 7pm. It seemed so much later – no doubt a product of the time zone shift. We had talked about hot tubbing but everyone got overly comfortable, including Mindy in her PJs and Glenn rushing off for a quick nap after citing dizziness from witnessing our winding drive home from the back seat. I started reading, but eventually dosed off after practically chugging a cold can of 7-Up. I was craving that ice cold soda. I slept until 9pm. Mindy headed to bed shortly after I woke and made myself a turkey and cheese sandwich. I dosed again while reading. I was brutally tired. Waking again around 1030pm, I moved to the sofa and slept there until 1am. I shut down the gas fireplace and headed up to bed.