skiing – wandering chardonnay

Fall update

October was not only birthday month but test month. I’ve had a mammogram, blood test, colonoscopy, a CT scan plus I met with my new oncologist ( by video call). New doc is nice and listens, maybe because I’m right there in his face. The good news is my scan came back clear. I still need to go in for a endoscopy as I am still having trouble swallowing.

Between the lack of appetite and trouble swallowing I have to keep an eye on my weight. Ironically this time last year I was buying bigger pants, they don’t fit now without pins. My weight has always been an “issue”.

Eating because I was sad, happy, bored used to be a thing. A joy of thru hiking was getting to eat anything and a lot of it. Mmm, food. Now, well it’s a chore and a complication. I lagged on my last hike because couldn’t eat enough calories. So much of everything revolves around food. When I go out with friends first order of business is locating the restroom in case I get hit with nausea. I have to eat slowly, I hate having people wait for me. Hate wasting food but sometimes it’s just too much.

So my unsolicited advice is take care of yourself..but eat the damn cake!

On the upside my CT scan did come back good. More tests in December to figure out the swallowing issue. Til then I’m working on a new project, waxing up my skis and looking forward to getting back in the mountain this winter.

Are you ready for winter?

Waiting on the snow…

Life, skiing

I was really stoked about the new ski season! I got new boots and new skis and I was ready to go! Unfortunately mother nature was not so ready.

With there not being alot of snow in the early season we got passes for Mt. Rose (they open pretty early). Boy after a whole summer off you get a little rusty. Since there was more dirt than snow at Alpine we decided to go for a hike up the mountain instead. Checked out the new chairlift. Walking up the mountain you can find some interesting things (you know stuff people dropped in the snow).

Road Trip part 2

Life, Road Trip, skiing, Uncategorized

Second leg of my super road trip I rolled out of Michigan and blew through Indiana and Illinois. That’s about where I hit I-80. I-80 westbound would take me all the way to Tahoe. I’ve driven this stretch of road Michigan to Colorado so many times now I truly think I could do it with my eyes closed! I lived in Iowa for about 20 years. I always look forward to going back. A lot of growing up, for me, happened there and many friends were made. As always I didn’t get to see every one I would have liked to. But I got to see some old friends and their adorable little guy!

Driving through the windmills of western Iowa my mind linged on the days I biked those rolling hills. Ah, the fly over states. After living in the densely populated west coast I longed for the open space of the Midwest and the comfort of a small town.

Since I was rolling north through Colorado I just had to stop at New Belgium Brewery (Ft. Collins). Have you been there!! Next time you’re in the area stop for the tour. The tour guides (and beer) make it real fun. I lost my wallet hurrying to catch the tour, the people who found it were trying to contact me before I finished the tour! Thank goodness. New Belgium…..Good People….Great Beer.

After lunch and a chilly stroll around Ft Collins (man it was 79 degrees when I left Iowa) I was westbound again. By the time I hit Wyoming it was sleeting.

Nothing but good things to say about Wyoming. In 2006 I hunted a buffalo there. Considered moving to Chugwater when they were giving away land and hiking the Basin was a joy. Oh and they have wild horses, what a sight to see! I had planned on camping/hiking a few days in WY. However the cold rain and digital highway signs warned of a storm coming. So on I went.

Next stop Salt Lake City……wait hold up Park City, I see you…got to come back to this cute town to ski. Spent the next miles plotting a winter ski resort road trip. How fun would that be! A quick stop to stretch my legs and check out Temple Square.

With reports of fresh snow falling in Tahoe I pushed on from Salt Lake City. It was a good choice…….got back just in time to get in one last powder day!! Not a bad end to a road trip.

Spring Skiing!!!

Road Trip part 1

Life, Road Trip, skiing, Travel

Recently I did a 5000ish mile cross cross road trip. Nothing was really planned except getting home for Mothers Day to see my mom in Michigan. I left Tahoe and headed south. What, out of the way, nope. Had a quick stop and Mammoth to hit the slopes. Plus, I needed to stop in to San Diego re connect with some friends and grab some summer gear from my storage unit. It was great having brunch with my peeps, Coleen and Mike host a kickin waffle brunch in their sweet yard! Thanks Kassy for girl chat, a place to crash and providing much needed kitty time!

Cornice Bowl
mmm brunch
ahhh…Spring
Kittens
Mammoth

After San Diego, fully loaded, Q (my suv’s name) and I headed out across the desert towards Las Vegas. I car camped most of the way, I had the back sleeping pad set up. I really like camping on BLM spots, if not I slip into a truck stop or quietly slide into a hotel parking lot. The route through Utah and Colorado is a really beautiful drive. Massive red stone formations in the Valley of Fire and Moab! I really need a specific trip to Utah and stop stealing moments on my way else where. Found Vail pass closed for safety concerns so I slept in Avon. If I had been a week earlier I could have got some skiing in but most of the areas were already closed for the season.

Open road
Beaver Creek fresh snow!
luv the road signs
cuz kittens

There rest of the way to Michigan was a dark blur. I got news outside of Denver that my uncle had passed so getting home meant driving through the night. I’ll miss my uncle Frank he was quite the character loud and could always lift the mood when family got too serious. He never questioned my crazy life, just sent me side money through Western Union! Old school. Frank dude you will be missed…..see ya on the other side!

Spirit of the Road

Hiking, PCT, skiing, Travel

On the move again! Left Tahoe and headed south on hwy 395, such a beautiful drive. Had to stop off at Mammoth, I’ve hiked there and snow camped but this was my first time skiing!! With the incredible amounts of snow they are saying they will be open til July!! I had a fantastic time the snow was great and the sky a brilliant blue. Even with some of the chairs not running there was still a lot of area to cover and not a lot of people!

After skiing my little heart out, with a smile, I hoped back on 395 southbound and down! Even though I’m skiing, hiking season is in full swing! So stopped in at Casa de Luna! Terrie and Joe have been generously taking in PCT hikers for 20 years! They had a full house, I really enjoyed hanging out with all the hikers and watching the zero day Decathlon! I need to go back on trail! But not now….I hit the road for San Diego.

Oh San Diego how I have not missed your traffic, but I sure missed my peeps! Catching up with everyone over champagne and waffles, yes please!

While snow was dumping up north, rain was dumping in San Diego. Everything is so green and blooming up a storm! I was so great to see everyone again and visit my things in storage lol! But the road trip rolls on….oh did mention there were…..kittens!!

Winter Season Wrap Up

Life, skiing

To be honest it wasn’t all blue bird powder days. Some days were truly tough, but I made through those days partly due to my co workers. They drove me crazy, made me laugh and taught me many things.

I officially made it through my winter season as a lift operator at Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows! It was an epic season indeed. With record snowfall,
over 500 inches of total snowfall this season. There were times I truly believed it would never stop snowing. So much back aching shoveling but also some of the best ski conditions I have ever experienced.

There is so much that goes into running the resort. Everyone doing their part; lifties, ski patrol, mountain host, groomers, maintenance just to name a few. Some how we pulled it off day after day, in the best and toughest conditions. So much goes into making the mountain safe and ready to shred.

Thank you Alpine Meadows 2018-2019 crew for reminding not to take life to seriously, that I’m better than I think, and take a breath enjoy the view everything is going to be alright. Now I gotta see about some new sticks before my next adventure……….

“Skiing is expensive, but it’s cheaper than therapy”.

Ski or Board, just send it

skiing

It’s been one heck of a winter season, and it not over yet! Now it’s time for Spring Skiing!! I’ve been a skiing fool. Pretty much I ski everyday, then on at least one of my days off. I’ve gotten so much better and learned so much.

Do one thing that scares you everyday…..you’ve probably heard that one huh? Well there are a lot of opportunities to do that on the mountain. Black diamond runs, fresh powder, back country skiing, snowmobiling…all in avalanche territory. Oh and snowboarding.

A bit sore, so yeah back to skiing for now. Still got plenty to learn there, really I’m more a skier than a boarder (I can’t even skate board, yet). I understand the draw all the cool kids are doing it and those soft boots are awesome. Downside all that unbuckling, sitting on the snow to buckle, rolling over in the snow to stand up (i had snow in my pockets at one point). For real tho, you can cover a lot more area in skis (there’s a reason why ski patrol are skiers not boarder, just sayin). Oh have you been back country skiing? That’s just me, I’m a skier…..you do you. Just get out there and scare yourself.

Certain Shade of Green -Incubus

skiing

It’s not easy being green.

Actually its not hard. Heck I never thought green was my color. Apparently it is now. My on mountain uniform is green and totally matches my backpack (that I’ve never used, til now). By pure coincidence I bought a light green helmet (it was the last inexpensive one they had). Plus I have Cnoc green ski poles too! Then I just got gifted this sweet coat….

Usually I got for the black out look……

Guess it’s time to mix it up a bit! Wandering chardonnay is going green!

(Side note: I normally don’t do name brand stuff…..but I am seriously loving on my North Face gear, like all of it. I could certainly update my ski kit, I’ve had everything for years, Salomon boots, Atomic Skis and an off the rack jacket. When I like something I stick with it, but I’m on the look out for replacements!)

Februburied

skiing

Snowmageddon……..Snowpocalypse, whatever you want to call it we go a crap load of snow. 102″ in the past 7 days, 38″ in the last 24 hours! But wait the forecast for the next week:

We are good on snow, yo….for now anyway we are full.

Last night the snow seemed like it would never stop. One of my roommates was trying to go to Santa Cruz but got turned around in Truckee when I-80 closed. It took my other roommate 2 hours to get home from Squaw 8 miles away! So glad I opted to stay in, plenty of stories of people stuck and hotels full. We had multiple people crashing at our place and more cars than we had parking space for. So we broke out the emergency supplies (beer, vodka, tequila and frozen pizza) and stayed up til 4 am watching people slowly drive by.

Squaw and Alpine were closed for the day due to high avalanche hazard. This morning the sun came out and the sky was a beautiful blue…we dug out (2 cars anyway)….then it clouded over and started snowing…again! Tomorrow I’m back on the mountain, I foresee a lot of shoveling and possibly a chance to send it! This is shaping up to be one memorable winter season. Oh Tahoe……

Magic Carpet Ride

Life, skiing

Worked the magic carpet today (a surface lift used to move skiers and snowboarders uphill). It’s kinda fun to work the carpet. Its a reminder that we all start somewhere. There was a ski instructor with 4 little kids all under the age of 5. Little shredders! They are so fun to watch they have little fear and learned quickly (low center of gravity helps, I think). So cool to see them “get it”, to the point they weren’t even waiting for the instuctor, just barreling on down the hill. Funny though when they get tired they just fall over and lay there! That’s it done.

Later there was the beginner adults with their instructor. Adults tend to be more tentative and careful. When kids fall they lay there….til you pick them up (and sometimes cry); adults fall, lay there laugh and apologize. No worries I say..lending a hand, now you know how to fall. Nailed it.

Eventually they will move on from the carpet to the chair lifts. Watching people learn to ski is pretty cool. Seeing their confidence build. Like most other things in life you will fall, but you have to get up (sometimes with help) and give it another try. Get back on the ~~horse~~ skiis! You got this!