Apology & Schweizter Ski Trip

no, we're not dead.
sorry for the two months of silence. it's been quite busy, but we're prepared to get you caught up!


we spent this past weekend at schweizter ski resort in idaho.
schweizter is probably the biggest-closest ski resort to washington, with the exception of whistler/blackcomb; which [1] doesn't have any snow and [2] is currently hosting the oylmpics.

schweizter is perched high above sandpoint, idaho and lake pend oreille [pronounced: pend-o-ray]. now some folks from the midwest are going to knock idaho, but don't...until you've been there. northern idaho is completely awesome!

we spent saturday and sunday skiing; a question we get a lot is "how was the snow?" good saturday, crunchy sunday with a few fluffy stashes.

...and thanks to the super bowl hardly anybody was out on sunday. we had this beautiful mountain to ourselves! way to go nfl, you do do something useful! :)

back in sandpoint, we hit up: mickduff's brewing company [try their organic ipa], laughing dog brewery [stop by and see to toby], northwest handmade [where we bought a sweet "blue pine" bench for our mud room], tons of little local shops, and misty mountain furniture, where andrea found a huge rustic chair; too bad it wouldn't fit in our car!

both schweizter and sandpoint were worth the trip, and we will definitely make it again. but maybe next year we'll try whistler...if they have snow. :)

Day Off - Crystal Mountain Skiing

There were a bunch of things i loved about teaching, but one ranked at the top of the list [somewhere between working with kids and rectangular pizza]: summer vacation! while i don't necessarily get a 'vacation' with my new job, i do get a few days off. with the amount of snow that's been falling late in this season, we felt that i was due for a day off.


we packed the car, dropped townsend off at pethotel for doggie day camp, and pointed the family truckster in the direction of our 'local' hill, crystal mountain.

as usual we stopped at the enumclaw safeway for donuts and chocolate milk.


it was great day skiing. the sun showed it's face a little, and the snow was good.


here's andrea racing down the mountain!
she has gotten very proficient over the past two years living in washington. i'm trying to talk her into going down to utah next winter; hope for the best!


brooke zipping down the hill. trying to be goofy!


a thirty year old trying a 180 degree spin!


here comes the sun...kinda.


today couldn't have been better, unless we were joined by friends. used the sunnto to see how much elevation we skied: 27201 vertical feet.

ps - townsend wanted us to let you know that he did very well on his 'paw-gress report' while we were away.

spring weather

Nothing beats the Pacific Northwest in the spring. Especially after having a fairly dry winter, and then, come spring, and bam! we get dumped on.

What else to do but hit the slopes?

We headed up to Stevens Pass for a perfect powder day.
Visibility = 0


the chairlifts were cold and windy, so we were sure to cover as much skin as we could.


We were only skiing for about 8 hours, but that was long enough to camouflage our car beneath a good 10-12 " of snow.


The ride home was a little slow, and snowy...but we made it in time to pick up Townsend and head home for some warm drinks.

Skiing at Mt Baker

we went up to mt baker this past weekend to go skiing for the first day out this season. the skiing was great and the weather was unbelievable.


the group consisted of bryan, brooke, andrea and jenn.


mt baker normally has incredible skiing, but add that with a bright sunny day and 55 degree weather...you can't beat it! it was so bright that it was hard not to squint without goggles or sunglasses.


it was such a beautiful day!


being able to look upon a volcanic mountain while you ski is breathtaking. behind bryan is that volcanic mountain: mt baker.


this will go down as a great ski day!

Day Off, Skis, and Crystal Mountain

until this past friday we were unaware that we both had the day off on monday. bonus! we set up to venture out to crystal mountain ski resort with a few friends from rei: sarah, chad [who's been skiing this area for the past 15-20 years], and caleb. it was zero degrees on the slopes and the top ridge was closed down for wind gusts of 45 mph, but that didn't stop us!

my skis [blue] are soooo old! but they were free!

you can't beat the pacific sun. not even with a stick!

what don't you see?
let me help: rain and starbucks!
don't believe everything you read on the internet about seattle.

the calm before the storm.

the smell so alluring. breathe deep and hold.
yankee candle doesn't have anything on cedar or evergreen!

breakin' at the snorting elk. chad and caleb.

chillin'. seriously...it was cold!


andrea decided to really warm up with a 'face plant,' a wonderful concoction of peppermint schnapps, rum, and hot chocolate. simply divine.

brooke, chad, sarah, and caleb on the way up to the top to tear some stuff up.

mountain man mustache.
after looking at so many gear catalogs over the years, i
have longed for the day that i would sport an icy frozen
'stache... revel in it!

the shuttle back to the car. chad and sarah. we couldn't find
caleb, so we did what any tired skiers would do...we left him
behind.

after we went back for caleb, and found him, we finished our
outing at rainier pub and grill in enumclaw [land of evil spirits].

this was a rockin' day, friends...let's do it again!
check out all the pics at
picasaweb.google.com/thetrislers

REI ski trip to Snoqualmie Pass

One of the cool things about working at REI is all the fun adventures I take with my co-workers on our days off. This past Tuesday a few of us headed up to Snoqualmie Pass (where I-90 crosses through the Cascades) to hit the slopes.

Here's Yates getting the truck all chained up.
Ohio friends: Can you believe all this madness?...chains are legal? 4WD vehicles? snow covered express ways? no salt?
Washington friends: I guess this is normal...


Found a spot on the 'street' and got all our stuff lined up and ready to go!


We picked a perfect day...the Pass got about a foot of fresh powder that day, and there was barely anyone else there to pack it down (except for 150 Australians...but they mostly hung out inside.)

empty....


I snatched up a great pair of skis (at an even better price) at our recent garage sale at REI. I was finally able to get out and break 'em in. They were pure butter.


Taking a break for pizza and beer.
The gang: Lisa, Sarah, Eric, me, Kirsten, Chad (taking picture)


Sarah and Lisa after a few drinks


Kirsten and I sporting the bling.
I couldn't even see out of these things!...come to find out I was using night goggles.



After a round of drinks the more-experienced skiers took us less-experienced skiers on a couple larger runs (seemed like a fantastic idea after a beer.) This was before the frustration set in...still in good spirits: Chad, Lisa, Sarah, me (where's Yates?....must've gone in for another Irish Coffee)


My chair lift buddy: Lisa


Sarah and I gettin' nuts on the chair lift.


After a long hard day of skiing...we head in for one more beer.
Was this picture taken in the 70's? Hold on...let me get out the slide projector...


It was a great, fun day of skiing with friends!


I love how the snow is so blue out here.


Quiet winter scene

To view all pictures from this event:
http://picasaweb.google.com/thetrislers