December and January came and went without nary a ski slope for the older girls and I, mostly because December was jam packed with holiday festivities, and January didn't bring any really great snow here, in addition to the freezing temperatures, so we waited to see what February had in store for us.
JACKPOT!
It snowed several times the first week of the month, but Kimberly had a Science Olympiad competition the first Saturday of the month, to which she came in second, woo-hoo! Our second Saturday was wide open, so we decided to head down to Brighton. Yes, it is a 60 minute drive versus the killer 20 minute drive up to Snow Basin, but Brighton is truly my favorite place to ski.
We had a lovely snow storm the Friday before, with a good forecast on Saturday of clouds, so I thought we were good to go. The first problem we encountered came when we were 40 minutes into the trip when a big sign over the freeway said all cars going up the ski canyons had to have chains or be a 4x4 vehicle, not something my ford fusion - sport version mind you - had.
No problem I thought. We'll just take the ski bus. Come to find out, there was no just anything involved in that venture. I didn't have any cash, so I stopped at the 7-Eleven, grabbed a bag of the closest thing I could find so I could get cash back - turns out, it was Wasabi flavored chips - oh well, I was in a hurry because I wanted to catch the next bus up, having been told they only come in 30 minute increments.
I raced over to the parking lot, dropped off the girls and our ski stuff at the drop off zone and told them to hang tight while I went to find a parking spot. Nothing. Everybody else was in the same boat as me. Apparently, the canyons had gotten 20 inches of snow the previous night, and it was still snowing, expecting another foot through the day.
I had to park 4 blocks away, grabbed everything I thought I needed out of my purse and literally raced back to the parking lot...seeing the bus sitting there while I was still 2 blocks away spurred me into high gear, but you know what happens when you aren't a sprinter? I literally hit a wall and couldn't run any more, and I was still a block away.
Thankfully, the bus was still there when I got there and the girls and I proceeded to get on the bus, that is, until I saw the money acceptor thing staring back at me, making me realize I had left the cash from the 7-Eleven back at the car. The girls waited once again while I retrieved the cash on my running-weary legs.
Thirty minutes later, we finally made it onto the bus, and spent the next 40 minutes standing in the middle isle, hanging on for dear life as we bobbled around each corner. T H I S close to landing in the guys lap next to me.
As we got to the ski place, a full hour and 45 minutes after my original plan, I was discouraged by the morning events, frustrated that we'd run into such time consuming issues, wasting away our morning of skiing. However, I knew our efforts would pay off once we hit the slopes, and we did hit payday. The blessed powder had covered the runs, which to a skier, is a dream-day of skiing, and since it was snowing throughout the day, the runs remained powdery.
The only problem came when Kim and Alicia were taking some of the trails, and Alicia got stuck in the powder. Kim and I made it to the bottom of that particular hill, and turned around to wait for Alicia, but she was no where in sight. We tried calling up to her, but we couldn't hear a response. We started hiking back up and thankfully Kim spotted her. Alicia had tried turning a corner in the trees, but her skis didn't cooperate, landing herself face first in the fluff, sending her skis flying into the several feet of powder. It took her quite some time trying to find them, of course digging them out just as we finally reached her in our hike up.
It was really a fun day, despite the ski bus. It took us a full hour to get back down the canyon on the bus because the canyon road was a snowy mess, so I'm glad someone else was doing the driving.
Funny thing is, I later learned that Snow Basin was closed that day due to high winds and avalanche control, so we chose the right place, and we got every ounce of skiing in possible, taking the last lift up minutes before they closed, and truthfully by then, our legs were done for. I forgot that skiing through powder is taxing on your muscles, especially my old-lady muscles. I am paying the price for such a fun day as I am walking like a really old lady today!
