Thursday 5 January 2012

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head....

View of 1,000 Peaks run
Plus 7 degrees Celsius yesterday and rain.  It rained all night.  My face pressed against the window yesterday afternoon like a disappointed child who just received a detention at school.  What did I do now! Should I have skied today? No, I needed a rest. Don't be stubborn stupid!  I am trainable....and besides, the legs are tired. (27 days of skiing so far) 

Is it snowing up top; or rain?  Wait and see in the morning.

Anyway, Bob and I are off to a friend's place (Walter and Margaret) here on the hill for "Panorama New Year's Eve Recovery Party" and Wine and Cheese. Don't feed the dog! Poor Mickey.  He is a cute 16 year old pup with allergies, who is blind and wobbly. 

Roy from Kingston on Roy's Run
We had a wonderful time.  New friends, good beer, good wine and plenty of food.  All priorities for a ski bum. Especially the food. Mutual ski bums together for an evening and stories begin to flourish.  The best stash of snow, goggle tans and frozen cheeks....both pairs.Quote of the Day: "Ski Naked...it makes your cheeks Rosey"
We have met so many wonderful people here on the mountain.  It will be difficult to leave them behind when we return home, just as it was difficult to leave our friends and family when we left on our adventure west.  It is astonishing how small our planet is when you start meeting people from all over this country and the world.  Yesterday (in the T Bar) having a small celebration with Cindy and Brian and toast their 25th wedding anniversary, we discovered they are best friends with a couple from Caledonia:
Brian and Heather Gagnon.  We have know these people for many years.  Small world!  Walter and Margaret are from Calgary. He is a geologist and has travelled abroad.  Mike and Linda are from North Bay and live here 6 months out of the year and ski and in the summer, they ride their motorcycle.  Yes, they have been to Port Dover on Friday the 13th, a big biker day on Lake Erie. 

The rain has finally stopped and the temperature has begun to fall.  Best news so far.  Gear up and off I go to play with the Mountain Friends.  Bob has his Physio appointment as I am writing this post.  Today he will hopefully be released from captivity and be allowed to join me in the next few days.

Sun, Snow and Smiles
The rain only hit the bottom third of the mountain.  Sixteen inches=41 cms of pristine pow...wow....powder up top. 
Bob just returned......Catrien said she has never seen anyone heal so well and so quickly and gave Bob the go ahead to ski TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Time for a toast. (beer of course)

Back to the blog:
Avalanche Control
waiting!!!
Ready, Set, Powder!
friends of the mountain
Powder....... The Tayton Bowl was closed as well as the View of 1,000 Peaks, Stumbocks for avalanche control and blasting.  The ski patrol set off many explosive charges throughout the early morning.  So we warmed up on Roller Coaster and back to the Summit.  Rumour has it that the View will open at 11am.  Bang! Another charge.  HOLY CRAP!!  I felt the ground shake.  Hope that was the last one.  It felt close.  Back up to the top and wait.  The ski patrol were in radio contact with the avalanche team.  There must have been at least 60 - 70 skiers and snowboarders just waiting for fresh tracks. 
Bottom of Tayton Bowl
It was snowing heavily and the wind is picking up speed.  OK, we can see patrol talking, and maybe....Yes, they are removing the rope.  It was like a race for that last keg of beer at the bottom.  The snowboarders didn't even wait for the rope to be lowered and off they go.  You could hear the laughter and yips and screams of joy as we all progressed through powder up to our knees and mid thighs in some sections.  We have to do this one again!   One run to the bottom: 5 miles and we were beaten with joy and exhilaration.  Time for more food.  Back at 1:30 for more powder runs.  And, if you think the morning was perfect: Well, the afternoon was even better.  Sunshine and a powder bump run. If you have ever skied in powder, you know the feeling.  No drug can reproduce the sensation of gliding through turns and feeling the endorphins rush through your veins.
 The icing on the cake is when I returned home and knowing Bob can now join me in the fun.
He has some catching up to do now that I have 8 ski days more than him!  No, you can't trip me on the hill or hide my long undies!  12 more whiffy free days to go before the wash.
It is snowing heavily and that means more powder and less ice. Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Multi purpose Poles & dill spaghettini
But first:  Home Made Pasta.....YUMMY!

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