Bluebird Ski Day @ Timberline

Slept really good. The queen pillow-top bed was amazingly comfortable. I was up just before dawn, 645am. I gathered my running clothes from the closet where I had them strategically placed for easy access then tiptoed down the stairs to the kitchen. Glenn and Tommy were both crashed out on the two sofas. That meant one the four beds didn’t get used.

Started coffee then slipped into my running clothes. Darwin soon joined me, and not long after, Tommy was up. As soon as the coffee was ready I poured a cup for Mindy and ran it up to our room.  Not exactly sure the time when I headed off on my run but I’m thinking near 745am. I’d forgotten the uphill terrain heading towards Timberline through Gov’t Camp. In fact,  I was winded before making it out of Collins Lake. I paced myself heading east into a stiff cold wind. It was much colder than the 24 degree temperature I was quoted before heading out.

The downhill leg towards Mt Hood brewery was easy, fun. The uphill back to the condo, draining.  Darwin had breakfast ready, bacon and cheesy eggs. Nice to have someone else on board willing to jump in and cook. Thanks Darmada!

Breakfast was yummy. Can’t remember if I showered before or after eating. Thinking it was after. Regardless, it felt terrific. Everyone managed to ready themselves for a day at Timberline by 10am. We stopped by the office to pick-up our discounted lift tickets - $41 each. Not bad at all. It was a blue bird

Ski-day. Just gorgeous. Parking wasn’t an issue either. Can’t recall the lot so empty.  Tommy needed to pick-up rental gear so we waited just outside the day lodge for he and Tom Shep. Glenn guess Tom S. struggling to get into his ski boots. After several minutes I headed in to check on him. Not only was he struggling ,but he managed to slice open his middle finger on his ski boots, too. It was gushing blood. The girl at the counter freaked. Took him to get medical attention. We decided to head off and ski some runs after agreeing to meet in the lodge at 1230pm.

Skied Jeff Flood then up the Magic Mile. Repeated that plan several times. The snow was a little crsip (icy) atop the mile but nice and fast just below to the bottom of the mountain. The skiing was awesome. The views breathtaking.

Darwin wore his Go2 video camera filming several of the runs.  Two hours went by quickly. Soon we were heading in for mid-day break. No longer do they sell pitchers of beer in the day lodge. 16-22 ounce beers. I opted for a 22 ounce IPA. I figured I’d only have the one. Everybody else ordered big beers too, save for Mindy who had wine – an Oregon Obsidian Stout.  Mindy and I shared a bowl of chili too. It was good.

I’m guessing our break lasted about an hour. There was a little drama when both Darwin and I managed to misplace our ski check tags. We hustled down to ski check where Darwin found his sitting on the counter. Mine was nowhere to be found. I was a little amped up – animated even. Advised the girl that I’d kill anyone who took/touched my new skis – pointed them out. She went for a manager’s help.

All the sudden, here comes Mindy sharing that Glen had my ski check tag. Said he picked it up in the bathroom. Really? Didn’t he hear Darwin and I talking about it? By then the manager and the ski check clerk had already resolved the problem by checking my skis with Darwin’s.

More of the same skiing for the afternoon – the Mile to the lower mountain. At times it seemed we had the entire mountain to ourselves. Just incredible! The Mile closed at 3pm. We spent the final hour skiing Molly’s Run, which is one of the few black runs they have. We skied it hard too, and probably three or four times. We skied until they booted us from the lift – 4pm. On one of those runs we saw a guy skiing with his dog tailing/chasing him. And when the guy would board the lift the dog would chase after from below. We saw the dog several more times. Very cute! The dog had to be in incredible shape.

We headed to the minivan with our gear but without Darwin. He peeled off a run or two early citing tired legs. Mindy sent a text. He was in the main lodge having a beer. We agreed to meet him up in the Ram’s Head. We got the same table we had back in ’07-’08 with the Imber’s a huge picture window overlooking the south Cascades – Jefferson was out in all her glory. Awesome view. We witnessed the sunset from Ram’s Head.

It had to be about 6pm when we headed down the mountain and back to our Govy Camp condo. We made a pit stop at the General store to pick-up some necessities – more beer and snacks.  We hung at the condo and then headed to the hot tub where we met some folks from California. They were pleasant. Said they spent the day at Meadows. Said it was incredible.

Headed back to the condo near 9pm. Mindy peeled off for bed.  Tommy did too. The rest of us headed to Ratskeller for pizza. The flyer in the room said it was open until 2am. It was closed. In fact, the entire village looked closed. Charlie’s was open but with just a couple guests. We headed there for a beer and wings. Glenn had gizzards. Spent no more than 45 minutes there. Headed back to the room and ultimately to bed. Good night moon!