It was cold, about 26 degrees. I stopped in the lobby where I had a quick glass of orange juice from the complimentary breakfast buffet just before heading off on my run. Last second I decided to try running up through town instead of the Holiday Valley Rd. hill I've run every other time we stay at the Inn or Tamarack. I wasn't sure if there was a sidewalk available since the ground is usually covered in well over a foot of snow. That wasn't the case this time. There might've been 2 inches. I ran the first mile or so opposing traffic but without the benefit of a sidewalk. There were two other runners about a 1/4 mile ahead. I cut over at the same place they did, which just happened to be at the town cemetery. There was a sidewalk on the that side. I ran all the way into town. And then, instead of turning right towards EBC, I went left into the residential area with a clear view of the semi-private Holimont ski area.
Many of the homes in the area look like they were built in the late 19th/early 20th century. Some are absolutely gorgeous. I wound my way through the small neighborhood and eventually back out onto 219 and back to the Inn @ HV taking the sidewalk the entire way back. The crowd at the breakfast buffet was twice as big as earlier.
Mindy and the kids remained sleeping in the room. I grabbed my backpack (Mindy's laptop) and headed to the main lobby for breakfast and blogging. On the menu were sausage and scrambled eggs. I enjoyed my breakfast in the finely appointed lobby at a table near a roaring fire while writing in my blog. I blogged for about an hour or until just after 9am when I headed back to the room. By then Mindy and the kids were just up and stirring. While they headed to the lobby for breakfast, I showered and dressed for a day of skiing. Mindy suggested I head out to ski by myself rather than wait for her and the kids. I headed out at 10am sharp.
I did several runs by my lonesome letting it rip. The conditions were what most would describe as typical east coast ski conditions - groomed, packed surface with several icy spots. All the runs were very, very fast. I celled Mindy who was just heading out with the kids. We agreed to meet at the base of Cindy's. I wondered how Jacob would do coming down the Snow Ledge. As it turned out, not good. I waited and waited, until finally, there they were. Bella skied down and said Jacob was not happy. I could see Mindy at the cut over but still no Jacob. After about 5 minutes there he was, carrying his snow board and walking down the mountain. I felt for Mindy, knowing how he must've been giving her an earful. By the time he reached bottom nothing good was coming from his mouth. All negative.
Mindy headed in to see about a lesson while I headed over to the Creekside lift (beginner hill and lift) where Jacob could practice. While Mindy was inside, Jacob talked of quitting, going back to the room, never trying boarding again, and on and on. At one point I thought I might grab him by the scruff of his jacket as he continued to espouse negative sentiment. But on the other hand, I felt for him, having just struggled down a fairly difficult terrain with next to no experience. Once Mindy reemerged, Jacob and I had done taken a ride or two down Creekside. Jacob's mood improved as he regained some of the confidence he demonstrated on Sundowner back at Mad River. Mindy purchased him a 90 minute private lesson with Courtney for $105 that started in about 40 minutes. Until then, we all did Creekside with Jacob. During our time on the bunny hill, it began to snow hard. Very wintry looking! We cheered in delight over the welcome snow fall. Having done the beginner hill 3 or 4 times, I was ready for a beer and real skiing again. I told Mindy that I was heading back to the room for a beer and a quick break. I would meet them at Cindy's soon after Jacob's lesson was underway.
In the room, I poured myself and IPA and enjoyed a small snack. I wasn't there long. Probably 40 minutes. I was surprised when I threw back the drapes and noticed that the snow had turned to rain. :( My hope was that it would turn to snow again in a hurry. I geared up and headed out to meet Mindy & Bella near Cindy's. Word on the slopes was that 4 inches of snow was coming that evening. I was stoked to learn that. I skied down Sunrise and met Mindy and Bella at Cindy's. We skied several runs over the next 90 minutes.
Near 3pm, we skied back to Cindy's/Mardi Gras base to find Jacob. We happened upon he and Courtney near the bottom of Mardi Gras. I scolded Bella for interfering, stopping near them after we'd just asked that she not. We didn't want Jacob to see us. We could tell that he was already doing better. At the end of his lesson I skied over to greet him. He was eager to show us his mojo. We did a couple of runs down Snow Ledge where he showed marked improvement. Meanwhile, it had to be near freezing, but it was still raining and showing no signs of changing back to snow anytime soon. Still, the talk about the park was big snow coming. I'm thinking it was near 430pm when we decided to bag it until the rain stopped. We headed back to the room and then the hot tub.
Jacob, as it turned out, wasn't in to hot tubbing with Mindy, Bella and I. He remained in the room watching Sports Center and playing on his Kindle Fire. Mindy and I poured beers in our plastic Viking cups. We met two single guys in the hot tub from Columbus who worked at Honda. One had his 9 year old son, Billy with him. He kept trying to hook him up with Bella. It was funny. Neither seemed interested. Bella was back and forth between the hot tub and heated pool. After about 20 minutes Mindy and I opted for the dry sauna just inside the club house. Once again, we were joined by the two Columbus guys, who admitted being on the prowl for some women. It was 5-530pm and still raining. We headed back to the room.
WE hung out in the room for at least another hour before the rain started to change back to snow. But even then it was wet and mixed with sleet. And even then, it turned back to all rain again. My snow pants were wet as were my gloves. I made sure that everyone brought tow of everything just in case conditions turned as such. Still, no one was excited about heading out in the rain. We opted to call it a night and go do dinner around 7pm.
After showers, we walked across the street to Cadillac Jack's, Jacob's pick. By then it was snowing again, but still a very wet snow. The place was about 3/4 full but staffed for half that at best. Service was kind but awfully slow. And one of my biggest complaints is the lack of good beer at either there or at the Depot. Surprisingly, not into the micro brew stuff at either venue.
Jacob and I ordered orange soda while Bella went with Mt Dew. Mindy had only water. Jacob ordered a buffalo chicken pizza, and Bella and I shared a pepperoni pizza. Took forever for the food to arrive, but we took the slow service in stride. They're out of practice since they haven't really had any crowds yet this season for the lack of appreciable snow.
We headed back across the street near 830pm. The snow had turned back to almost all rain. I was bummed because if it didn't turn back to snow soon, I knew our Wednesday skiing would be in serious jeopardy. While we watched a football game from the room the rain turned to all snow. Through it all, several diehards remained out skiing through it all. This we witnessed just out our window. The forecast was still calling for 4 inches over night and then another 2-4 inches the following day with a high of 25 degrees. All of the sudden, it looked like my fears were unfounded.
We turned off the lights near 10pm. Good snow fall!
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