Archive for the ‘skiing’ Category

Camp Muir in October

Monday, October 27th, 2008

Everyday is like Sunday
Everyday is silent and gray

Morrisey

I don’t think last Sunday is quite what Morrisey had in mind when he wrote those lyrics.  Last Sunday was definately not gray.

Dave and I set out from Paradise a little after nine.  It was quite windy at first but by the time we reached Panorama Point the wind had died down and it was a calm sunny day.

Mt. Rainier

Once we reached the snow, I switched to skis and joined the crowds skinning towards Camp Muir.

Skinning on the Muir Snowfield

The temps were cool enough to ensure that the snow was only going to get better as the day went on so we took our time and arrived at Camp Muir around 2:00.

Dave at Camp Muir

After a short break it was time to ski.

Dave carving turns on the lower flanks of a very big mountain

I think this is described as, “not a cloud in the sky”.  I’m not complaining but it was a little hazy.

Looking south from Camp Muir

The scenery is as inspiring on the descent as it was on the ascent.

Dave with Mt. Rainier in the background

Definately the best skiing I’ve ever had in October.

Skiing in August

Monday, September 8th, 2008

A couple of weeks ago I skied Ruth Mountain with my father-in-law.  We both hiked but I carried skis so I reaped the benefit on the downhill portion.  The whole trip report, including pictures can be found here.

Something Missing

Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

I’m pretty lucky. I have a wonderful wife who loves me, a great job, a dog, a house, a car, a good family that lives close enough that I can see them more than once a year, good friends, a fantastic church…. But there’s something missing. You see, it’s summer and there’s not much snow around in the summer.

Someone posted this on an internet forum that I read:

How do “YOU” deal with ski depression?

I don’t deal with it very well. I get extremely bored, but don’t want to do anything, except look at ski gear or watch videos. Mountain biking and drinking helps………..a little..Been trying to deal with it for over half my live, you’d think I’d have it figured out by now.

Is this my problem? Is it ski depression? We’ll find out. In a couple of weeks I’m planning on climbing to the top of a snowy mountain with my lightweight ski kit and carving some turns. I don’t care if the snow is mushy suncupped garbage. At least it will be turns.

My coworkers think I’m crazy.  It’s the middle of summer and when we have a drizzly cool summer day I start checking the freezing level and calculating the odds of fresh snow at camp muir.  This might be madness but they always say, “follow your dreams” and my dream is to ski!

So I pose the question to you.  What gets you through the dog days of summer?