We had lots of chores to get done Saturday morning. I helped a family move in the ward in the morning. Ashley cleaned out and washed her car. I mowed the lawn and did the dishes. Ashley also had to cook dinner to pack to take with us to Lake Tahoe. Not a fun beginning to the long weekend.
The good news is with Tahoe close by, a boring Saturday can easily be salvaged into a fun Saturday. Water temperature is listed at 50 degrees which is 1-3 hours of survival time (at the upper end) and 30-60 minutes until unconsciousness. Cold. I took a 5 mm wetsuit and swam around, but my hands hurt so bad being in the water. Sierra Trading Post had a 4 mm wetsuit available in Soren's size, so he swam all over the place as well.
He actually swam out to the rock piles, maybe 80 yards. The good news is when you get to a 4 or 5 mm wetsuit you really have to work to submerse yourself. You can float on your back indefinitely. Liv has a 3 mm wetsuit, but it is shorts and only a covering over her arms. She was not aggressive in the water and didn't swim. Svea and Ashley did not even get their wetsuits on to give it a try.
We did take our canoe up, and that was the main reason for going up. Ashley and I each went out three times. I went once with Ashley and Liv, once by myself, and once with Svea and Liv. We didn't take any pictures of the canoe. Also we took the little kayak. All of the kids gave that a shot. Liv has become comfortable on the kayak by herself. She will go anywhere. Of course Soren and Svea have it down. Picture of Liv on the kayak with Soren swimming behind.
Good Saturday.
Sunday we went to church and then didn't do much. I took a Sunday nap and still fell asleep on time. I tried to get the kids out of the house to do a few geocaches, but no takers on the offer. Ashley made pizza and we watched America's Funniest Home Videos which has been a family tradition for a long time.
Monday - What is the best way to spend the first day of summer vacation? Go skiing! Squaw Valley was open through Memorial Day. Want to know how awesome the snow was? Take a look at all the powder when we showed up.
On the way up the mountain in the Funitel (a Gondola with two cables) - Snow situation Awesome!
Squaw Valley base is 6200' which is pretty low. Top elevation is 9,000' which is pretty low. Our mountains need about another 2000', but we can't get too picky, anytime you can ski on Memorial Day things were good. Kids got to wear whatever they wanted because it was 80 degrees. Liv wore pajamas. Soren wore shorts. Svea wore a dress (not a dress up dress, just a dress). I wore shorts and my lobster shirt which is reserved for festive occasions. Ashley wore shorts a well.
You could not ski top to bottom. You had to take the Funitel to the mid point on the mountain then ski the upper 1/3. The snow was horrible, but you don't go skiing in May and complain about the snow. Our Sierra at Tahoe Season Passes came with four week day Squaw Valley Passes. I am hording vacation time for this summer, so we did not get to use any of our Squaw Valley Passes. Lucky for us, they forgot to black out memorial day. They had 4 of 23 lifts operating. Mid mountain had more snow.
There is the snow!
Kids were not into it the first 1/2 of the day. We got 4 runs in and they were frustrating. At lunch I told the kids if they wanted to ski fine, but if they didn't it would be better to go home because that was not worth it. Luckily, after lunch they responded and we had a better afternoon. The lame thing is Squaw closed at 2:30! Normally they go until 4:00, so we got up there late and had to leave early. The last day brings out all the weirdos, we saw two my little ponies, a few bananas, a pioneer woman/polygamist, Patrick from Sponge Bob Square Pants, guys in dresses, costumes, all kinds.
Here is Svea going down a snow channel. It gives you an idea about how much snow was still left at the top, she could not see out. She did a good job. I tried it, and took a good spill, rolled head over heels. Liv also did it and made it all the way down, but I do not have video of it.
And now for the most critical moment of all ski season. I skied in 7th & 8th grade and then snowboarded from 9th grade until I got married, although after my mission I worked every Saturday and went to school, so I did not get out on my snowboard very often. On my snowboard I would do a 360 pretty regularly, but had never even attempted one on skis. To be fair, I have been skiing only the last three years and have been teaching kids.
Today I felt it was time to give it a shot. I wanted the kids to see me do one so someday when they think that I am lame they will know that I am not lame because one time I did a 360. The key to a good 360 is finding a jump that launches you "up" not "out." I found one today and hit it twice to gauge it. The third time around Soren issued a 360 challenge, so I went for it. To be fair, I expected another shot, but I did not realize they were closing at 2:30. The last thing that Ashley said was "Don't blow out your knee, we need to hike the Tahoe Rim Trail this summer." It was with that confidence I gave it a shot.
Of course I nailed it - you can hear Soren's cheer of amazement. My kids will always remember the day their Dad proved he was cool and did a 360. Svea is actually only giving me credit for a 270, and if you watch the replay, I am afraid she is right. I thought I would get one more shot at it, but that is how it ends for this year. Next year I might have to be more aggressive with it, but with the amount of Diet Coke I drink and turning 40, something is bound to snap. The best skier I know is my Uncle Andy, and he was not doing and 360 at age 40.
We drove into Reno to return our rentals, I guess we don't need them anymore this year (unless we go to Mammoth Mountain which will probably be open until 4th of July). We had dinner at Blind Onion Pizza to celebrate the end of ski season. Blind Onion does not compare at all to the Pie in Salt Lake, or Barrio's in Phoenix, but its the best we have.
Good year of skiing. Ashley went over 30 times and I went over 20. Have never skied that many times in a single season in my life. We do have Sierra at Tahoe Passes again next year, so we look forward to it. Next year hopefully Svea will be tall enough to load on the ski lifts by herself and Liv will be another year stronger (leg strength stamina is her limiting factor) and hopefully Soren gets more confident and maybe a little more aggressive in his comfort zone.
Good year - good weekend! Great place to raise a family. Very fortunate to have wound up here.
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