Ski-tastic.

Saturday Matt and I went to Alpental, a ski area at Snoqualmie Mountain.

Initially when we arrived, the snow was falling and we were excitedly anticipating a powder-full day.  There was also a charity event that day, in which for a few more extra dollars you could enjoy ski demos, and a lunch provided by Red Robin.

When a person demos skis, you try the new and upcoming ski models and technology.  There were tents full of reps from different companies - tons of options.

We both demoed 6-7 pairs of skis each.  It was cool to experience different ski technologies and new trends.

Not long after we got started for the day it began to rain.  Usually when it rains on the lower half of the mountain it's snowing at the top.  This was the case, although the conditions at the top of the mountain were awful and visualization was poor.  So in the rain we stayed.

Matt, climbing through the gnarl..

Despite the less than desirable conditions, we had a good day and made the most of it, even enjoying our Red Robin burgers in the rain.

We went out to dinner that evening, with hopes that Sunday would prove to have better conditions.

Daylight savings time got the best of Matthew, but we still made it to the mountain, where there was plenty of snow for all.

Crystal Mountain was covered in fresh powder, with no signs of the snow stopping.  When we arrived we could hear the ski patrol setting off dynamite to test for avalanche potential - - in other words, the snow was deep.

We started off by climbing right away and making the first tracks in some chutes at the top of one of the peaks.  When you are climbing that high, it's easy to get winded and tired, but the snow was so awesome it was worth the fatigue.

This video is short, but Matt gives a pretty good visual of the first chute we skied.

Conditions today were amazing, especially after the snow drought we've had this year. We were both wearing the skis Jon made us, and they did exceptionally well in the powda! 

We couldn't stop for a long break, the snow was just too good. We hiked to one of the bowls at the top of the mountain. When we started skiing Matt triggered a slough of snow that knocked both of us off of our feet. Matt was in the thick of the cascade since he caused it and we both had a brief moment of panic as he was pushed toward some trees.

smiling post mini avalance

Matt skiing off of a rock..

  A couple things happened in this next 12 second video, besides me starting off with my finger in the screen. 

In order to film Matt doing this next run I had to remove my gloves.  Foolishly, I simply placed them on the surface.  When he stopped next to me, Matt doused me in a huge amount of snow. You can actually hear me whipser, "oh no, my gloves!" in the video, as I saw them completely disappear from view. 

The next awkward moment was Matt's. He attempted to give me a fist bump, mocking the ski bums in many ski movies, but in my panic over  my gloves, I totally missed it and just filmed him going, "yeah!".

After that we spent about 2 minutes searching under the snow for my ski poles and gloves. 

we found 'em.

For only a brief moment or two today, we got some sunlight.

lovely.