Day 52: Pow, Jesus, and pickles at Wolf Creek

We wake up around 8 or so. Ivonne looks out the window. "Look at all the snow! Oh, wait, nevermind. That is just the white camper shell on Matt's truck." No new snow for today. Bummer. Oh well. We take our time getting going. The lack of new powder is rather uninspiring.

We eventually head out. The 20 mile drive over the pass to the ski area is really pretty. I enjoy the view. Before I know it, we are there. We pull up. Ivonne hops out, "Dude those guys were totally checking out your truck." Haha. I don't doubt it. It is kind of an attention magnet. I am not sure how I feel about that. I don't want it to get broken in to or stolen! Oh well. Speaking of the truck, it is now covered in a combination of desert dirt and mountain snow slush. Yup, it's definitely my truck now.

Toyotas are sexy!!!

We get gear on. They scrape the wax off their boards. (I haven't really used my board since I last waxed it) Some guy comments "Aren't you supposed to do that before you get here?" No way! What are you talking about?? We soon get up to the mountain.

They know the mountain very well so I just follow whichever one happens to be choosing runs at the moment. We traverse over to a lift that few people use and do a few runs there before attempting a hike. We get to the ridge and it is windy. There is a steep fall on either side. This can not be safe. We walk and walk and walk. I thought this was going to be a short hike!?! I think it might have been close to 45 minutes long. (don't quote me on that). Along the hike I start complaining about being hungry. Ok, lunch when we get down!

After an extremely long hike, we make it to Horseshoe Bowl. The powder is more or less untouched and it is a phenomenal run. Apparently this is what the entire ski area is usually like. This place gets the most snow in Colorado.

The views are amazing!!!

I'm on top of da world! at horseshoe bowl.

Super sweet show of Ivonne hiking up the ridge!

We head back toward the trucks to make sandwiches for lunch. Ivonne loves pickles and requests that we get some for the sandwiches. Matt goes inside to get some from the condiment bar while she is in the bathroom. I am standing around looking at the walkie talkie which I had put in my pocket in case I got lost when Matt asks for it. "I have pickles in my pocket." He says. Ivonne has the other walkie talkie. A few minutes later she emerges, amused. Apparently the older lady at the sink next to her was confused by the comment on the walkie talkie....

We go to the trucks and make sandwiches. The clouds are starting to roll in, the sun has disappeared, and the wind is picking up. It is a little on the cold side. Mostly just my hands which I had removed from my gloves to eat. Ivonne is pumped by the fact that there are pickles and the incoming storm. She starts going all southern-style-preacher and praising Jesus for the snow that is about to fall. It is really quite comical. Matt is also pretty pumped and just says some ridiculous funny stuff. I do what I do best and laugh and occasionally add one line remarks that are mildly entertaining.

After lunch, we head back up. Matt ate too much and has totally lost energy. With the promise of snow tomorrow, they decide to show me around the other parts of the mountain. They plan to stay at the far left side of the resort tomorrow to avoid people. We do a bunch of pretty cool runs. I spontaneously fall over a few times and have fun digging myself up. It is way harder to do on a board!  Ivonne continues to ask Jesus to bring the snow so that we can "ride the pow and shred the knar knar". Ha! Around 3:30, the snow actually starts to fall!! Sweet, this snow storm thing might actually happen!

The lifts close at 4. We stop at the bar and get some rum and hot chocolates. On the way out, we try to stop at the gift/sport shops. I like the logo here and want to check out the gift shop options. Bummer, they are all closed. We pack up our stuff and begin the decent from the mountain.

Yes, it is necessary for me to own a truck. So that I may drive around with snowboards and people at the same time! :)

Tonight, we are staying in South Fork which is on the other side of the mountain. The pass from Pagosa Springs often closes for a few hours if there is a heavy snow. The other side does not have these problems. The motel is only 6 miles from the ski area and is nicer than the one last night. By the time we get to the motel, the snow has cleared. I guess it has not made it down this far yet.

I want to shower before we go to dinner. I do so. By the time I am ready (it really doesn't take me that long), it is now snowing like crazy. My truck is covered in snow. We were going to go eat at a really good place that is a ways from where we are staying. I think they said it is about 40 minutes away. We decide to go somewhere closer. Matt asks the guy at the desk for a place. He comes back with a place, "The Shaft" Ha.

Matt also heard about some crazy Texans staying in the area that are causing trouble. They left the door to the cabin they are renting open for hours. When the owner asked them to close it since he has to pay for all the heating, they started causing issues. The police came and they ended up getting kicked out of the cabin. Unfortunately, there is another cabin in the vicinity owned by someone else that they are now renting. They are still causing the guy trouble. Lameos!!

Anyway, we decide to take my truck to dinner since we can all actually fit in it. I go out to move my crap so people can fit in it. I brush the snow off the windows. I go back inside. 5 minutes later, we all come out. The truck is covered in snow again. It is seriously snowing. We head off down the road. The truck does well. Ok, it is official, I guess it has passed all the tests and I will keep it! Driving in the dark and the snow is not fun. Why did I volunteer to do this again? Oh well, I have seen worse. The snow flying kind of reminds me of the screen in star wars when they go into warp speed..... Yup, we are going to arrive and be in another universe!

We make it to dinner. I get a cheeseburger. It turns out to be pretty awesome. (of course, when is a cheeseburger not awesome?) We get back through all of the snow and are still on planet earth and have not warped across the galaxy. Matt Ivonne go to sleep while I spend a longggg time updating my blog.

A little while later, I decide to go to the bathroom. The door is kind of stuck so I kind of slam it shut. I hear Ivonne wake up and say something about crazy Texans breaking in. Luckily, Matt realizes that I am no longer in my bed and that it is just me before I get ninja chopped by them. I finish blogging and go to sleep and dream of snow!