When Snow Meets Building

Here is a fine example of what happens when now meets a building and isnt removed. Just up the road the ski resort got 13 feet of new snow over the last week.  The roof of this building, a few miles before that,  had about 5 feet of new snow and completely collapsed under its weight and that snow is now inside the building.

John Muir Trail Conditions

I got approval for my one month vacation time from work and got my reservation for a permit from the park service can’t beat that for a milestone birthday! Now I can only hope the weather starts to stabilize and the snow begins to melt.  Not that I want ski season to end but I really don’t like the idea of hiking in the snow for 200+ miles. 

Photo taken last weekend from 8500 feet elevation a few miles in front of where the JMT passes Eddison and Florence Lakes. 

First Days

First days of skiing!  You can’t beat a small crowd, sunshine and powder. Great ending to the Thanksgiving holiday. And…. The Vikings won!  It just doesn’t get better.

Snow Gods

The people with low survival instinct will soon be headed to our area in droves.  They come to pay homage to the snow god.  They will glide up and down on the ground in the hopes the god will notice them and that they will take a part of it with them when they leave.  Some of them will leave parts of themselves on the snow god. 

They will forget their chains, or never have tested the ones they purchased to see if they fit. They will drive way too fast for their driving abilities and the conditions and they will spin and crash and get stuck. They will travel roads they have never been on and not think twice of how much gas they have remaining in their vehicles.   All this makes for great entertainment up here.  We don’t need movie theatres for drama, we have it live. 

Resort to Skiing

Its been snowing just above our house! When a ski resort changes ownership, changes its name and changes the things we ski bums have come to accept as normal and it can be disquieting. The resort near our home did this very thing and I tell you from experience it’s much like going through a divorce. One is left wondering what will be normal, what will it feel like, and where will I go if it is uncomfortable? There are many people in my community who have been skiing this same small resort most of their lives, and during that time it has remained much as it was 20-40 years ago, very small and personable. I’ve skied the whole thing in a day. We don’t do the fur coat thing, we don’t march around showing off the latest gear, each out doing the other in expenditures. We go to have a good time and meet up with friends. Lunch is a pot of fondue on the deck. We’ve been sitting in the same spot for years with our pot of fondue for whoever happens to join us, including staff members. I’ve heard they have made changes in operations and where things are configured. I hope the deck is still there. 

Changing Trails

Sometimes the wizard doesn’t have any answers.  I’m getting used to this.  And so we order yet another MRI for another part of the body in the hope of finding a needle in the haystack, another lesion; this one possibly residing in my spine.  Apparently if it’s there it will explain my symptoms.  I find myself praying it will show itself so I can move forward. It feels like I’ve been going round and round for the last year on a trail that’s just a loop.  I’m ready to find the fork in the trail.  Sometimes you just have to take another path. Speaking of trails, its supposed to snow at our elevation this weekend.  If I can get my back to feel better a couple hours of cross country skiing would be a great thing.

Let it Snow!

Ski season is just around the corner!  The resort can’t open fast enough.  The wonderful thing about being able to ski is it’s a skill that could actually save your life … much like swimming.  If you live in snow country it’s a way to get around if the car/truck can’t.  Transportation by human power.