So that's it. Another winter of ski patrolling. For the past few years, I've been a Professional Ski Patroller at Willamette Pass Ski Area near Eugene, Or. Last season was my second year as the 'Hill Chief', and things sure were smooth compared to the first year I took the job. We were short handed, as usual, but the few patrollers I did have were great. I don't really miss the snow at all; it was a good ski season, but not a great one. With most of the winters snow falling in just one week, we had very few powder days. That week eleven feet of snow fell, and it was so deep and thick that you couldn't hardly move.
I've been Tele Skiing now for four years. It has been a nice break for my poor feet, switching every day between alpine and 'free-heelin'. This year, the plan was to climb as often as possible at Smith Rock on the weekends. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate, and I was only able to get in one good day in January and one in February. March was nicer, but still had lots of rain, snow and cold wind. My hopes of pushing grades this spring were lowered to just trying to climb decent. April came in with warm tempuratures and lots of sunshine, so I hit the road south to enjoy...
This year I wanted to do things a little different than the last. As usual, I'll be travelling alone, but once I'm out on the road I want to stay out as long as possible, instead of making several short trips. This seems to work better for seeing new places, saving on expensive gasoline, and making the most of these all too short summers.
A brief look at my plans for this summer include:
Go to the spring 2000 page