Entries categorized as ‘Activities’
A couple weekends ago we went snowboarding Saturday and then hit the coast on Sunday. I managed to blog about our little spring skiing session and then got distracted from posting this trip. The weather was amazing! The waves were around 5′ and there was no wind and they were set about 15″ apart. Amazing!
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get in the water. A shoulder injury from snowboarding last year had rendered me unable to surf last season. I can’t remember the last day I went surfing. So the whole drive out, I was trying to think of how I would keep myself busy while Bryan was in the water. Last summer it was so bad, I could barely paddle and had limited range of motion.
Well, we got out of the car to walk out and check out the scene, and I was delightfully surprised. The sunny weather and cool, calm, peeling waves called to me. I couldn’t say no, and I was SO happy I got in the water. I had the best time!
Categories: Activities · Outside
Tagged: surfing, surfers, westport, washington coast, spring surfing
February 21, 2010 · 1 Comment
Mid-February and it feels like April here at Stevens Pass. We didn’t get to the ski hill until the perfect time: sun had just warmed it enough to start the corn snow forming.
I love skiing when it’s sunny! Cruising around, up and down the side walls, taking little jumps when they pop up … Whoops and hollers heading down the mountain and smiles all around.
I’m still hoping for more big snow to fall and gift us some powder days but I’ll take the sunny fun days in between the wait.
Categories: Activities · Outside
Tagged: snowboarding, spring skiing, stevens pass, sunny, washington
So far the new year has been a dry, warm one. I’m sure people who don’t partake in snow sports are enjoying it rather much. The weather has been pleasant enough that we have had our windows cracked to bring in fresh air, and I haven’t felt cold. I can usually sport only thick wool socks through the winter and I am wearing summery thin ones.
We went to Snoqualmie Pass yesterday, we were itching to get out and make some turns. When we left Seattle it was clear and sunny. Driving out east on I-90, we soon encountered fog and it stayed with us until we arrived at the Pass. Alpental is where we decided to go since the other areas can get crowded on the weekend.
So we get up there, and the parking lots are probably half-full. The lift lines are nearly empty and we got on the first chair with only four people in front of us. The snow didn’t really feel icy down at the base, but as we approached the top we could hear the people skiing down were dealing with some serious hardpack. Yikes!
At the top of chair 1 was a blanket of ice: everywhere. But the sun was out! We skated over to chair 2 (I was deathly afraid of falling and breaking limbs at this point) and in our sunny chairs we started getting excited about the snow. Sun makes everything better! Plus we had a cool view of the valley below and could see all the way to Rainier.
From Chair 2, we could see a blanket of fog below us.
I’ll spare you the details, but making our way down from the top of chair 2 was miserable. All I wanted to do was get to the bottom, and I was super bummed that we went all the way to the top of the darn mountain. I wanted to be down at the bottom, in the safeness that was our car. I didn’t want to be risking my life on my snowboard!
From Alpental we decided to check out the rest of the resort. Figured why not, we’re up there and we only took one run so far so might as well see what else is going on? Well, let me tell you this: we took one run from the Silver Fir chairlift at Ski Acres and got back in the car. The way they had groomed the hill it was as if big teeth had crunched through the ice pack and it was the most uneven surface.
The beauty of Snoqualmie Pass is how close it is to Seattle. We were only away from home a few hours and had the rest of the day ahead of us to do whatever we wanted. And now we know: don’t go back up to the mountain for snowboarding until we get a decent amount of more snow!
Categories: Activities · Outside
Tagged: alpental, seattle, skiing, snoqualmie pass, snow, snow sports, snowboarding, winter
Not in a long, many years can I remember being able to ski locally so early. Around 50″ of fresh, we were on some of the first few chairs to load Hogsback. After three runs I could feel the effects of office life on my legs. Having so much time off means that much more catchup for my body.
Opening day at Stevens Pass - Big Chief chairlift
We rode a solid four hours before breaking for snacks. There weren’t really lines so everyone was tearing the hills apart. Coverage was the same as mid-December usually sees and almost every patch was shredded. We weren’t the only ones to also hit up the wooded zones – yes even the trees were in deep powder.
Ah, ski season, how I have missed you. Welcome back!
Categories: Activities
Tagged: snowboarding
