Ski Day #14

 Today we skied at Lookout Pass. It was Rob, Arnie and I. I am not sure how to address my per run calculations today because we had to buy lift tickets at Lookout. But because we had Season Passes at other mountains, they gave us half off the weekday price. Rob and Arnie paid $22.00. I neglected to mention I was a Senior, so I paid $28.50.

Oh well, lesson learned.

We skied 5 runs before I pooped out and went to the Lodge. Arnie and Rob skied three more runs before coming in.

After lunch, we skied another six runs. So my cost per run was $2.59.

The day was clear and sunny but it was still cold. I think it was 12 degrees when we arrived. Once my face acclimated, the temperature was not a factor. The snow was fantastic. Mt Spokane has gone so long without any appreciable snow that the base there is very hard. Lookout has been getting lots of snow and the white fluffy stuff was everywhere and really nice. I chalk it up as another great day on the hill.

After skiing for three consecutive days, I am feeling the burn. It will be nice to take a few days off.

We ended the day with a great dinner at John’s house.

Ski Day #13

The Boyz are back on the hill. Along with Arnie and myself, we were joined by Rob, John and my son, Scott.

It was clear and cold like yesterday but there was no wind so it was a much nicer day than yesterday. I skied 9 runs. That gets me to a total of 129 runs for the season with a cost per run down to $3.10.

I must admit that I am feeling the effects of all this skiing. We are going for one more day tomorrow before Arnie flies out on Friday.     

Ski Day #12

My friend Arnie flew up from San Francisco last night. I've known him since Kindergarten. We are going to ski for the next three days. I hope I survive.

Today was the coldest day I've skied in years. We did se7en runs which is pretty good considering the wind chill. Arnie skied one run extra while I sat in the bar and had a beer.

We'll be back tomorrow.

Todays cost per run is down to $3.34.

I should also note that today is 2-22-22. Not sure why that matters but it has been noted!  

Ski Day #11

What a day! Today I have a few pictures.

We got in 13 runs which gets me to $3.54 per run. Here are the pictures.

Ski Day #10

Before I start, I need to praise God and thank Him for this life I am presently leading. I am learning more about my relationship with God and I am a better, happier person for it. Thank you Father for all the blessings in my life.

As Rob and I pulled out of the driveway this morning, I told him the goal was 13 runs. That would get me to an even 100 runs for the year so far and a $4.00 cost per run.

(I should note that my cost per run calculations do not include the $39.00 fee I paid for insurance on my season pass or the cost of gas, food and beer purchased on the mountain.)

We met the goal but it was an effort towards the end there. I'm going to try and reconstruct each of the runs we took today.

Run #1: We got on the #5 chair and transferred to the #2 chair to take us to the top. We skied a run called Allison's Way. The snow was great, The sun was out and I was enjoying life. We took the cat track over to Chair #1.

Run 2: We skied the #1 Face and enjoyed it immensely. I was already feeling the effects of skiing on Monday and I stopped several times.

Run #3: At the top of Chair #1 we ran into a group of friends. We shall call them Bob, Sue and Cindy, because that is their names. We skied down the number one face but slid over to the Hour Glass. It was a little tough getting there but it was worth it. The bottom half of the run was awesome.

Run #4: At the top of Chair #1 we went to the new backside area accessible on Chair #6. We skied a run called Secret Squirrel but Bob told me they had renamed it for a friend Dave, who died a couple of years ago and Tom, Cindy's Husband who died from cancer quite a while ago.

So we skied Dave & Tom's Run , which I had not skied before. I had been going one more run over to Gary's Glory. Dave & Tom's is an awesome run and very enjoyable with today's conditions.

Run #5: We ran into another guy we know, Bud, at the top of six and he skied with us. Dave and Tom's Run, although Rob went over to Gary's Glory and did a run there.

Run #6: Dave & Tom's.

Run #7: Dave & Tom's.

Run #8: Bob, Sue and Cindy had decided they were done for the day and headed back to the Northwest Passage and the Lodge. Rob and I wanted to try the Chair 6 Face. Bud was going to join us but we all got separated. The Six Face was tough. It was ungroomed and a little mogully, but nothing I couldn't handle. But it did wear me out.

Run #9: Time for lunch. We skied the cat track over to Chair 2 and skied Allison's Way again. That took us to the Lodge for a well deserved break and a Burger and a Brew. 

The lodge was pretty crowded but we managed to find a table. It was such a nice day that we decided to gobble up our burgers and finish our beers out on the deck. 

We got talking to a guy out there who has been retired for a couple of years and coming up regularly to ski. He told us that last season, he skied 87 days. Holy Shit! Here I am all happy with my ten days. What a dope!

Run #10: The snow was getting soft. The temperature was close to 40° so Rob and I applied a little wax. Then we headed up Chair 3 and skied toward LaMonga Pass, which takes us to the backside and Chair #4. At the top of LaMonga Pass, we stopped for a Stan Break. That allows me to catch my breath. 

While standing there, another couple skied up and stopped. We said "Hi" and commented on the fabulous day. The guy said this was his first time skiing Mt. Spokane since 1972. We skied down to Chair #4 together and then Rob and I met them on top of four.

Run #11: Their names were Reilly and Brenda and they came over from Seattle. We took them down the Ridge Run which takes you back to the bottom of Four. The snow on the Ridge was shaded and not sticky. Really great skiing. We stopped a few times and the four of us chatted. At the end of the cat track which takes you to Four, there is a brown patch starting to appear and the snow returned to stickiness.

Run #12: We left our new friends behind and skied the Ridge again. We managed to kill the small flask of Peppermint Schnapps I brought up.

Run #13: We took the cat track back to the front of the mountain, skied the Northwest Passage and ended in the parking lot. 

Man, what a day!

   

Ski Day #9

I have a childhood friend named Nick who lives in a condo on Mt. Spokane. I haven't seen him in over ten years. We have talked a few times on the phone over the years, just to keep up but no face to face.

Nick used to ski the hell out of the mountain. He was solid muscle and he telemarked, so he went all over the mountain, inside and outside of the boundaries. He knows the mountain really well.

I really wanted to reconnect with him and today I succeeded. I got up there a little before nine, texted him that I was up and waiting to meet him with a free ski pass for the day.

While I waited, I skied two runs. My regular ski buddy Rob drove himself up and met us on the lift after Nick and I skied another run. It was his first run in 11 years.

The day was mostly clear and in the high 30's. There was a pretty good wind blowing for most of the day. It eased off after Rob and I went in for lunch.

Monday seems to be the day to go up. There was nobody there. Even less than last Tuesday.

I made a new record amount of runs for the year, fifteen. That gets me to a total of 87 runs at $4.60 per run. 

We are going again on Wednesday.

Just as a post script, I should note that I took one run down the beginners hill while waiting for Nick. I didn't include it in my run total because it really doesn't qualify as a run in my book. Perhaps you could call it a quarter of a run...maybe even a third...but it wasn't really a run.

Ski Day #8

 I am even! Today was my eighth visit to Mt Spokane. I have now been there enough times that I have paid for my pass.

Rob called late last night and said he was going up. I said to count me in. 

We got up there about 9:45 and got a great parking space. In fact, there was hardly anyone up there today. We estimated there could not have been more than 200 people there today.

It was a great day. There was a high overcast and a little wind when we got there and Chair #3 was closed. But we still had nearly total access to the mountain. The sky cleared up and it was sunny from 11:00 on.

We covered a great deal of the mountain. We skied on the backside on Chair 4, we skied on the backside on Chair 6, we hit the B-29 AND the Hourglass. In total, we skied 12 runs. That is the most runs I have skied in one day this year. And I’m feeling it now. It doesn't sound like much but for a 64 year old heart patient, it's pretty damn good.

I got in the hot tub after we visited the Hub and I must say, “I love that hot tub!” I think it’s going to be an early evening.

With today’s 12 runs, I am up to 72 runs for the season for a cost per run of $5.56. My goal is to get the cost per run below $5.00 and I’m very close. All I need is eight more runs to hit $5.00. We may go up Thursday and I'll be shooting for 10.