Thursday, January 4, 2018 -- We go home today! We were all up before 6:00 to get last-minute packing finished, grab some breakfast (a chocolate muffin, apple, orange juice), and load the shuttle for the airport at 6:45. Checking our bags, going through security, and the entire nonstop flight from Portland to St. Louis was smooth. We had a fair bit of turbulence and clouds, but at times, the latter disappeared -- we saw parts of the Grand Tetons, Rockies, and Great Plains, all covered in snow. We had grabbed turkey-Swiss sandwiches at the airport before we boarded, so along with the airplane snacks and drinks (some Ritz crackers, tomato juice, and water for me), we had a full meal high in the sky! As we began the descent toward St. Louis, the clouds again parted and we had full views of many familiar landmarks and highways, including our beloved home ski hill, Hidden Valley! We smoothly touched down right on time, barely had to wait for our bags, and were home by 4:15. Due to the intense cold while we were gone (which hasn't really let up), our pond is frozen solid (6-8 inches), with a glassy-smooth top. Matthew and I had to check it out before unloading all our stuff from the car, and there will certainly be some ice-skating coming up in the next few days!
Because we just cannot get enough of snow, cold, and skiing, we quickly donned our ski gear and headed over to Hidden Valley. In all seriousness, our pick-a-day passes allow us one day per week (only Monday through Thursday) to enjoy cruising. Because we were gone every other valid day this week, this was our only chance. We skied "the circuit," as I like to call it -- every run in order, from one side of the mountain to the other, and we laughed about the comparatively small runs and slow lifts to what we've enjoyed for the past week. Dinner was leftover rotisserie chicken, potato salad, blueberries, blackberries, cherry tomatoes, sparkling grape juice, and plenty of Christmas goodies haunting practically every corner of our home! More unpacking, organization, and planning for the week ahead ensued...and then I may or may not have fallen asleep by the fire my dad built. 😊
As always, I thank you for "joining" us for the journey and reading my blog. It's a pleasure to share our day's activities, adventures, food choices, and everything else with you, and I hope it's enjoyable for you to read as well. Until next time, I bid you farewell!
Blessings,
~Anna
Friday, January 5, 2018
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Northwest Ski Trip -- Day 6
I should be caught up after today since we are currently in the airport ready to fly home, so there will be one final blog post after this one, and then you'll have to wait for the next Kelpe adventure (it probably won't be too long!).
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 -- Today we were up at 7:15 to have some breakfast (blueberries, blackberries, and milk), get ready, pack and load everything up (we aren't returning to our motel after today's skiing), and head up to Crystal Mountain for our second day of skiing there. We skied many of the same runs that we did yesterday, as well as some new ones. And in a mogul field, you can always find a new line to take! The Northview double chairlift was not open yesterday, so we decided to give one run off of it a try in the morning. One run was plenty -- the top part was pretty steep, which isn't a problem for us, but the snow was extremely soft, wet, and sticky. Making a turn was a chore, hoping and praying both skis made it around with you still attached. Once we got down that (with no wipe-outs for anyone, even my dad!), we were greeted with several more runs full of the iciest, hardest, and most unforgiving moguls I've skied on for quite awhile. Our descent took over 30 minutes (normal for us is 5-10 minutes depending on the vertical rise), and we were quite happy to head back to better snow at the top of the lift! Today's weather was incredible -- temperatures ranging from 30 to nearly 50 degrees, a far cry from the single digits we will experience back home in STL! Sunshine bathed us all day, which made for spring-like skiing -- complete with shedding layers of clothing at lunch and smearing through thick slush. No worries about being cold, caught in a snowstorm, or dealing with poor visibility!
Lunch was at the Summit House Restaurant, near the top of the gondola and offering impressive views of all the surrounding mountains (especially Mt. Rainier). I had a chicken-brie sandwich (a generous chicken breast, spinach, tomato, slivers of apple, Brie cheese crumbles, and a Dijon spread on a brioche bun), served with fries, as well as plenty of water and a little hot cocoa topped with whipped cream.
A new run for today was the terrain park, which actually had a few wide enough box jumps for those of us with skis to comfortably fly across. My brother Matthew, the most conservative and measured skier of all of us, did not participate, although he was very happy to grab some GoPro video of my dad and me playing! We made two circuits through it, the second time being our final run, which was definitely epic. I combined the best of both worlds of skiing -- starting with the loose, shred-y, cut-loose-and-have-fun jumping and cruising through the terrain park; followed by get-down-to-business and technical carving/setting an edge in that snow; and topped off with whipping my skis around to cruise backwards to the base, which with twin tips is quite easy and enjoyable. My dad and Matthew visited the shop to find new helmets, as well as goggles for Matthew, before we made our way back to our car to make the long drive to Portland. Unfortunately, it took 4½ hours (should have taken 3½ at the most) due to Seattle suburb rush hour, which apparently goes past 7:00 pm! We arrived at our Comfort Inn & Suites near the Portland airport just before 8:30, unloaded everything, grabbed some dinner at Subway (an oven-roasted chicken sub, white cheddar chips, lemon-flavored water from the hotel), my dad returned the rental car, we organized and consolidated everything for flying out tomorrow, got cleaned up, and finally got in bed at 12:30.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018 -- Today we were up at 7:15 to have some breakfast (blueberries, blackberries, and milk), get ready, pack and load everything up (we aren't returning to our motel after today's skiing), and head up to Crystal Mountain for our second day of skiing there. We skied many of the same runs that we did yesterday, as well as some new ones. And in a mogul field, you can always find a new line to take! The Northview double chairlift was not open yesterday, so we decided to give one run off of it a try in the morning. One run was plenty -- the top part was pretty steep, which isn't a problem for us, but the snow was extremely soft, wet, and sticky. Making a turn was a chore, hoping and praying both skis made it around with you still attached. Once we got down that (with no wipe-outs for anyone, even my dad!), we were greeted with several more runs full of the iciest, hardest, and most unforgiving moguls I've skied on for quite awhile. Our descent took over 30 minutes (normal for us is 5-10 minutes depending on the vertical rise), and we were quite happy to head back to better snow at the top of the lift! Today's weather was incredible -- temperatures ranging from 30 to nearly 50 degrees, a far cry from the single digits we will experience back home in STL! Sunshine bathed us all day, which made for spring-like skiing -- complete with shedding layers of clothing at lunch and smearing through thick slush. No worries about being cold, caught in a snowstorm, or dealing with poor visibility!
Lunch was at the Summit House Restaurant, near the top of the gondola and offering impressive views of all the surrounding mountains (especially Mt. Rainier). I had a chicken-brie sandwich (a generous chicken breast, spinach, tomato, slivers of apple, Brie cheese crumbles, and a Dijon spread on a brioche bun), served with fries, as well as plenty of water and a little hot cocoa topped with whipped cream.
A new run for today was the terrain park, which actually had a few wide enough box jumps for those of us with skis to comfortably fly across. My brother Matthew, the most conservative and measured skier of all of us, did not participate, although he was very happy to grab some GoPro video of my dad and me playing! We made two circuits through it, the second time being our final run, which was definitely epic. I combined the best of both worlds of skiing -- starting with the loose, shred-y, cut-loose-and-have-fun jumping and cruising through the terrain park; followed by get-down-to-business and technical carving/setting an edge in that snow; and topped off with whipping my skis around to cruise backwards to the base, which with twin tips is quite easy and enjoyable. My dad and Matthew visited the shop to find new helmets, as well as goggles for Matthew, before we made our way back to our car to make the long drive to Portland. Unfortunately, it took 4½ hours (should have taken 3½ at the most) due to Seattle suburb rush hour, which apparently goes past 7:00 pm! We arrived at our Comfort Inn & Suites near the Portland airport just before 8:30, unloaded everything, grabbed some dinner at Subway (an oven-roasted chicken sub, white cheddar chips, lemon-flavored water from the hotel), my dad returned the rental car, we organized and consolidated everything for flying out tomorrow, got cleaned up, and finally got in bed at 12:30.
Terrain off of the Northview chairlift...looks beautiful, but it wasn't so fun!
Mt. Rainier accumulated some clouds toward the end of the day
~Anna
Northwest Ski Trip -- Day 5
A day late again...I'm sorry!
Tuesday, January 4, 2018 -- Today started just before 7:00 with a little breakfast (banana and milk) before heading out for another day of skiing, this time at Crystal Mountain Ski Resort. As the largest ski area in Washington (2,600 acres), there were dozens of runs to choose from and pretty nice weather. We had sunshine for a good part of the day, and high overcast for the rest. Temperatures ranged from the high 20s to 45 degrees! There were a lot of nice groomed and ungroomed runs with fabulous steep pitches and soft bumps (moguls) to bounce through. In my opinion (the rest of my family might disagree), the best stuff all day was off of Chair 6, a double that took us to 7,002 feet (also the highest point on the resort). After a slightly-sketchy entrance of skirting rocks and tree stumps while avoiding falling off the mountain, the goods unfolded before us -- glorious, wide open bowls with endless lines to choose. We made two circuits, each time enjoying the soft snow, sunshine, and perfectly steep pitch. Lunch was well deserved after that -- a mushroom-onion burger, shared package of fries, hot cocoa, and water.
Another cool thing about Crystal Mountain is its close proximity to Mt. Rainier, at 14,411 feet the highest mountain in the Cascade Range. From the top of several lifts at Crystal, we were awarded 360-degree views of mountains, the crown jewel being the towering, ruggedly majestic Rainier. Whether bathed in golden sunlight or angry gray clouds, it is just as awe-inspiring and photo-worthy.
With high-speed lifts and no crowds to speak of, we were able to get as many turns in as we could manage. Thus, after a full day of skiing (from about 9:45 to 3:30), we were content to head back down out of the mountains into the heart of downtown Seattle. We met a friend of Matthew's (my brother) to all go up in the Space Needle, being rewarded with pleasant temperatures (around 45 degrees), no wind, no precipitation, no fog/clouds, and incredible views of the bustling city 520 feet below us. My dad and I counted 16 tower cranes -- all decorated with red, green, blue, white, and yellow lights -- in a relatively small space! Afterwards, we enjoyed dinner at India Kitchen, a nearby restaurant. My coconut prawn curry and garlic naan (bread) were delicious, and even though none of us ordered dessert, our waiter brought out a free piece of cheesecake topped with a mango sauce, so I enjoyed a few bites of that. We finally made it back to our motel in North Bend just a few minutes before 10:00, so it wasn't until 11:40 that I crawled into bed (and, hence, why I didn't blog last night!).
Tuesday, January 4, 2018 -- Today started just before 7:00 with a little breakfast (banana and milk) before heading out for another day of skiing, this time at Crystal Mountain Ski Resort. As the largest ski area in Washington (2,600 acres), there were dozens of runs to choose from and pretty nice weather. We had sunshine for a good part of the day, and high overcast for the rest. Temperatures ranged from the high 20s to 45 degrees! There were a lot of nice groomed and ungroomed runs with fabulous steep pitches and soft bumps (moguls) to bounce through. In my opinion (the rest of my family might disagree), the best stuff all day was off of Chair 6, a double that took us to 7,002 feet (also the highest point on the resort). After a slightly-sketchy entrance of skirting rocks and tree stumps while avoiding falling off the mountain, the goods unfolded before us -- glorious, wide open bowls with endless lines to choose. We made two circuits, each time enjoying the soft snow, sunshine, and perfectly steep pitch. Lunch was well deserved after that -- a mushroom-onion burger, shared package of fries, hot cocoa, and water.
Another cool thing about Crystal Mountain is its close proximity to Mt. Rainier, at 14,411 feet the highest mountain in the Cascade Range. From the top of several lifts at Crystal, we were awarded 360-degree views of mountains, the crown jewel being the towering, ruggedly majestic Rainier. Whether bathed in golden sunlight or angry gray clouds, it is just as awe-inspiring and photo-worthy.
With high-speed lifts and no crowds to speak of, we were able to get as many turns in as we could manage. Thus, after a full day of skiing (from about 9:45 to 3:30), we were content to head back down out of the mountains into the heart of downtown Seattle. We met a friend of Matthew's (my brother) to all go up in the Space Needle, being rewarded with pleasant temperatures (around 45 degrees), no wind, no precipitation, no fog/clouds, and incredible views of the bustling city 520 feet below us. My dad and I counted 16 tower cranes -- all decorated with red, green, blue, white, and yellow lights -- in a relatively small space! Afterwards, we enjoyed dinner at India Kitchen, a nearby restaurant. My coconut prawn curry and garlic naan (bread) were delicious, and even though none of us ordered dessert, our waiter brought out a free piece of cheesecake topped with a mango sauce, so I enjoyed a few bites of that. We finally made it back to our motel in North Bend just a few minutes before 10:00, so it wasn't until 11:40 that I crawled into bed (and, hence, why I didn't blog last night!).
Mt. Rainier in all its glory
Matthew, me, and our dad with Mt. Rainier behind us
Me, my dad, Matthew, and Matthew's friend (now wife!) Monica in the Space Needle
At the base of the Space Needle was a Chihuly art exhibit -- one of my favorite artists! I love the unique and colorful aspects of each piece!
The Space Needle
~Anna
Monday, January 1, 2018
Northwest Ski Trip -- Day 4
The new year 2018 started before 4:00 a.m. with several drunks shouting incoherently and beating on our motel door not once, but twice. Lovely...they finally found their room, I assume, and we were able to get some more sleep. After breakfast (blueberries, blackberries, an orange, and milk) and gearing up, we had a pleasantly short drive up to The Summit at Snoqualmie. We were carving turns by 9:45. The Summit actually has four summits -- West, Central, East, and Alpental -- all of which we skied on. Later in the season, when there is more snow, you can ski between each on traverses through the woods and over creeks/rocks; being that it is so early in the season, however, we had to utilize the shuttles running between each mountain. In the evening, we did cut across from Summit West to Central, ending in an icy and tree-filled mogul field (we all emerged, although my dad caught his ski on one of the trees and went tumbling...). The snow was not as good as we had at Stevens Pass yesterday -- many of the mogul fields we charged were hard, icy, and unforgiving, as well as some spots on groomed runs -- but it's nothing we couldn't handle. A low cloud cover meant no sun, but we had a wonderful surprise on Summit Alpental after a late lunch at Tiroler Stube (clam chowder in a bread bowl, cocoa/French Vanilla coffee mix) -- the Edelweiss double chairlift took us to 5,610 feet and above the clouds! When we broke out of the incessant grayness, fog, and mist and into the glorious sunshine, brilliant blue sky, and noticeably-warmer temperature (they ranged from about 20 to 35 today), I felt so alive and grateful for this opportunity to ski. Even regulars to The Summit at Snoqualmie were popping out their phones to snap pictures, although even the best photographer couldn't capture the experience -- you had to be there to drink it in and savor the beauty. Skiing above the clouds isn't something we get to do very often!
The Summit at Snoqualmie offers some night skiing, so we got our turns in until about 5:15, then headed back to our motel. It was leftover night -- leftover pizza and Mediterranean split every which way, as well as a little treat (peanut butter shake) from Scott's Dairy Freeze right next door to our motel made for a wonderful meal and end to our second day of skiing...and the first day of 2018!
The Summit at Snoqualmie offers some night skiing, so we got our turns in until about 5:15, then headed back to our motel. It was leftover night -- leftover pizza and Mediterranean split every which way, as well as a little treat (peanut butter shake) from Scott's Dairy Freeze right next door to our motel made for a wonderful meal and end to our second day of skiing...and the first day of 2018!
Below the clouds...
...and above the clouds!
~Anna
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