I Come to You on Twisted Knee

                                           Chunky Swirly - 15 years Behind Me

Was up just after 630am after tossing and turning for the final hour. I started some coffee then did a little blogging ahead of the others waking. The weather conditions weren’t ideal, and the forecast was calling for mixed precipitation locally but snow flurries on the mountain. No accumulation expected. Our plan was to ski Meadows again and into the night. To that end, we weren’t as concerned with getting out of the condo that early.

I headed out for a run that would be the last of year 15 in a light but steady rain. It was much warmer than the previous two runs. Had to be in the 30s.  Ran the same trail as before. Was out about 30 minutes. Back at the condo, I enjoyed some leftover breakfast casserole then headed up for a shower.

While running, I noticed a sign at the foot of Timberline warning that traction devices were required. Uh-oh! Not too big a deal, though. We had a fall back plan, which would be Tom Shep shuttling everyone up the mountain in two trips.  However, checking Meadows site, they were only recommended, but not required.

Our pace to ready was a bit more leisurely given that our plan was to ski well into the evening. I’m thinking we left the condo for Meadows near 1030am. At the office I realized that I left my wallet in the condo. Had to drive back to get it while the others waited inside the office. Mindy paid for our lift tickets.

The rain started to changed to a snow mix soon after leaving Govy Camp and was all heavy snow about 4 miles up the road, and it was a white knuckler the rest of the way up. Mindy made mention that she knew we should’ve stopped for chains. I didn’t like the comment given that we had few options since Les Schwab was closed the day up. We made it up safely, Tom & Tommy still a few miles/minutes behind us.

The heavy snow continued as we geared up. We headed up the Hood Express near 1130am. I remember checking the clock atop the lift. We took the same cut that we did the day prior. The fresh snow, however, was thick, wet and grabby – very difficult to ski. We started down the aptly named run, Chunk Swirly with me leading the way.  I felt the thigh burn right away as I had to fight the snow rather than cruise it. I stopped to wait for the others immediately spotting Mindy on the ground and crying in pain. She’s cried after a fall before but this was different. I knew it wasn’t good. She was in excruciating pain. MY heart sank as I scrambled up the hill to her side. Darwin was already with her flagging others skiers to slow down and avoid her.

She said her right knee cracked and popped after her ski got caught in the chunky snow during a routine turn. I asked Glenn to go for help. He did. It wasn’t long before Chris Garvey, Mt Hood Meadows ski patrol arrived to help. He had another join him. By then I had Mindy’s other ski off and was sitting at her side simply to provide comfort and support. Good thing I had a bottle of water. She was crazy thirsty. Chris was cool, calm and confident as he began the triage on the mountain.

We eventually loaded Mindy onto the dreaded snow sled with her leg splinted. Chris and another skied her down to the onsite hospital. I skied down with her skis while Glenn and Darwin took the extra poles. Being the first run of the day along with the chunky ski conditions, even that was taxing. I met Glenn and Darwin at the hospital’s entrance. Darwin took her skis & boots back to the car while I headed in to be with Mindy.

The staff was friendly as they went about triage. The doctor, can’t recall his name, stopped over to check out her knee, and after an examination and Xrays guessed her MCL likely torn or sprained with potential ACL issue as well. The outfitted her with a soft splint and recommended she see an orthopedic specialist once back home. Gave her some Vicadin and recommended scheduled Ibuprofen. All things considered, Mindy was in good spirits and insisted we go out and ski while she hung out in the lodge. The hospital drove her to the lodge entrance and showed us to the elevator with direct access to the Alpenstube lodge.

Darwin, Glenn and Tommy were already there having beers. That sounded good. I ordered one too. Because she’d recently taken a Vicadin, Mindy ordered only water.  Eventually ordered food, too, me going with the soup and sandwich special. Good stuff!  After another hour or so we headed out to ski leaving Mindy alone in the lodge to make friends, which she was already doing a good of.

The snow was still chunky and the snow now changed to rain, but with all we’d been through none of us seemed to mind too much. Instead, we made the best of it. And perhaps a way of beating our demons, we skied down Chunky Swirly where I briefly paused near the spot where Mindy wrenched her knee.

After an hour or so of skiing headed back to the lodge to check on Mindy. As expected, she was doing good and hanging with the staff. After another beer or two we headed out for another round of skiing.  By then my ski pants had dried. It was still raining, but again, we made the best of it and did perhaps some of our best skiing, especially considering the conditions. By evening’s end we were soaked through to our cores. We left Meadows around 5pm knowing we needed to head into Sandy to fill Mindy’s Vicadon prescription. Tommy  would drive.

We dropped the others at the condo before heading into Sandy. Mindy called the Sandy’s Walgreen’s to make sure they had the Vicadin. They did. It’s about a 32 mile drive into Sandy, but a fairly easy. While Mindy hung at the pharmacy, I wandered the store picking up some more bottled water, jerky, almonds, and chocolates. Soon we were on our way back to Govy Camp. We called the others, who were having pizza at the Ratskeller. We agreed to meet them there rather than going back to the condo. They had a pizza waiting our arrival.

Must’ve been about 8pm when we pulled up, parked, and headed inside.  I ordered an Inversion IPA and then scarfed a couple pieces of pizza. It was delicious topped with bacon, sausage, pepperoni, black olives, and onions. We hung out for about 45 minutes before Tommy, Mindy & I headed for the condo. Glenn, Tom and Darwin stayed behind apparently for more beer.  I helped Mindy get situated in bed with the Suduko book she borrowed from Tommy. I headed back downstairs where I enjoyed a beer or two with the others while also watching Swamp People. I started to dose. About the time I peeled off for bed, Glenn and Darwin headed for the hot tub.