The final day of the year had arrived, and Shaun wanted to make some turns for his first day of the season, so we headed to the Pass for a day of lift serviced riding. I wasn’t on duty, but after checking the schedule it looked like it was going to be a light day for patrollers, so I threw in my coat and pack to give P4 a hand. We pulled into the patrol lot around 9:00, and shortly thereafter were geared up and ready to go.
We took a first lap on Twilight, since EPA was iced up and not quite ready to spin yet, and cruised down By George. By the time we got to the bottom, it looked like EPA was ready to go, so we joined in the big line to catch a lift to the top. Given that it was a holiday weekend (with the 31st being a holiday for many since the 1st fell on Saturday), I wasn’t surprised to see a ton of people at the mountain…
We met up with Dan and Cindy, and caught a ride to the top with them. At the top, for some reason, the area had a snowcat parked out past the unloading ramp, and it made for a nice spot to snap a quick picture. After that, we skied down and made a run on Good Time Charlie, which was in really nice shape. Shaun skied it nicely, and I was happy to see his skills gained from the year before were still there.
Another long wait in line at the bottom followed, and then Shaun and I made several more laps on the frontside runs, starting with Eagles, then High Lead and then Timburr.
Around noon, it was time to head to the car to enjoy some lunch, and we got to visit with Carolyn (a former patroller) in the lot. The snow, which had started falling earlier in the day, kept falling, and there was nearly 3 inches of new by the time we headed out for some afternoon turns.
As we headed back towards EPA, I noticed a sled that needed transporting to the top of the hill, so I had a patroller load it for me and then we headed up with it in tow. Shaun wanted to ski Success, so after taking care of the sled up top we dropped in over the edge and skied some surprisingly decent snow under the chair.
The rest of the day was filled with turns, and Shaun did really well for his first day out of the year. We called it a day a few minutes before sweep, and headed to the car to change into more comfortable clothes. Shaun was content to get into a video game on his phone, while I was content to get into a tasty Rippin’ NW Pale Ale from Sunriver Brewing Company.
I finished my beer as I cleared the car of snow and ice, and we were ready to hit the road. All in all, it was a great day, especially considering I was able to spend it with Shaun, and definitely much easier that my previous patrol day a few days earlier, with a lot less work!
