[8.1] On the Slopes

Since the winter began, we've been trying to take advantage of the proximity of quality skiing and snowboarding. There are three resorts within two hours of our house and a few more within another hour or two, so it's quite easy to get out for a full daytrip and enjoy some quality snow. And when I say quality snow, I mean 160 inches of base to date. That's more than Colorado has gotten. For a little taste, check out the pics.

It has however, been a bit difficult to get out to the mountains, primarily because we've been away most weekends. But we've managed to get to Crystal Mountain and this past weekend, we got up to Stevens Pass on Superbowl Sunday. We're also heading to Bend, Oregon this weekend for some more riding during Winterfest down there (so look for that update next week). This could be my last time out this year since I've scheduled another surgery on my ankle, which still gives me problems. My skills on the snowboard continue to improve pretty quickly. In fact, the only photos Lisa was able to catch of me are those on the chairlift or at the bottom of the hill. I'm just that fast.

An interesting thing about all of this is that we've gotten only about an inch or two of snow in Seattle total. However, there have been several avalanches that have closed the passes heading up to the mounains. In fact, one of Lisa's co-workers got stuck at Snoqualmie this past weekend and missed half of a Superbowl party.

In between our trips to the local mountains, we also managed to get away for a day of snowboarding with Lisa's brother, Mike, on our recent trip to Los Angeles --you can see him carving it up in the first video. Unfortunately, we gave my parents a fright because on the day we were there, an effort was underway to rescue three snowboarders trapped in an avalanche, which got broadcast on the news back east.