Playing in the snow (again... finally!).

What an excellent way to spend some time together. William and I took off for the East side of Oregon this past week, to explore. With La Grande as our final destination we took off on Wednesday. We endured torrential downpours in Portland while attempting to run errands. All afternoon on I84, rain, rain, and more rain. Our only hope was that rain in the river valleys would mean snow in the mountains. It was true, sort of. The mountains did get snow, but it was wet snow. It did not matter to us, we wanted snow in whatever shape or form it wanted to come. And, we made the most of it. We spend three glorious days on skis playing in the snow! Here are some pictures from our adventures.

Aut skinning around

William skinning around on his Havoc's

Wallowa's (a brief moment of sun before reentering the fog at the pass)

Dinner time Rodeway Inn room 11

William scraping summer wax off at the Nordi Ski "Lodge" Anthony Lakes

Aut tearing it up on her Fischers

William cruising on his Fischers

Lookout on FS road to Anthony Lakes

FS road to Anthony Lakes

William cruising in the VW sporting the new snow tires!

There is it... soon to come, pictures from our newly decorated apartment in Corvallis.

Happy Christmas!

~autumn

Snow, skis, and adventures to come!

Well, well, well December has arrived, Christmas and the New Year are on their way and Thanksgiving has come and gone. For Thanksgiving dinner guests there were a few orphaned grad students, three playful dogs, my Dad, and a hitchhiker named Gina. Gina is from Washington and is on a walk across the country recruiting bone marrow donors. All in all it was a fun, festive, and tasty celebration. My dad came out to visit for the week and we had a spectacular time. Great weather gave us a chance to see the ocean and bike around Corvallis. Our apartment has come together and feels lived in and cozy. It feels like HOME. William had a great quarter, but is looking forward to a break. I am thoroughly enjoying being unemployed and am investigating a grad program for myself. We are now planning our adventures for Williams time off. Snow, skis, and adventures are in order.

~autumn

new beginnings

So here we are in Corvallis, OR. William has begun his graduate work in the Water Resources Department at OSU. I have begun the search for employment in an economy in a sad state of disrepair. We shall see what comes of the winter and the approaching holiday season.

~autumn

I have a feeling I will be writing in the blog a lot more. Is is possible I could get paid for this? I will have to investigate that one.

Here they are, long overdue.  Hopefully it'll give everyone a brief glimpse into our 2009 trip west.  Keep in mind, they are in no particular order. 

William in WY

William with Teton N.P.

On top of Snow King in Jackson, WY

Teton National Park - Jackson, WY

Revelstoke National Park - B.C. Canada

Mosquito Creek Banff N.P. - Alberta, Canada

Lussier Hot Springs - Alberta, CA

Lake Louise Banff

Snow King - Jackson, WY

Great Divide - Kicking Horse Pass Alberta into B.C. 

Carving Turns on Snow King - Jackson, WY

Sunset - WY

Lussier Hot Springs - Alberta, CA

Where are we...what day is it?

9-5 No More

Welcome to the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center, we are CLOSED!  It was great while it lasted.  Luckily there was a lot of snow early, because there has been none of late.  The people here are what really makes the job.  Matt, Cyndy, the Robbins clan, the Lopes clan, Rose, Deb, Bill, Jodi, the Carltons, Joe, Greg, Scott, Wayne, Kali - everybody.  While we all grieve of the passing of the season, and the erosion of our snow, we say "see you later" to many faces we don't want to have to.  But, like the birds, we migrate and begin anew... again.  Bittersweet.  Satisfying and empty at the same time.  If the weather forecast were different, we'd stay and recreate in the snow more, but I think the meteorological outlook will push us west in search of powder fields and groomed tracks in Utah and Banff.  Utah first because we have some free skiing.  Then Banff because, well, why not?  It's all on the way to Washington, isn't it?!  Anyway, there are many people we will truly miss listed above.  We plan to see them again, though.  Thank you so much. You always have a place wherever we are!  ~Wm

Spring Skiing Time

The spring skiing has long been here on the nordic trails - super fast in spots and then Superman in others.  But the mountain has been a solidly frozen mass all month - until yesterday.  Autumn was ripping tele turns on her new boots yesterday and we both went up today.  It has finally started to turn into mashed potatoes.  This time of year the best formula is to nordic ski in the morning, then hit the mountain in the afternoon.  That is what we did.  Fun while it lasted I guess because the rain is supposed to move in any minute.  In fact, I can hear the "mixed precip" hitting the window now.  While I grieve over the slow but sure destruction of our blessed snow I will watch my tourney brackets (hockey and bball) either do really well or implode - there is no middle ground I have learned.  As always my dream bracket involves UNH dismantling all opponents en route to their first championship while my "other" bracket has Notre Dame squeaking a win from Yale.  Oh and basketball?  Louisville over Oklahoma. ~Wm

Spring Races

It has been a beautiful weekend for racing.  Autumn and I, accompanied by Patrick, went to Rumford, Maine, where the NCAA National Championship Nordic events were being held.  We watched the men's and women's freestyle (skate) Saturday.  The women went first and the finish could not have been more exciting - with Colorado's Alexa Turjan just leading Denver's Antje Maempel down the stretch they went into a sprint for the final 250 meters.  Maempel closed the gap and at 100m they were side-by-side.  A super close finish, Maempel overtook Turjan and won by .5 seconds!  What a race!  UNH's Sarah Wright finished in 14th position. The top eastern athletes were 3rd and 5th by Dartmouth ladies, Rosie Brennan and Sophie Caldwell.  The men were next and Colorado's Vegard Kjoelhamar won by over 20 seconds. There was a great fight for 2nd, 3rd, and 4th positions - all coming into the stadium at the same time.  Another exciting finish.  No UNHers qualified - the top easterner was again Dartmouth's Patrick O'Brien.  Amazing that Rumford, Maine hosted the most important NCAA Nordic event of the year.  Today, we held our 9th annual Inferno downhill nordic race.  The winner finished in under 10 minutes covering about 15km - what a screamer.  The weather has been super sweet and the snow is amazing.  This is the best time of year to get on a pair of skinny skis!  Hope to see you out there. ~wm

You Have Got To Be Kidding

Can you believe we got another 27 inches in this past storm?  Me neither.  Autumn and Matt and Cyndy and I ripped it up on the mountain today so we can verify, yes, we got another 27 inches.  It was super sweet - giggle skiing as I call it.  Wasn't sure if I'd be able to tele in the powder, but it is easier than alpining in the powder.  Autumn did super well and I may have her convinced that she would love tele.  What a day.  And then I followed it up by skating around the nordic trail system for awhile.  Beautiful day.  ~Wm

Snow and stuff

We got more of the lovely sky whites last night and today - a total of about 8 inches.  Finally got back on skis yesterday after a ten day hiatus - between bad conditions and illness.  My skis were super fast yesterday and with the new snow today, I classic skied for the second time this season. Would like to tele tomorrow, but between the new snow, vaca week, and it's a Friday, the mountain will be a zoo full of uptight, underfed, monkeys (and massholes).  I'll skip that.  Season is rolling along and were having fun!  Coping with our sickness, we'll be well again soon enough.

~Wm

Spring in February

As I lay here on the floor in our little two bedroom apartment, I can hear the water streaming off the deck above our windows. The temperature outside has been rising over the past two days, and today the clouds rolled in and brought the rain. This sound is usually soothing and reminds me of rainy days as a kid playing legos with Olaf and Seb on the living room floor. Today, however, it is a sad sound. The sound of the rain today is the sound of beautiful packed powder turning into a slushy, icy, mess. If it were spring it would be more welcomed, bringing with it the hope of new growth and the smells of springtime. But, it is February, our season is only half over! The hill we live on has become a slick luge of ice and any thoughts of going somewhere to be productive are falling by the wayside. Life goes on though, and we make the most of it, when the temps cool off again we will have the best ice rink around for more pick-up hockey. So if your snow is turning to ice, stay inside for a bit and play games with your families, housemates, and pets. Until, either spring has come or the snow returns watch out for the ice falling off the roof. 

Ma Visit

The same night as our first real SAR, my mother and Dan were here to visit.  They got to witness all the excitement around the Outdoor Center for the evening.  The next day I took my mom on snowshoes!  It was a pleasant little walk for me, a big deal for her.  I thought I had sufficiently tuckered her out, but the next day she asked to go skiing!  We warmed up in the lesson area and then did a loop around the bog.  She did wonderfully - not just shuffling, but actual weight transfer and decent glide!  I was so proud.  They were here for the weekend and we had a great time.  ~Wm

SAR

So today's ski was going to be an off-the-clock finish to a fine day.  It turned into a search for Virginia - to the point where the FD was mobilizing snowmachines at the Outdoor Center.  I was already out on skis keeping in contact with Autumn at the lodge.  She was point on Incident Command because she was the only one there that was knowledgeable of the trail network and she stepped to the plate.  I skied and skied, cranked out many k's quickly, up 1 west to Snubber, up to 21 across 22 down 50 to 27/31.  When I got to the 31/1 junction I thought maybe she's at the warming hut.  My headlamp bounced off her skis leaning against the building and there she was, safe and sound and thankful to not have to spend the night in the hut.  Autumn was terrific with cooridnation and luckily I was nimble on the skis tonight.  Virginia and I skied back to the lodge in the cold and all was well.  A good team effort by the Sugarloaf Outdoor Center tonight!  ~Wm

Winter Triathlon

Yup, we sledded, skate skied, and hit the hill for some alpine skiing.  We attacked winter today and had a blast.  It was a beautiful day: still, quiet, snow on the trees.  We usually get blasted with high winds after a good snow event - not this time and we took advantage.  What a good day. Dinner with Matt and Bill at the Bag.  Oh, and we both ordered skis today - yeeeeah:) ~Wm

14 more

Warmer air brought more fluffy snow to the trails today. I went for a classic ski this afternoon. The woods were still, branches laden with snow, and the only sounds were my skis pushing through the powder, my steady breath, and the snow hitting the crunchy beach tree leaves. It was awesome. Once dinner settles we are heading out into the snowy evening to do some sledding. Until next time remember this, 4-wheel drive does nothing if you don't know how to drive.  

Cold? Nah, just nippy.

Woke up to negative 23 Fahrenheit today.  It has been below zero for a few days but this was the first morning Indigo wouldn't start.  A sad day, but Matt came to our rescue and jumped us.  And it is not supposed to get warm (10-20 above - it's all relative) for a few days. Autumn has been working today and advising our customers to bundle up and cover exposed skin.  I went for a ski and actually had to come back in because I was too hot - I ski hot.  I went back out and it was not too bad, the snow is definitely slow but at least I got out.  Feels like a grilled cheese and soup night.  ~Wm

Moon light

We made it through vacation week! The mountain had pretty tough conditions so everyone was utilizing the Outdoor Center. A couple times last week we ran out of skis and skates. It was a madhouse. Autumn and I worked super hard and are ready for some quieter days. At the end of it all Matt treated us to burgers and beers at The Bag up on the hill. Apparently it was our busiest Dec/Jan. vacation week ever at the Outdoor Center.

We just got 6 inches yesterday and it has freshened up the trails covering some windblown debris we had and made the trails super sweet again. I went out after work today and didn't need to use my headlamp because the moon was so bright - it was such a peaceful and enjoyable ski. Great glide, quiet, smoothe, just wonderful, moon-lit skiing! How could it get any better? ~Wm

Beautiful Lengths Donation

Not a bad way to start the year, helping a cancer patient cope with the side effect of chemotherapy. This donation was inspired by my beautiful bonus mom.