Tag: ski

Skiing with Family

Family SkiingSkiing with family is one of life’s best blessings. There is no better day than the day you can spend up in the mountains on the slopes. We taught our kids, and their kids, and are now lucky enough to be able to assist in teaching the great-grandkids. Thank you, Sarah and Nick!

I know, some people think it is crazy that Pete and I still love to go skiing. Honestly, I’d love to ski till the day I die. It is that beautiful up there, on the top of the mountains in the winter. You will most definitely be hooked for life, once you . Skiing or snowboarding is physically challenging, adventurous, and surrounded by infinitely gorgeous scenery. It is very easy to forget technology and work up on the hill. Not only that, you come home with a wonderful tiredness that makes getting some sleep, the easiest thing to do.

The people on the hill, are not ever stuck on the couch. When the snow falls we smile and get the gear out in anticipation of tons of fun. We have invested money in equipment, clothing &  lift tickets. Take time to learn the skills (lessons in falling and getting up), as we learn how to ski or snowboard. Most are very good-natured adventurers and great jokers. You can have fun with almost anyone you meet on the hill.

That song, “Girls, just wanna have fun!” should be, “Skiers & Snowboarders, just wanna have fun!”

Come check out the best hill in NE Washington, 49 Degrees North in Chewelah. Sliding down the slopes with boards strapped on your feet is the most fun a person can have without having to come up with bail money!

Bluebird Ski Day at 49º North

Ski Day

Bluebird ski day at 49º North 2
49º North in Chewelah WA

Today was a bluebird ski day up on the mountain at 49º North Ski Resort in Chewelah Washington USA. The sky was ultra blue and the conditions great, with a new layer of about 10″ of fluff to play on. Any questions?

Bluebird day at 49º North 3
49º North in Chewelah Washington USA the view from on top the mountain on a bluebird day. #ski49N, #bluebirdSkiDay

The world’s best ski buddy, my husband Pete, took this photograph at the top by chairs #1 & #5. In the second photograph, the colors are so vibrant with scenery that almost looks too perfect going off into the distance.

Possible Painting

Pete truly has a great eye for taking pictures. I love the way the shadows in this picture are adding intriguing shapes to the composition.  Also, I am marveling at the amount of color on this winter day. The whole day was just absolutely beautiful, outside, in the Inland Northwest. Honestly, skiing is like experiencing heaven here on earth.

Ski Hill Memory Treasures

I found some birthday Ski Hill Memory Treasures while going through old photographs. We have been loving outdoor skiing sports for a long, long time.

PeteVal1Pete and I were married the year before, and I remember that wonderful soft beard of many colors? In January of 2000, we were the parents of two young teenagers.

It was my daughter, Rachel’s 16th birthday, so, where did we have her party? Why, up at the ski hill of course! Skiing, what better way is there for a teenager to spend birthday energy? With a total in attendance of eight people, we had three newbies with us; Allison, Sarah and Colleen. Then there were the old-timer ski hill bums Cody, Patrick, Peter, Rachel, and myself. You classify as a ski bum if you go up on the hill every day off you get.

Newbies

AllisonPat
Allison skiing with Pat boarding by her.
Sarah
Sarah falling only a few times.
Colleen1
Colleen snowplowing
Colleen2
Colleen conquering the bunny hill.

Old Timers

Then there was the rest of the gang…

AllisonRachelSarah
Allison, Rachel, and Sarah

Not a lot of money but good food, friends and laughter.

AllisonRachelCody
Allison, Rachel, and Cody

Expressive body language…

RachelCody
Rachel and Cody
Cody
Cody

Lunchtime had soup sandwiches and birthday cake at our table. Cooler and thermos experts we were and still are. Remembering these days and your friends bring a warm chuckle to my heart. I wonder how everyone is doing now. You guys were a really fun group to hang out with, and I treasure these memories brought back by a small packet of photographs taken in January of 2000. We know that is the date because of the irritating red neon date on the bottom right corner.

Skiing at 49 Degrees North

Ski Conditions

Skiing at 49 Degrees North in Chewelah WA this weekend varied a great deal. Yesterday (Saturday) we skied up on the hill we had good snow to try out our fat skis. Now I see why everyone loves their fats. There were 3-4 inches of fluff to float over and practice on for me. Pete went up to the top to check it out and found that the cloud cover was so thick that he was skiing by feel. We opted to stay on the lower hill by chair two and play in the Hobbit forest because visability was only 1-2 feet on top. Quite a fun day!

We saw a white little weasel, and of course no camera ready. He popped his head out of the snow and looked like he was going to get Pete. They are hard to see but so much smaller than I thought they were. Then he just popped down and dug over a few feet and popped up again. Found one on YouTube kind of like it here.

Snow Today

Today (Sunday) we drove up to the ski hill early and saw beautiful bluebird day sunshine but there were some strong gusts of wind and some chill in the air. Anticipation was really high. The wind increased as we climbed and although there is 4-5 inches of fresh snow it is on top of a solid ice base. A fluffy skating rink. It must have melted yesterday afternoon or rained, then snowed during the night. The parking lot was interesting to traverse, very very, carefully. With those wonderfully comfy, ski boots, ha ha …. the walking across a parking lot skating rink was very interesting!

The lifts were delayed starting about an hour due to the wind being too strong on top. I decided to go only on chair 2 to check it out since I promised myself no injuries this year. Additionally, with learning a new type of ski “fats” it is so easy to make a mistake. Good choice, self! The wind was blowing the fluff off and drifting. This wimpy old fart decided to call it a day and live to ski another when conditions were easier to survive.