Chair 2 from I-90

If only I had my camera with me I'd have stopped on I-90 and taken a picture. I was heading west back over the Pass in todays' amazing weather ( 64 degrees at the Summit on November 3rd!) Almost drove off the road trying to look at the new chair going in at Hyak. Got my eyes back on the road just in time to look up at the top of Chair 2 at Alp....there is already snow in the bowl. OK, so for sure not enough to ski, but certainly enough to dream!

Fall Seminar

For those who think traffic in Seattle is always horrible then it proves that you haven't been on 520 or even I-5 at 7:30 on a Sunday morning.....who knew?! It only took us 15 minutes to get from Bellevue to SPU for the PSIA NW Fall Seminar....that's less time than it takes me to get from Bellevue to Bellevue in the middle of the day! 

Not surprisingly, indoor education events aren't a fav but I've gotta say that today was a winner! Was it all our ski friends that we had a chance to reconnect with? Was it the great sessions with Rick Lyons, Michael Drake and Gavin Kerr-Hunter? (and much as my running into the couch doing the "shoe drill" was not a highlight, it was pretty funny!) Maybe it was meeting some of Gary's friends I hadn't met before.  Video clips of great skiing always entice. Perhaps the sheets of rain that came down that soon might be blankets of snow in the mountains? Having a chance to share our excitement about the upcoming winter odyssey was pretty cool. Something as simple as ordering the new hoodies was good (of course when have I not enjoyed a chance to shop?) Bottom line... what was not to like? OK...gonna go watch Images and Concepts again!

Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Hike

Woke up to another spectacular Fall morning and thought a visit to Mt. St. Helens was a great idea. Then again, we realized how much of the morning got away and decided something closer to home would allow more exploration for the day. The Mountaineers Books has a great little guide to day hikes in the Snoqualmie Region. We picked a spot neither of us have explored and what a day!

Although the guidebook warns "the Middle fork Snoqualmie trail hosts hordes of outdoor enthusiasts."  But we took a chance on mid week and seriously never passed another soul on the trail. A cool bridge built in 1993 invites you to enter a mossy haven with minimal vertical climb. The 6 mile trail offers perfect pre-season conditioning with some vistas that are just begging for the snow to fly!

The day was capped off beautifully with dinner at Salish Lodge. For you Seattlites there's still another week to go in the Restaurant Week $25 for three course dinner event and there are over 100 restaurants to choose from. Here's the view we took in as we walked into dinner!

Early season conditioning

The main goal in establishing this blog is to document the ski odyssey that won't officially begin until Jan. Between now and then, the posts won't be too frequent but if you check in from time to time you'll catch a glimpse of some of the fun we'll have between now an then. And there will of course be an emphasis on getting ready to ski! On Sunday we opted for a three hour ride on the Burke Gilman trail. We're on mountain bikes so we get passed frequently by those on road bikes! An amazing day that didn't get much photo documentation due to camera battery that died early on! 

Random shots of amazing Oregon coast voyage

hmmmm didn't realize there was something of a lighthouse geek buried deep within....

Here's  evidence that yes Kirk...Laurie who camps in tents with her wheeled luggage...has found a way to "camp" far more comfortably...

And fortunately this time Gary has his shirt on....

So all this excitement and we haven't even seen the slightest hint of snow yet. Who knew??!


Home to Bellevue just in time for Sadie and Brian's wedding. A wonderful celebration definitely not to have been missed!

The week progressed to more stuff to do so we can really get going with the adventures Yes...including exciting events like cleaning out the attic so there's now room to cram some of the stuff we've moved from Gary's old house and my office up there. This pack rat nonsense will slow us down unless we get a grip and start throwing out even more! 


So this morning all of the good intentions for more clean out fall to the wayside as I dove into the Canyon's website and started pondering.....Just How DO I Mountain?? Woman of so few words that I am...seriously...we have to put together our application into a two (as in 2) minute video. Oh...one other small issue...the instructions indicate a need to submit a sample of our blogging style. Well, in case I end up submitting this as a sterling example, I'd better state that having come from the Corporate World where someone else always did the creative web publications THIS blog will demonstrate that...given the motivation.... I can be a fast learner. Yes...for the record, this is week one diving into the apps on my new Apple rather than using my Dell PBFF (prior best friend forever ). Step one was to get some photos uploaded that I could post to the blog.


And...tah...de...de... tah...it is also Day One of "The Blog". I can only trust that the evolution of it will demonstrate exactly what my adoption rate to all things fresh will be! I guess the next step is to invite some of you to evidence this newborn!

The Seriously Ultimate Job

This morning Kris McB sent an email that just might change the upcoming ski bum plans! It also has prompted me to initiate what Gary and I have been planning...the creation of our Blog that promises to encourage early retirement! and this is it...the Enthu SKI astic site!!

So what exactly did Mommymcb send to create such excitement?? You've got to check this out: howdoyoumountain.com?  OK so we said we'd just be ski bums (with some assets and the new motorhome)...Oh yes...for those of you who didn't get the original "adventure vehicle purchased pic"...here we were celebrating the event while in Lake Chelan...wow...didn't realize when we took this that we'd be exposing Gary. But I lose track. We made the innagural cruise last week to the Oregon Coast. Went with the expectation of "Oregon Coast weather" and instead got unbelieveable bluebird days. It's gotta be a sign of all things great to come!