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.