Lots of stellar crystals

Another winter storm made for a fabulous weekend. I stepped off the Summit Shuttle with more than an hour left of daylight on Friday night at Alpental. As dusk settled darker, and the lights came on, visibility shifted. Luckily the snow stayed light and lovely. I met up with Cass, Allyson, and JW for a few runs before catching the shuttle back to Central.

Suprising sunbreaks made for a Saturday of rest, yoga, food, time with friends, and beautiful bold rainbows.

Sunday ski bus seems earlier and earlier each Sunday. I have even taken to sleeping a bit on the ride up; my charges passed out too, listening to their iPods. Even with chains required today, we made it up to Stevens Pass by 9:30. What great snow!!! My lessons continue and it's safe to say that I've broken through another plateau on the learning curve in these few short weeks. I'm working on fine tuning my turn shape, turn width, and consistency. With hero snow, it's easier to be a hero. I was frequently in a turning groove and rocked out. I love this! Lunch with some friends and then back out in a snowstorm. Stellar crystals, hexagonal plates, and a few narrow columns showed off their stuff on the black cuffs of my jacket and the knees of my pants. I live for this magic. Thank you Wilson Bentley, The Snowflake Man, for your work and awe inspiration.

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Sparkles

Friday night in a over a foot of fresh
sparkling snow

after traffic jams and narrow lanes
late starts and a fluffy fall
to Alpental with friends

we break the fowg layer
so that Casseopia and Orion
and stellar friends
sparkle
as we ski

Winded

We've had 24 consecutive days of measurable rainfall. It wasn't the rain that kept me off the two wheels today. It was the howling winds at up to 30 mph gusts, so strong and loud that the rattling of windows woke me this morning. So I drove to work, and then walked to yoga. Two days of yoga, that pretty much left me winded too.

Stevens Pass

It was early when I left the house in the dark for the Sunday ski bus. I pulled into the West Seattle Stadium parking lot and there was no bus. Thankfully, it arrived a few minutes later and the boys from last year, now taller, boarded the bus. There were a few new kids, two who I later had to teach to put a wicket through their jacket pull and put the ticket on the wicket without getting it stuck to everything else! We made the regular stop at The Evergreen School picked up those kids, some of whom I've known for ten years! I think I slept most of the ride up there, through the rain and the dissapointing lack of snow. Clearly, the forecast for a winter storm was wrong.

This is my 8th year taking tele lessons from Steve at Ski King. This is compensation for my chaperone duties. It's a blast! Steve and I headed out for a number of runs on the back side of the mountain. Snow was inconsistent, cold, and icy in places. Fast. Gave me a chance to work on my rhythm. As Steve says, we are just fine tuning now. He's being picky. This is fine with me.

I met up with other friends for a long lunch. I seemed to have left the tele legs in the lodge for the 4 runs we did as a posse in the afternoon. But I pushed through the burn for the joy of the day.

Today marks ten days out skiing since November 1. Yahoo!!!
ski ya,
jcl

Snoqualmie Central and Alpental

Yesterday was the first Friday night ski bus and we went up to Snoqualmie where it was 35 degrees and pouring. I think the pass temp sign said 41 when we passed it! I joined some high school science teachers and fellow bike commuters to Alpental for a few turns in lovely carvable snow (spring corn quality) and then some beers. We rode the bus back to Central, I checked in on a few kids dripping wet and looking like drowned rats. A few of us adults then a final two runs in the rain at Central before getting on the buses for home. Sunday is the ski bus to Stevens and hopefully the temps are coming down some time today. It needs to snow!

crafty ladies

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Double load

Admitedly, the new year hasn't been so strong for this twowheeler. With reserves down, I've doubled my wheel load to work this week. While I feel a bit guilty I did hear an NPR story on Biodiesel. This drive time has also offered extra time for yoga and other reflection. Luckily, I've still caught the sunrise from my classroom windows decorated with paper snowflakes. Today I saw the snow on the Olympic Mountains, for the first time this year, through the windsheild. It is a new view.

Alpental

When he called for the snow report, I knew there was a hidden agenda. Kevin missed the North Cascades; he wanted to ski and he wanted to see me. So getting a late start after New Years Eve, we headed up to Alpental. KWu passed the buck in the parking lot as he was heading out, stating the conditions above. He was correct. Poor visibility, but decent snow to be had. Kevin and I took a few runs and generally enjoyed the day and time skiing together. We returned to Seattle to do some yoga and stretchs. The entire weekend seemed to be about stretching.