Happy Anniversary ... but not the one you might expect

Like the previous day, I was up right at 630am. I noticed right away that it was raining again but I didn’t let it dampen my spirits. The forecast called for early rain but then some clearing. The only problem was the temperature. It was expected to reach into the low 40s on the mountain. That meant slush. L

As the previous few days Darwin and Tommy were up soon after I got the coffee going. We hung out quietly until I set out on my run. The temperature was already about freezing. Water was dripping endlessly from the metal roofing. Despite above freezing temps, I ran in winter gear minus ear muffs.

I ran the same route, first running east uphill towards the village rest stop and then all the way down the hill to the Mt Hood Brewery. I was gone near 30 minutes getting back to the condo near 815am. Not real sure the time when Mindy got up, but she was in far better spirits than I expected.  She was more than agreeable to making a return to the mountain, but her plans would be far different than ours. She planned to read and laptop from the lodge while the rest of us skied. Meanwhile, Tom Shepherd was planning to head for home. After my run, Mindy handed me a card and gift in commemoration of my 15 year running streak. The gift, a runners ID bracelet that has my name , address, and emergency contacts (she and my dad). Thanks dear!

I’m thinking it was near noon by the time we made it to the mountain, the drive far less harrowing than the day before. The roads were only wet and no precipitation. I dropped Mindy at the Providence Hood River Hospital so she could give them her insurance info. She planned to camp out at the lodge after that. Insisted we go on and ready ourselves.

Glenn, Tommy, Darwin and I got into our ski gear then headed for the lifts. The lower mountain was socked in under heavy fog and cloud cover. However, by the time we made it up Hood Express the fog had cleared and some of the mountain was visible. We had our fingers crossed that Cascade Express would eventually open. Just as we were about to start our initial descent a gentleman rushed out of the Ski Patrol hut calling my name. It was Chris Garvey, the ski patrol who rescued Mindy. He asked of her status and seemed genuinely relieved to learn that she was comfortable down in the lodge. Thanked us for coming back to ski meadows again.

The conditions, meanwhile, were much the same as they were the morning before – wet, mushy snow. In addition, they did very little grooming overnight despite no additional snow fall. We all were a little surprised. We made the best of it, bent on finding our way back to the east to the area known as Hood River Meadows. Trusting Glenn’s knowledge of the terrain, I followed him. Darwin and Tommy took a right where we made a left. They ended up at Shooting Star. The runs were very sticky and grabby, a real work out for the knees and legs. It’s fair to say that I was still a little spooked with Mindy’s accident. We did our best to locate Tommy & Darwin but never did. I tried calling and texting but couldn’t get service. I think we did two more runs top to bottom before heading in for a break. I wanted to check on Mindy as well as giving my tired legs a much needed rest. The lower mountain remained socked in under fog.

Mindy was sitting comfortably at the last table overlooking the mountain with her laptop plugged in and being serviced by Jerrod. Within ten minutes the whole gang was there and we eventually ordered beers and food.

With Mindy’s blessing, we planned to ski into the night figuring that the conditions would only improve as the temperature dropped. And after our 90 minute break, I strapped on Darwin’s GoPro camera for the first time and did some filming of our runs. We somehow got separated from Glenn and Tommy but that didn’t stop us. We skied our butts off, once again at the Hood River Meadows area. It would close at 4pm. We wanted to take advantage of its beautiful terrain. We didn’t waste a single  minute, skiing over there until they started putting up the barricades.

We took another break, heading into the lodge around 415pm. I went to the ski shop and bought myself a Meadows ballcap. More beer and good times. Mindy, meanwhile, was making the best of her circumstances. Seemed to be enjoying herself. Glenn & Tommy stayed out until 5pm or so. Darwin and I commented that MRM would’ve had their lights on near 330pm. In contrast, Meadows didn’t begin turning on their lights until after 530pm.

We headed out I’m guessing near 6pm where we skied balls to the wall, doing Two Bowl and the Face multiple times. On my last run down Two Bowl I took a soft spill near the top after the snow under my edges gave way and slid down most of the run on my ass. Now near 7pm, I declared it time for me to head in. My legs were getting tired and we had just skied really hard. Didn’t want to risk injury. Glenn and Darwin opted to keep going. At the time, we weren’t real sure where Tommy was.

Mindy was still holed up in the same corner of the ski lodge. Tommy was there with her, apparently calling it a day a bit earlier. We waited patiently for Glenn and Darwin, me enjoying another beer since Tommy agreed to drive us home. It had to be near 8pm when Glenn & Darwin finally came in. Said they were having a ball and skiing their hardest of the day.

It was 815pm by the time we left the mountain agreeing to once again do dinner at the Ratskeller, but not before dropping Mindy at the condo. She was ready for an early bedtime but encouraged us to go have some fun.

The Ratskeller was once again sparsely populated. This time we bellied up the bar in lieu of getting a booth or table. We ordered pints and a pizza – half Rat & half Gyro. We chatted at length with a young girl who we assumed was there with her boyfriend. She was really cute and seemingly wise. Shortly before we headed for home, Jerrod, our server from the Meadows ski lodge, stopped in to get some beer. Shared once again his intentions of moving to Bend and Mt Bachelor. I’m thinking it was 945pm when we got back to the condo. Both Tommy & I peeled off for bed. Glenn and Darwin headed to the hot tub.