Lauri D
01-24-2005, 08:34 PM
*Warning, long and rambly; it's the mood I'm in. *
SUNDAY
***
4:00 A.M. - Alarm goes off, which I can hear from the next room. Troy (friend who lives with my ex-roommate Cheri and her boyfriend, been staying with them temporarily) makes his ominous approach to the guest bedroom, where I am pretending to still be asleep along with his other friend Eva. She is an insanely adorable recent transplant from the Czech Republic who lives in the area during the week but spends the weekends going "from mountain to mountain". She's coming along for the ride.
4:30 A.M. - For some reason I am in the shower. Trying desperately to remember why I am awake at such an undogly hour. I faintly recall that it has something to do with propelling myself down a mountain covered in snow, on Twin Sticks of Potential Death.
5:00 A.M. - Fuck it, I'll let my hair air-dry in the car on the drive. We's gotta move if we want to be on the mountain before 9.
5:06 A.M. - New discovery: the doughnut shop around the corner has really amazing coffee. Who woulda thunk it? The chocolate donut is pretty damn good too, though I fear falling into a diabetic coma before we reach our destination.
6:30 A.M. - The drive was a blur, despite the trance/house music pumping from the sound system (ostensibly to wake us up). Quick stop at Baseline for more coffee, then up the hill; now the music is turned off, because we are ascending just as the sun is rising and turning the sky pink and purple. The valley falls away and we are winding our way through mountain passes with evergreens and fresh-fallen snow as far as the eye can see.
7:07 A.M. - We arrive in Big Bear Lake seven minutes behind schedule. The lake is partially frozen and ethereally beautiful in the early morning sunshine. We debate whether to get breakfast at Denny's and then rent my skis, or vice versa. Score one for rumbly tummies. Eva and I share an obscenely huge omelette breakfast and make fun of Troy for putting syrup on everything including his sausage. :eek:
7:52 A.M. - At the ski shop. Because I stupidly gave away all my ski clothes in the "Moving, Everything Must Go" frenzy, I acquire new pants, jacket, thermal top, and gloves. Beanie hat and sunglasses are already taken care of. We know it's going to be a warm day, so I choose a relatively lightweight jacket. Time to rent the skis; Eva and Troy have their own snowboards already stashed in the truck. I feel guilty that it took me so long to pick out my clothing, and we won't be on the mountain before 9, so instead of using the dressing room at the ski shop we head straight for the mountain with the intent of changing in the truck.
8:53 A.M. - Both parking lots are already full, but slipping the traffic-director-guy $20 gets us a front-row parking spot. All three of us changing clothes in the truck is somewhat comedic ("Ow, is that your elbow?!") but ultimately doable. The worst part is walking to the ticket window in ski boots, a humiliation that my snowboarding compatriots don't have to endure. Fuckers. It's all made worthwhile when Eva and I both get the "young adults" (18-21) price for our lift tickets without asking, despite the fact that we are both over 30. Yay for sunscreen! :cheer:
9:20 A.M. - Does anyone ski anymore? WTF is with all these people, hundreds upon hundreds of them, with these newfangled "snowboards"? I feel like a relic. Oh! Wait! There's someone else with skis. He only looks about 60 or so.
9:40 A.M. - I hate Troy. HATE. He did this on purpose, I just know it. I told him it had been a couple of years since I skied, so I should warm up on the bunny slopes, but noooo..... let's go straight up Chair #7! I managed to get off the chairlift without falling on my ass, but as I stood at the top of the initial slope, I was literally paralyzed with fear. Way too steep; I'll crash! I'll die! It could happen, and I don't have health insurance at the moment, dagnabbit. I briefly considered taking off the fucking skis, walking down the fucking mountain, and proceeding to kick Troy's ass into the next time zone.
10:10 A.M. - Bless the IPU, I made it. And I take back that part about hating Troy, because he stuck with me for the 30 minutes it took me to screw up the courage to swish-swish across a hundred yards of initial descent and come out in the great wide open... thick powder, an impossibly blue sky, and an intermediate run after all. It's like riding a bike for reals. Turn, turn; I admit to a flash of resentment when a four-year-old on a snowboard carved out in front of me and covered me in slush, but I got over it.
11:36 A.M. - Lunchtime! FOOD! Gotta get in before everybody else comes down. There's a chalet-style restaurant/bar/outdoor grill overlooking the mountain, where you can sit and eat or drink or both and watch people alternately catch air and faceplant. We met up with Eva as planned, found a table, and couldn't decide what to eat, so we ordered one of each - cheeseburger, hot dog, and chicken sandwwich - cut them into threes, and chowed down. At this point, I was sweating like a pig underneath even the lightweight jacket, so it was time to return to the truck and stash it. The thermal top and tank underneath was more than warm enough. I love California :cool: Also I had to take off my boots and thermal socks and cut my toenails, because it's quite painful on the turns if they are not super-short.
1:00 P.M. - I found the perfect run. Intermediate, but easy enough so that even in my unpracticed state I could be footloose and fancy-free, gliding, tucking and getting up speed, taking a few easy hills, only crashing once (damn that patch of ice.) Heaven on Earth, I tell you. The pre-schoolers passing me at warp speed are now barely a blip on the radar screen.
2:17 P.M. - Troy says that we gotta get the heck outta Dodge, else suffer the pains of down-the-mountain traffic. Dutifully, we comply. Return my skis. On the road again. As we inch along Big Bear Boulevard, a (presumably) local guy in a truck coming the other way slows down, rolls down his window, and advises Troy... "Dude... six to eight hour drive. Rockslide." :doh:
4:13 P.M. - Mostly because we all have to pee like racehorses, a group decision is made to return to Big Bear Lake (having made it down the mountain all of 2 miles), get a hotel room, sleep like the dead and drive down early in the a.m.
4:47 P.M. - Apparently a smart move, as right after we checked in, I went back to the lobby for free coffee and there were no less than a dozen people trying to get rooms for the night. We ended up staying at the same hotel I spent my last wedding anniversary in. It was my idea though, because the rooms are great! They have jacuzzis and fireplaces. :yes!:
5:20 P.M. - Fill up the jacuzzi, a little too much shampoo to serve as bubble bath, and I'll be damned if we are not three happy campers. Gotta love the fact that Europeans are generally not weird and skeevy about that kind of thing, because I tell you what, there was no way I was going to be down with "taking turns" getting in the hot bubbly water. EVERYBODY GET IN THE POOL!!! :vibes:
7:00 P.M. - Dinner at a casual Italian place I remembered from the anniversary trip, lo those many years ago. Chicken Marsala to die for. Tiramisu was "eh", but all things considered it was a great dinner complete with a super-cute and smiley baby in striped pajamas running around all over the place. I'm not sure who he belonged to but I'm guessing the owners or one of the employees.
8:20 P.M. - A little more jacuzzi, sleep comes quickly. King-size bed and full-size couch; perfect for three wornout strandees.
MONDAY
4:00 A.M. - Alarm goes off. Where am I and how did I get here? Ohhhhh, yeah. Alright, everybody, throw your shit together and get in the truck, we're stopping at 7-11 for coffee and getting down the mountain.
The sunrise was almost as beautiful on the way down as on the way up. Photos coming soon :)
SUNDAY
***
4:00 A.M. - Alarm goes off, which I can hear from the next room. Troy (friend who lives with my ex-roommate Cheri and her boyfriend, been staying with them temporarily) makes his ominous approach to the guest bedroom, where I am pretending to still be asleep along with his other friend Eva. She is an insanely adorable recent transplant from the Czech Republic who lives in the area during the week but spends the weekends going "from mountain to mountain". She's coming along for the ride.
4:30 A.M. - For some reason I am in the shower. Trying desperately to remember why I am awake at such an undogly hour. I faintly recall that it has something to do with propelling myself down a mountain covered in snow, on Twin Sticks of Potential Death.
5:00 A.M. - Fuck it, I'll let my hair air-dry in the car on the drive. We's gotta move if we want to be on the mountain before 9.
5:06 A.M. - New discovery: the doughnut shop around the corner has really amazing coffee. Who woulda thunk it? The chocolate donut is pretty damn good too, though I fear falling into a diabetic coma before we reach our destination.
6:30 A.M. - The drive was a blur, despite the trance/house music pumping from the sound system (ostensibly to wake us up). Quick stop at Baseline for more coffee, then up the hill; now the music is turned off, because we are ascending just as the sun is rising and turning the sky pink and purple. The valley falls away and we are winding our way through mountain passes with evergreens and fresh-fallen snow as far as the eye can see.
7:07 A.M. - We arrive in Big Bear Lake seven minutes behind schedule. The lake is partially frozen and ethereally beautiful in the early morning sunshine. We debate whether to get breakfast at Denny's and then rent my skis, or vice versa. Score one for rumbly tummies. Eva and I share an obscenely huge omelette breakfast and make fun of Troy for putting syrup on everything including his sausage. :eek:
7:52 A.M. - At the ski shop. Because I stupidly gave away all my ski clothes in the "Moving, Everything Must Go" frenzy, I acquire new pants, jacket, thermal top, and gloves. Beanie hat and sunglasses are already taken care of. We know it's going to be a warm day, so I choose a relatively lightweight jacket. Time to rent the skis; Eva and Troy have their own snowboards already stashed in the truck. I feel guilty that it took me so long to pick out my clothing, and we won't be on the mountain before 9, so instead of using the dressing room at the ski shop we head straight for the mountain with the intent of changing in the truck.
8:53 A.M. - Both parking lots are already full, but slipping the traffic-director-guy $20 gets us a front-row parking spot. All three of us changing clothes in the truck is somewhat comedic ("Ow, is that your elbow?!") but ultimately doable. The worst part is walking to the ticket window in ski boots, a humiliation that my snowboarding compatriots don't have to endure. Fuckers. It's all made worthwhile when Eva and I both get the "young adults" (18-21) price for our lift tickets without asking, despite the fact that we are both over 30. Yay for sunscreen! :cheer:
9:20 A.M. - Does anyone ski anymore? WTF is with all these people, hundreds upon hundreds of them, with these newfangled "snowboards"? I feel like a relic. Oh! Wait! There's someone else with skis. He only looks about 60 or so.
9:40 A.M. - I hate Troy. HATE. He did this on purpose, I just know it. I told him it had been a couple of years since I skied, so I should warm up on the bunny slopes, but noooo..... let's go straight up Chair #7! I managed to get off the chairlift without falling on my ass, but as I stood at the top of the initial slope, I was literally paralyzed with fear. Way too steep; I'll crash! I'll die! It could happen, and I don't have health insurance at the moment, dagnabbit. I briefly considered taking off the fucking skis, walking down the fucking mountain, and proceeding to kick Troy's ass into the next time zone.
10:10 A.M. - Bless the IPU, I made it. And I take back that part about hating Troy, because he stuck with me for the 30 minutes it took me to screw up the courage to swish-swish across a hundred yards of initial descent and come out in the great wide open... thick powder, an impossibly blue sky, and an intermediate run after all. It's like riding a bike for reals. Turn, turn; I admit to a flash of resentment when a four-year-old on a snowboard carved out in front of me and covered me in slush, but I got over it.
11:36 A.M. - Lunchtime! FOOD! Gotta get in before everybody else comes down. There's a chalet-style restaurant/bar/outdoor grill overlooking the mountain, where you can sit and eat or drink or both and watch people alternately catch air and faceplant. We met up with Eva as planned, found a table, and couldn't decide what to eat, so we ordered one of each - cheeseburger, hot dog, and chicken sandwwich - cut them into threes, and chowed down. At this point, I was sweating like a pig underneath even the lightweight jacket, so it was time to return to the truck and stash it. The thermal top and tank underneath was more than warm enough. I love California :cool: Also I had to take off my boots and thermal socks and cut my toenails, because it's quite painful on the turns if they are not super-short.
1:00 P.M. - I found the perfect run. Intermediate, but easy enough so that even in my unpracticed state I could be footloose and fancy-free, gliding, tucking and getting up speed, taking a few easy hills, only crashing once (damn that patch of ice.) Heaven on Earth, I tell you. The pre-schoolers passing me at warp speed are now barely a blip on the radar screen.
2:17 P.M. - Troy says that we gotta get the heck outta Dodge, else suffer the pains of down-the-mountain traffic. Dutifully, we comply. Return my skis. On the road again. As we inch along Big Bear Boulevard, a (presumably) local guy in a truck coming the other way slows down, rolls down his window, and advises Troy... "Dude... six to eight hour drive. Rockslide." :doh:
4:13 P.M. - Mostly because we all have to pee like racehorses, a group decision is made to return to Big Bear Lake (having made it down the mountain all of 2 miles), get a hotel room, sleep like the dead and drive down early in the a.m.
4:47 P.M. - Apparently a smart move, as right after we checked in, I went back to the lobby for free coffee and there were no less than a dozen people trying to get rooms for the night. We ended up staying at the same hotel I spent my last wedding anniversary in. It was my idea though, because the rooms are great! They have jacuzzis and fireplaces. :yes!:
5:20 P.M. - Fill up the jacuzzi, a little too much shampoo to serve as bubble bath, and I'll be damned if we are not three happy campers. Gotta love the fact that Europeans are generally not weird and skeevy about that kind of thing, because I tell you what, there was no way I was going to be down with "taking turns" getting in the hot bubbly water. EVERYBODY GET IN THE POOL!!! :vibes:
7:00 P.M. - Dinner at a casual Italian place I remembered from the anniversary trip, lo those many years ago. Chicken Marsala to die for. Tiramisu was "eh", but all things considered it was a great dinner complete with a super-cute and smiley baby in striped pajamas running around all over the place. I'm not sure who he belonged to but I'm guessing the owners or one of the employees.
8:20 P.M. - A little more jacuzzi, sleep comes quickly. King-size bed and full-size couch; perfect for three wornout strandees.
MONDAY
4:00 A.M. - Alarm goes off. Where am I and how did I get here? Ohhhhh, yeah. Alright, everybody, throw your shit together and get in the truck, we're stopping at 7-11 for coffee and getting down the mountain.
The sunrise was almost as beautiful on the way down as on the way up. Photos coming soon :)