Fun Times @ MRM 2011

I knew it was early but woke feeling completely rested at 645am, so I got up and headed downstairs. I started some coffee then checked in with work. The only lingering issue was set to be dealt with when the customer’s site opened at 9am. I spent quite a while on the internet enjoying coffee.  I checked the weather forecast. It was 28 degrees and spitting snow. Wasn’t expected to get any warmer than 33 throughout the day with lingering flurries. Hmmm? Looked like a winter-like day in the offing.

It was 9am when I set out on my run. When I left, the house was still quiet. I ran three miles like most other Saturdays, and it was over before I knew it. At home, the house was still quiet and so was work. For that I was most thankful. I checked MRM’s HD webcam. Folks were out there skiing alright. Didn’t look crowded and it actually looked fairly decent. Mindy was up around 10-1030am. The kids were up a little later. Jacob wasted little time heading off to find his friends while Bella headed to the neighbors.

Work remained quiet and the weather forecast for Bellefountaine called for snow flurries and a high of 31. Skiing suddenly looked/seemed doable. The coming week doesn’t look at all – 40s during the day – mid 30s at night. If we were gonna get to do any skiing before holiday, it would have to be Saturday or Sunday. Come 11-1130am I asked Mindy what she thought about heading to MRM. Without hesitation she agreed. With the kids off playing, we went into ski prep mode. Just like that, we were going skiing. Mindy inventoried and prepared her stuff, as well as the kids. I’d already done the same last weekend.

I showered then loaded our skis into the Pilot. While Mindy readied, I prepared a cooler with drinks and snacks. Mindy corralled the children by phoning the neighbors. I called Kenny to let him know our plans just in case they wanted to join us. Said Chrissy was in Cincy picking up a wedding dress but should've been on her way home. He was working on their dryer, but said they just might meet us there. The kids were extremely excited to learn that we were headed to MRM. Can’t recall a time when they were so cooperative. I’m thinking it was 1pm by the time everyone was ready to go. Maybe even a little later. I wasn’t too concerned about the time. Any skiing was a bonus in my mind since I’d already written off any chance of pre-Xmas skiing.

Continued snowing through our entire drive up to MRM. Felt wintry! Some of it was even sticking. It didn’t take long for the kids to start getting on each others nerves. Mindy had to get involved a couple of times. I’m thinking it was just before 2pm when we pulled in the lot. More cars than I expected, but still only about half capacity. We were all excited to be there. And quite frankly, hard to believe that I was donning my ski gear. I helped the kids gear up after doing myself.

We headed up to the window to get our passes at 210pm. Mindy inquired about a snowboard lesson for Jacob. Said one was set to begin at230pm. Perfect. We were living right! We had already talked with Jacob, explaining that he was gonna take lesson straight up, both here and in HV. He didn’t give any push back. Sometimes you just never know.

At the first opportunity, I slipped into my skis and pegged over to the lesson tower. The mini workout was nice. We chatted briefly with the instructor, who said the lesson would last about an hour. Jacob was in good hands. Mindy, Bella, and I headed off to ski. We pegged back to Four Star, but Bella was struggling. I had her remove her skis and carry them. That’s a whole lot easier.

So there we were, standing in our skis at the bottom of Four Star in a heavy flurry of snow surrounded by nothing but white. Awesome! Suddenly, it seemed as if we were there only last weekend.  Couldn't help but feel giddy. Up we went. Certain runs were completely snow covered, while others sat with next to no snow, although the day’s flurries were already starting to stick and accumulate. 

We let Bella choose the first run. I was surprised when she chose one of the blacks, Sugar Bush, which is the 2nd run to the left of Four Star. She wanted to lead, too. The snow was surprisingly nice with a little loose granular atop a packed surface. A few ruts here and there, though. We probably did 4 or 5 runs before my blackberry rang. I checked it at the top of the lift. Damn it! It was a call I needed to respond to. We did two more runs before I begged off to the get my laptop and head into the lodge. At the same time, Mindy & Bella went to get Jacob after his lesson.

MRM's wireless connection was strong and fast, and I found a table near a power outlet. I made a couple calls and got the situation under control after about an hour. Finally able to relax a little, I went for a beer and popcorn. Just as I got back to my table Mindy and the kids came in with a tray of food from the cafeteria. She brought me a bowl of chili. Called Kenny. Said they were just a few miles out. Cool.

Mindy and the kids headed to Sundowner while I did a little more work. At 505pm I considered my work done and took my laptop back to the Pilot. Passed Chrissy and Makayla heading in to pee. Saw Kenny and Lillian too. Told them we'd meet them on Sundowner. I rode Four Star up and soon found Mindy, Jacob, and Bella. Bella and Mindy took off. I rode down with Jacob, eager to see his stuff.  He probably fell 15 times but her didn't give up. He was tired when we got down. Said he was going back to the bunny hill for more practice.

Did a run or two with the neighbors. Kenny being a relatively new snowboarder said he was gonna find Jacob and hopefully give him some pointers on the bunny hill. Me, Mindy, Bella, Chrissy and the girls did Sundowner 3 or 4 times before I begged off to pee. Might've did another run or two by myself when I spotted everyone going in for a break. I checked my skis and went after our cooler.

Mindy got me a Sam Adams Winter Lager. We took about a 30 minute break. Mindy shared that her arm somehow got stuck in the lift chairback and caused her to fall getting off. Said she hurt her arm and shoulder doing so. Wasn't sure if her pole got stuck or what.  Jacob, meanwhile, was chomping at the bit to get back out there. Said the tips Kenny gave him made a world of difference. The tip he gave? Bend your knees a little. He also gave him a pair of wrist guards. Having watched him fall those 15 times, he really needed them.

We all headed back out to Sundowner around 730pm. I found Jacob again pretty quickly and rode down with him. This time he did much better. Might've fallen three times, but could actually ride, stop, and turn. Mindy & I begged off to Four Star for a couple rides before calling it a day. The kids stayed on Sundowner with Chrissy & Kenny. All three girls were having a hoot of a time.

With the onset of night the snow surface became somewhat hard and fast, or just the way I like it. We did two runs before calling it a night. Mindy asked for the keys while I went back to Sundowner to get the kids. Jacob was already walking towards me. Told him to meet his mom at the car. He said he was tired and ready to go. I could hear Bella, Makayla and Lillian before I saw them. Once again, they were having a great time. Needless to say, Bella wasn't at all pleased when I called her away to leave.

We were on our way by 830pm or there about. Took about 50 minutes to get home. Reminded everybody that they'd need to help carry in our gear.  Once at home, we allowed Jacob a hall pass for walking the dog. We were fast and efficient at getting everything inside. Mindy quickly begged off for a hot shower as much to help heal her sore arms and shoulders as it was to get clean (didn't shower beforehand).

While Mindy showered, I made a plate of nachos smothered in cheese. I poured myself a pint of Cousin Eddie, too. It was almost 10pm before we knew it. Jacob headed to bed without saying much to anyone. Bella had me make her a plate of nachos smothered in cheese just like mine. Mindy asked me to rub her sore shoulders. She already had a nice bruise on her left arm, the one that got caught in the lift chair. It wasn't ten minutes later that Mindy requested a plate of nachos. She and Bella were soon off to bed. I stayed up just a little while longer but can't recall what I did. Must not have been anything special.  I was in bed by 11pm.