Stevens Pass: Epic Day w/ the Fries

What's the best way to drown your sorrows over losing a hockey game that we should've won? Head up to the mountains for some fun time in some fresh pow pow. Last night in the locker room, a group of us (Joemarie, Marie, Erin, and "Top Shelf" April) decided to head to Stevens Pass off of highway 2. As tired as I was this morning, I am SO GLAD that I joined them because: a) there was almost 2 feet of fresh snow to play in, and; b) it was nice to ski with other people who drool like I do when there is so much fresh snow and who think of lunch as an inconvenience but a necessary *quick* stop to refuel. Today made up for the last two, seriously disappointing days where I ended up skiing solo since the others I was with preferred happy hour(s) over happy snow. Oh well....to each their own and that's fine.

We were on the slopes by 9:15 and headed to the back side (Mill Valley) where we could take advantage of all the new snow. Well, here is where I earned a new nickname. I wear a C on my jersey because I thought it was to remind me that I am Captain of the team and that I play Center position. Well, it's also because my new nickname is Crash. Our first run in the the deep stuff was not pretty and one by one we face planted into the fresh pow as we hadn't adjusted accordingly and were all leaning too far forward. Oh, what fun! Came back later and showed that run who was boss...woot! Later, we played a lot on Orion and other runs off of the Jupiter chair. My face hurt but not from the snow blasting my face, but from smiling and laughing so much! Before lunch, we decided to head into the trees off of Outer Limit - here is where I really earned my Crash credentials as I proceeded to do, not one, but, TWO yard sales down a narrow chute in the trees. Famous last words from Erin - "Oh, it's not too narrow"....uh, yeah...for a snowboarder! When I panicked, I tried to get my skis perpindicular to the run to slow down but the problem was there was no room to do that and my tips touched either side of the walls and nothing under the middle part of my skis. Yeah - disaster. After tumbling head over skis, I had to dig out my goggles, hat, both poles, and one ski....it was one heckuva yard sale, I must say. I never do things half-ass :-)) I finally showed up at the bottom of the run covered in snow and beaming! Marie commented that she hadn't seen me smile and laugh as much as I did today. Yeah, I was in heaven.

After lunch, we headed over to Big Chief and found some sweet pow over on Lower Diamond and that is where we stayed the rest of the day. The three of us (Erin, Marie and I) had headed over to Skyline to try and find Joemarie and April, but it was complete mayhem and we hightailed it out of there and back to Big Chief where we, literally, had Lower Diamond all to ourselves. These are the days skiers and boarders dream about and I'm so glad I didn't pass it by. The snow came down hard all day. Now, I've got to find some energy for my legs for a hockey game in an hour - it's my co-ed game so I'll just let the guys skate (tee hee). I'll just take my shift to give one of the wingers a breather.

Thank you Erin, Marie, Joemarie, and April for an epic, craaaazy, fun day and I'm glad I provided you with some gut-busting laughs (see, I don't limit my entertainment to just the ice rink). I was soaked underneath from my wipeouts - got home and wrung out my underwear (LOL). I promise to get a helmet so it's not so unnerving for me when I go through the trees.

Oh, and great team effort in getting the car out of the lot after the snowplow barricaded us in our spot. See you at practice or at our next game - Captain Crash.

Crystal Mountain Snowshoe & Fondue Experience

This is one of the post-season activities that we're thinking of for the Seattle Women's Hockey Club. A 2-1/2 hour snow-shoe tour in Crystal's south backcountry (via Lower and Upper Henskin Lake) with a stop at the Leaning Tree lounge. After that, we head back to the lodge for a well-earned fondue dinner....mmmm. I'll just skip right to the chocolate fondue dessert, thank you very much. Scheduled tours run on Friday and Saturday starting at 3:15 pm with dinner starting around 6:30 pm. Special tours for 10+ people can be arranged, or you can ask about trips midweek.

Anyway, just another snow activity option to consider since the skiing is, pretty much, lame this season. You can check out the details on Crystal Mountain's site.

Crunch time with MAG

Crusty, crunchy snow, that is. And, MAG stands for Marie's Adventure Group. I had to escape the cold, fog that has settled in over the Puget Sound region and if I wasn't on the next plane to a tropical destination, the second best option was to head up and get above the cloud bank. So, I replied to Marie's mass email blast for some snowshoe fun up at Snoqualmie Pass. Marie is one of my teammates from one of the hockey leagues that I play in Seattle. At the Issaquah park and ride lot, I met up with her and five other shoe'ers (I apologize in advance for any misspellings :-)): Josh, Gary, Jean, Sharon, and Katie.

Then, we headed east on I-90 to Summit East, aka Hyak. For the non-Puget Sound residents, Hyak made the news recently when a huge rainstorm caused a massive mudslide which took out 3 towers of one of their chairs (Keechelus) and damaged some vacation houses located towards the base of the hill. The downhill ski area is now closed for the season as you can see in the pictures I took, but the nordic trails remain open on the weekends for the season. From the lodge, you either ski up or hop on a shuttle to the Silver Fir Express chair for an easy ride to the top.

We chose the latter and it was also my chance to ride the newly, opened Silver Fir Quad. Back in the day, that area to the east of Summit Central was a little known stash of some fun runs through the trees....but through the years the word got out and now it's a quad :-( Oh well...today, I was happy to be on snowshoes and not on my skis. It's been a very disappointing year for skiing. Since the first part of this new year, we've had rain up in the passes, and then nothing since and today is Jan. 19!! I looked over some of my favorite runs and saw a lot of exposed trees, rocks, and a lot of ice. I still have to bring my skis in for repair after Blackcomb shredded the bottom over New Year's.

At the top, we hooked up with the nordic trail system and meandered starting first with the Rockdale Loop. I've forgotten the names of the other trails because I too busy trying to stay up with Josh when we jogged or sprinted on some parts of the trail (the uphills were especially fun...love hills even off the bike!). Afterwards, we returned to Issaquah and headed to Issaquah Brew House for a round of their home brews (we tasted everything from chocolate porters, hazelnut ales, and 'Dead Guy' ales) and some good grub.

It was a cold, blustery day, but the sun came out at the top, the clouds parted for a while, and good times added to the warmth. It was great meeting you all and I look forward to more outdoor fun.

Pacific Northwest: Highs and Lows (Day Hike to Camp Muir, Mt. Rainer -> Paddling on Lake Washington)

The first weekend of fall, and it couldn't have been better, weather-wise. My neighbor, Jen, had a rare weekend off so we made the best of it and decided to do a hike on Mt. Rainier with the goal of reaching Camp Muir (elevation, 10,188 feet) which is the highest point a day hiker can go on the mountain. It is also the base camp for those who plan to summit the mountain.

Now that school has started, the crowds were relatively thin - thank goodness! No wait at the entrance and it was National Trail Day so the park entrance fee was waived - woot! We parked the car at Paradise which is located on the southern part of the mountain and headed out to the Skyline trail. Along the way, we only ran into a handful of other people, a coyote, and a couple of whistling marmots (the coyote's snacks). How we missed the bears, I don't know, but everyone else saw them on the trail we were on. We probably scared them away with all our yakking.

I thought that once we were up past the alpine plants and into the rocky landscape of the mountain, we wouldn't run into too many people, however, there is only one way up to Camp Muir - via Pebble Creek Trail and up Muir Snowfield. We rounded a rock and I looked up and the mountain seemed peppered with climbers, hikers, and skiers. I hate to think what that trail looks like during July and August. But, it was an amazing day and a lot of people had the same idea as us. At the end of Pebble Creek Trail, we had two options to our approach...either scramble along the rocks or trudge through the snowfield. We chose to scramble for the most part. As we climbed, our pace slowed down dramatically as we hit the 7500 ft. level and we started to take more breaks. That was frustrating to the both of us because we thought of ourselves as relatively fit but the altitude kicked our ass.

When we got above the clouds, to the south, I had clear views of Mt. Adams, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Hood in Oregon (east of Portland). F***in' amazing. Our conversation was minimal at 8,000 ft because we were out of breath for most of the time...but, we also wanted to hear the mountain talk to us. To our left, we had spectacular views of the Nisqually glacier and you could hear the creaks and, on occasion, roars, of the ice as it made its way down the mountain.

Along the way, we kept pace with a group of about 8 people who were heading to Camp Muir to spend the night before their attempt to summit the next day. Earlier, we had run into a few people who tried to summit that morning but had to turn back due to the 60 mph winds on the mountain.

We decided to attempt the last 800 feet through the snowfield. We were kind of freaked out by the crevasses caused by the melting snow which is why we'd been scrambling up the rocks most of the way. But, we threw on our crampons and followed the trails formed by others (surely they would avoid the crevasses) and slowly made our way up the last steep part to our destination. I don't know where we got that last blast of energy (we almost stopped at about 8500 feet). I think it was the combination of our last extended break, the Snickers bar I just ate, being so close to our destination, the exhilaration of walking on the snowfield, and just saving face - we couldn't turn back now! In the distance, we could see Camp Muir.

But, we made it (almost...). Camp Muir was probably another 500 feet up, but we decided to stop just to the right and enjoy the breathtaking views to the east: Cathedral Rocks and the Cowlitz Glacier. I watched a group of hikers who were heading down ON THEIR SKIS!!! I was salivating and excited that ski season was right around the corner. On the way down, there was one novice skier in that group who gave up and was walking down. I wanted to trade my crampons for his boots & skis (but he looked grumpy so I kept my smarmy comments to myself). Needless to say, the way down was way more fun than going up. But, I was spent at the end. Round trip, it took us 7 hours to make it up to about 9800 ft. which was an altitude gain of about 4300 ft. from Paradise. Sigh - so close to making it to 10,000 ft...but I was wasted and I knew I had at least 2 hours to get back to the car. If you feel fit enough to do it, it's an epic trip for day hikers. Poles and crampons are your friends on the snowfields. And, bring plenty of water! We both got a bit of a headache from the altitude so ibuprofen is also a good thing to bring. I'll be back...with my skis!

Here's a link to the pictures I took on that hike.

The next day, I spent it paddling around Lake Washington with some folks from one of my hockey teams. I rented a kayak from Seattle Raft & Kayak in Magnuson Park and we spent a few hours on the northern end of Lake Washington, watching sailing regattas and dodging speedboats. It was clear and in the 70's so it seemed like everyone was out on the water. Mt. Rainier was immense in the distance and I found it so incredible that just the day before, I was huffing and puffing up the south side. Not a bad way to spend the weekend in the fabulous Pacific Northwest.

Cycling North Cascade Loop (Update)

On an earlier post, I mentioned my intent to ride part of the North Cascade Loop starting next week. Unfortunately, the ride has been postponed and the dates are TBD due to my riding partner's nagging foot pain. Oh well, at least I will be fresh for the RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver) in August and maybe we'll schedule the North Cascade Loop when it's a tad bit cooler.

The one question I have, though, is I've gotten some feedback on our planned route for Day 1 where we end up on 530 between Arlington and Darrington. I've heard that 530 is not bike-friendly due to the narrow road with little shoulder as well as other reasons. If anyone out there has a good alternate, please let me know (i.e., head up to Sedro Woolley and then hang a right).

(Photo credit: Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)
As for the Tour - a big 'BOO, HISS' to Beltran and Ricco and their doping charges. But, despite the dark cloud (sigh, will they learn), the Tour has been exciting to watch. I'm rooting for Team Columbia/High Road. Today, I think the sprinter crown has been handed over and this picture says it all with Mark Cavendish winning his 4th stage and Robbie McEwan (lower left in red and so dominating in previous races) behind him. Go Team Columbia/High Road....they work well together and today it was amazing to watch them work Cavendish up through the peloton to place him in position for, yet, another strong, kick-butt finish. There was also the most spectacular crash today...one of the Gerolsteiner riders crashed right into one of the traffic islands so hard breaking his bike frame in two and sending him up and over and on to the pavement. He stood up right away and seemed to be relatively ok...the sign on the traffic island, however, didn't fare as well....crazy crash!

382 Miles - Cyling Part of North Cascade Loop

OK, the dates are set and the route is planned. My neighbor, Jen, and I have decided to take on this epic ride July 22 - 25, 2008...WOOT! From our homes on Cougar Mountain in Issaquah, we will embark on a trip that will have us riding through the area that make up the infamous North Cascades Loop. This route is considered one of the most spectacular drives in North America by the likes of National Geographic Traveler (or is it Explorer, or Adventure). The North Cascades Loop is a very popular drive during the summer and in the fall for the autumn colors (note to self: a backpacking trip must be planned around this time). But, I will get to savor the scenery on my bike...yes, my bike.

Because we'll be cycling, we will primarily be on side roads, though, there will be times where we'll be cycling on the highway next to the semi's (vroooom). Here's our itinerary for the ride:

Day 1--Issaquah to Darrington 96 miles
Day 2-- Darrington to Winthrop 109 miles (the most scenic day; at least 17 miles of this is downhill; good eats at Winthrop; cool campground at Winthrop on river)
Day 3-- Winthrop to Wenatchee 105 miles (hot and dry)
Day 4-- Wenatchee to Cle Elum 72 miles (over Blewett Pass)
Total mileage = 382 miles

We'll be staying in campgrounds along the way and eating a lot of quinoa or pasta for dinner. So, if any of you happen to driving along this route on those dates, feel free to pick up a pizza and drop it off at our campsite :-)) Oh, and coffee and breakfast in the am would also be much appreciated (french toast with fresh berries and maple syrup would be wooooonderful, thank you)! I'm pretty excited about this trip. Jen is a seasoned multi-day cyclist. A few years ago, she biked across the U.S. solo. I don't think I could ever do a multi-day ride by myself...I would drive myself crazy. I would rather drive someone else crazy. Stay tuned....

My gig as a Ski Instructor - a post-mortem

I just got back from turning in my ski instructor uniform at the Summit at Snoqualmie. A lot of you have been asking me how my ski instructing at Alpental went. Well, it was the first time I've ever been a ski instructor and also the first time where I was handling a group of kids ages 8 - 12. Let me tell you - it's no different than running meetings in the corporate world (LOL). The program that I taught was an 8-week consecutive program which meant that I had the same group every weekend. Initially, I was only in it for the free ski pass and the chance to ski up high in the fresh pow before lessons started. But in the end, I found it to be one of the most gratifying things I've ever done.

My groups on both Sat and Sun were all Level 1 skiers with little to no ski experience. I immediately thought - oh "*#@!....8 weeks of daycare so their parents can go up Chair 2/Edelweiss and have fun. At the end of our first session on St. Bernard (the bunny hill), I promised my groups that I was going to take them up to Sessel which was an intermediate run - I remembered each kid looked at me with their big saucer eyes and said 'no way!' They all just wanted to stay on St. Bernard where it was safe. Ha - not if you're skiing with me. By the third session, I convinced them to follow my tracks down the steeper hill. After we finished our first run down Sessel, they all looked at me in amazement that they made it down all in one piece and it wasn't as hard as they thought it would be. A couple of sessions later, they were ready for a more advanced run off of the Armstrong chair which we did the last 2 weeks of the program - they totally exceeded my expectations. At the end of the program, it was so satisfying to have their parents come up to me and thank me for getting their kids past the fear factor and showing how much fun skiing was. There were a few times where I tried to move my students to other groups that I thought was more appropriate for their level but each time, the parent would come to me and ask me to take them back because their kid was having so much fun skiing with me.

There were definitely challenges. I had kids lose their equipment from the chair, one kid almost fall off the chair (I had to catch him from 10 feet off the group), another kid throw a tantrum and after I side-stepped 100 yards up the hill to deal with him, he threw his poles at me (yeah - I talked to his dad immediately afterwards....little punk), and wayward skiers. I'm sure there were more but I can't remember because I'm just really happy that I accomplished my number one goal....that these kids have fun (oh yeah, and that they learned some good skiing techniques). Most were already looking forward to their lessons next year.

Things I learned as an instructor:
-Pick out a student who can be your 'go to' person in a pinch. Someone who can lead a group to a meeting point and keep them there while you chase down a wayward student (which was almost every other run - I started calling him 'Bode').

-Have the students take turns being the 'leader' each time down the hill. Not only does this help keep your group together, but it also gives some of the quieter students a little nudge to lead their peers and build some confidence.

-For individual student attention, take turns riding up the chair with them. It was really cute how they would fight over whose turn it was to ride with you. But, they wanted to know: a) if you were paying attention to them as they skied down the hill, and; b) how they were doing and if they were getting better.

-And, the 2 rules I always enforced on the hill: ski in control, and most importantly: HAVE FUN!!! I created a fun zone at the bottom of Sessel where after skiing the run together, at a certain point, we would all turn around and ski backwards to the chair line. That was so much fun and the kids got a huge kick out of that. And, the 'adventure zones' through the trees with bumps and jumps were also 'fun-time.' But, both of these exercises played an important part of ski instructing (rotating ankles to use different parts of the ski for control, balancing body over boots, confidence, etc.) - they just didn't know it. At the end of the program, *they* were leading me through the trees.

In the end, would I do it again.....ABSOLUTELY!! Thanks to my little rock stars: Christoph, Hans (yes, these 2 are destined to be skiers with names like that), Quinn, Lauren, Joseph, Brooke, Chase, Nolan, Andrew, and Casey (my one kid who did a black diamond run....inadvertantly....LOL). See you on the slopes!

Red Dots...Let's Go, Billy Goat

Red dots have so many different meanings...a sold piece of art, marital status in Hinduism...it all depends on your point of view. In the case of this post, it means 'King of the Mountain' (or is it Queen?). We're talking cycling, baby. I just got back from my meeting on becoming a 'certified leader' for the Cascade Bicycle Club, the biggest cycling group in North America with over 9500 registered members and probably another 10,000 who join in on the daily group rides. Every year, they put on the STP (Seattle to Portland), RAW (Ride Around Washington), and RSVP (Ride to Vancouver and Party) which I am signed up for. I am also planning on a four-day, self-supported trip on the North Cascade Loop which Adventure Cycling lists as one of the top-ten touring rides. More later as I work out the details but if any of you are interested in joining me for all or part of the ride, just let me know. And, I'm also looking for a trailer for my bike. Please let me know if you have one to sell or loan - I would really appreciate it!

OK, back to my training to be a 'certified ride leader' - I can hear all of you who have ridden with me snicker all the way over here because, you see, I am known to be completely addled by the end of a century (100 mile ride) that I stop paying attention to the cues (yes, I will miss that big neon pink arrow painted on a dark pavement) and will follow riders who aren't wearing a number because I think their jersey is a pretty color or I'm too busy admiring their, er, bike (yes, the bike!!). I have also been known to crash.....going uphill....into the rider in *front* of me...and, I'm only in a group with three other riders and there is ample room all around us...(he was riding too slow :-))

Anyway, my goal is to offer and lead bike rides like wine tours through the Okanagan region in British Columbia or, perhaps, lead multi-venture trips in the San Juan Islands or the Gulf Islands (e.g., bike, kayak, and/or hike). But, before I jump into that, I need to scout out some great routes and just get used to planning and leading rides. So, I will be sharing some of my favorite routes around the area. I'll also try to post cue sheets. Two web sites were recommended to me for creating my cue sheets including Google Pedometer, and Map My Ride. Guess that means I will have to get a new odometer b/c the one I have still clocks me at averaging 2 mph (hahaha...). I'll also have to get a heart rate monitor because Kirsten isn't around for me to ask how many calories we burned on the ride. So, ride on, and ride safe. And, if you're driving, please give cyclists "3 feet" of space so we can all enjoy the road.

Welcome!!

Has it really been 5 months since I moved? My how time flies. I owe so many of you a phone call or some type of correspondence and I know I'm due for a visit to the Bay Area, but, well, it's ski season and we're getting some fresh new snow in the Cascades as we speak so I need to make this brief so I can wax up my skis and do a few turns before sitting down to do some *real* work and then on to my daily workout.

While I miss my friends in the Bay Area immensely as well as some of my favorite bike routes (Paradise...nothing beats that view as you ride in to Sausalito...and the various routes that start on Canada Rd....and the looooooong coffee breaks with Kirsten, and the Captains :-), I am really enjoying my time back in the Pacific Northwest(oh, and I miss all of you who live in other parts of this lovely planet - didn't mean to diss you). I am currently in Issaquah (about 20 mins east of Seattle) mainly because it is easy access to a lot of the outdoor activities all-year round. Issaquah is basically in the foothills of the Cascade mountain range on I-90 so there is a lot to do...there's even a hang gliding jump-off point right up the road from me.

But, as I mentioned earlier, it's still ski season and I have been skiing every week. I'm a ski instructor at Alpental - the most advanced part of the Summit at Snoqualmie ski area located right on I-90 and the closest ski area to the Seattle metropolitan area. (The picture at the top of this blog is from the chair leading to the top of Alpental and the picture on the left is after the record dump we had over a 2 week period that closed the passes and canceled my classes for 2 weekends in a row. I think that was Mother Nature's way of saying 'welcome back!') But, I've also managed to have some fun at other local hills including Crystal, Stevens Pass, and, yes, Whistler-Blackcomb. I think I may do some heli-skiing later on with a local company that does trips in the Northern Cascade area. They still have seats open (especially mid-week) and it's much more affordable. The company is North Cascades Heli-Skiing and you can stay overnight in Winthrop, WA. Speaking of heli-skiing, a friend of mine just headed down to the Ruby Mountains in northern Nevada to heli-ski with Ruby Mountains Heli-Experience which promises you a minimum of 39,000 of helicopter lift! I know I'm supposed to focus on excursions in the Pacific Northwest, but this company sounds awesome and I will make it down there that's for sure. Who is up for a trip next winter? They suggest booking a year in advance. The lodge that they stay in is owned by a woman who runs a brothel in Nevada....how funny is that? I think I'm in the wrong business (LOL). But, I heard the food is awesome and the helicopter picks you up close to the lodge.

So, other updates....yes, I'm still playing ice hockey. I actually belong to two leagues down here. My Friday night league is very similar to the Blue Division (top division) in the NCWHL in the Bay Area and my other league, the Seattle Women's Hockey League, is a little less competitive so I need to watch my "roughing." But, we have coaches and it's nice to have that feedback and work on various parts of your game as opposed to the pick-up style I've been playing for years.

Work-wise, my main source of income is through my work with Peridot which is a small (about 8 of us?) company that does contract work with Microsoft and McKesson. McKesson is my main client and I'm working on web analytics as well as customer satisfaction studies for their various web sites. It's great b/c I can work as much (or as little...which is more the case ;-)) as I need to and everything is done remotely. But, the other work is what I am more passionate about (and having a lot of fun doing) and that is the work I'm doing with my friend Norm and his company, Tantalus Adventures. I am helping out with the marketing and PR and we are currently booking Sea Kayak trips in the Great Bear Rainforest for this coming summer. We can also put together custom trips for you - just ask!

So, that's my update in a nutshell. Please visit regularly for I have some other fun topics to share about the Pacific Northwest. But, more importantly, if you have an activity trip or adventure you would like to share with everyone, please feel free to contribute!!