A Shaky Start & an Embarrassing Lift Incident, but a Great Day on the Slopes

I got up early yesterday morning to celebrate Krissy’s birthday with a day of skiing at Steven’s. There were 5 of us, in 2 cars – a subaru wagon and a little volkswagen (of bio-diesel fame). The typical 2 hour trek up to the pass took us 4 hours! Record numbers of skiers descended (or actually ascended) on the resort, the snow was falling and numerous motorists were unprepared – including the bio-diesel VW – making the trip slow going. People (guys) were hoping out of the cars and peeing in snow banks in record numbers. The VW lost traction, started slipping, and got moving in a forward direction again but then there was no way it could continue on without chains. Realizing he had underestimated Mother Nature again, Mr. VW humbly turned back, vowing to buy chains that day, while I hopped in the subaru and continued up to the pass. It was so crowded that we were sent to the overflow lot, a mile past the summit, and picked up by school bus that probably ran like a dream in the 1970’s but not quite so well in 2006. We heard later that people were actually turned away because there was just no more room to park! I was certain that the skiing was going to be miserable – long lift lines, dodging skiers and boarders left and right, sloppy snow but it was surprisingly calm out there on the slopes. I don’t think we waited more than a few minutes to board any lift, and the conditions were great.

I had a little mishap though… We neared the top of a lift that had a slightly different configuration than most, instead of turning around, the lift continued on and went down the other side of the mountain. Krissy made a comment, jokingly, just as we were unloading about continuing on without getting off. I looked up to see what she was talking about and then missed my opportunity to get off the lift. Before I knew it I was about 5 feet off the ground (Krissy said my skis were at her eye level)! I let out a yelp and just jumped off without even thinking about it. I actually landed upright but was off balance and forced myself to fall to avoid running into oncoming traffic from another lift! I was laughing so hard, and sitting in a few feet of powder, that I couldn’t stand back up until I caught my breath. Krissy was laughing so hard that she couldn’t grab her camera out of her pocket fast enough to snap a pic of my lying on the ground – thank goodness. I learned my lesson. The rest of the afternoon I was very careful getting on and off all lifts, and there were no future incidents!

It is still snowing this week so more good ski trips to come!