An unusual winter storm rolled through the southern Willamette Valley at the end of February, and stalled over the Eugene area for a couple of days. I’d spent the weekend enjoying a couple days of pretty epic conditions at the Pass, and was ready for work on Monday when my family and I woke to 13 inches of snow in the driveway. A few hours later it was 16 inches deep! Needless to say, I didn’t make it into work, but enjoyed getting out and playing in the white stuff with my wife and kids.
We suited up and decided to sled and skin down the road to the neighbors to let the kids play in the snow, while the adults enjoyed some warm coffee in the house (well, the rest of the adults – I was outside helping the kids build the biggest snowman ever). The remainder of the day was spent shoveling in the driveway and various other spots around the house. The following evening, another 6 inches of snow fell, for a combined total of 22 inches in two and a half days – pretty unheard of for these parts. Somehow we managed to not lose power, and with this much snow on the property we all agreed it was time to go skiing.
The kids brought the sleds out to the driveway and made several runs down our hill, packing in a run quite nicely. I busted out the shovel and spent 30 minutes or so building a small kicker, which brought back memories from my earliest days riding with my buddy Andrew at Mary’s Peak and Willamette Pass. Once the jump was ready, I hit it a couple of times and then the kids decided they wanted to try it too…
Shaun wanted to go first, and was super excited to get his skis on. The track was kind of narrow, but he did great. Carson followed, and they both skied off it several times…
I couldn’t resist hitting it a few more times either, and Julie was good enough to keep snapping some photos of me. By the time we were done, everyone was tired, but stoked to be able to ski on our own piece of dirt. Snowstorms this deep are pretty rare in the Willamette Valley, and only come around every 10-20 years or so. My hope is that the kids remember this one for years to come…..I know I will. There’s just something special about being able to take your board or skis off the rack in the garage, step into your bindings, and drop in. Until next time…
