It is 9:14 AM. I am sitting at the dining room table in room 102C of the Slalom Creek condos at Red Mountain. We can see the chairlift shuttling skiers up the mountain. The slopes are white and the air is crisp. We have tickets in hand. The rest of the crowd is nearly ready, but with a late start by Anna, we’ve still a half hour.
Yesterday, we struggled through hours of snowy roads making our way from the Spokane South Hill resort to the Red Mountain Ski Area. More snow fell for most of the trip. There, we unpacked into a four bedroom condo, tried to relax for 30 minutes, and then piled once again into the car to get some grub. Dinner was at the Benedict’s Steakhouse where we celebrated Auntie Erin’s birthday. They certainly cook the steaks right there. I had the NY strip with pawns, but a vast majority of the table put away thumb thick slices of prime rib.
The hot tub is just outside on the rear patio. It is separated by a metal gate from three feet of powdered snow. A juxtaposition we exploited fully. We all took turns frolicking in the snow wearing nothing but swimsuits and then diving into 105 degrees of chlorinated heaven. My son and daughter experienced first hand the skin tingle from temperature extremes.
It is 4:30 PM. Today we began by reintroducing our kids to skiing. This is a yearly ritual that they pick up quicker each time. This year, Anna was able to take a green run after a half hour on the magic carpet. Ben can still turn and slalom as he did last year, but this time he picked up stopping using the pizza pie method.
90 minutes of the magic carpet, 3 plates of nachos and 2 jugs of beer, a quick break to get the kids back to the condo, and me and my wife were off to Granite Mountain. It was just 3 lifts and just as many runs, but the sun was coloring the distant mountains as we slid down Rino route. The day transitioned rapidly from teaching kids on the magic carpet to roaming free across snow laden peaks of the Canadian Rockies. Tonight dinner will be at the Colander in Trail, a dunk in the hot tub, and a couple of Advil.
Tonight I will sleep well.