Mt. Baker Last Day

I pulled my early 90s-era neon jacket out of the closet to close out lift service at Mt. Baker ski area. It wasn't warm but it wasn't too cold, and I was a little worried when it was snowing in the parking lot at 11:30 am. This old baby wasn't waterproof any more, probably never was, but dang if it didn't brighten up the place like an easter egg. I wore all my Mardi Gras beads I could find and managed to donate a couple to the bead and panty tree off of Chair Six. They'll be there til the next major windstorm.

I had lunch and a beer/water with some ski club members and hit the slopes with Sid, a skier, around 1:30. He kept losing a ski in the thick, wet slushy snow, which is one of my favorite conditions, although my knees did hurt the next day. I got ten runs in 2.5 hours, two in the canyon. There was a band playing bluegrass at the base area but they were playing inside, and everyone was outside.

There were some fun custumes. Tigger and Eyeore showed up, as did characters from the Matrix. One snowboarder wore bright cone-orange unisuit from head to toe, and he was a good snowboarder, though it was hard on the eyes.

When I got home I took a bath, wrapped in a robe and towel and crawled in bed at 7:30pm. And didn't move for 12 hours.

My days up there are not over. I plan to take my split board up to Artist's Point. Probably won't descend anything steep, just stay on the track, but I do want practice on that big burly board before attempting a hut trip over Memorial Day.