Dare I even call it snow?

It all started out good enough. Ryan and I left work at a reasonable time, geared up and headed for the mountain. It went downhill from there ... and not in the fun way.

At the turnoff to the access road to Meadows, I say to Ryan "Wouldn't it be funny if we got up here and they were closed?" Yes, I think you know what comes next. We get to the top of the hill to find an empty parking lot, darkened slopes and dead lifts. A security guard that was walking around informed us that the last night skiing at Meadows for the season was the previous weekend.

So, what now? Dinner at Skyway (Mmmmm)? Ski Bowl (uh ... no) How about Timberline, we haven't been there before?

We settled on giving Timberline a try seeing that we were all dressed up and needed a party to go to. The drive up the hill to the Lodge was sorta fun. The road had some icy patches so I couldn't go too wild. We got to the top, found a parking place ... which wasn't difficult, strapped into our gear, got our lift ticket, asked for directions and headed for the slopes.

The previous weekend the conditions were absolutely perfect. Ryan and I were were completely unprepared for what awaited us. The "snow" had been packed down to a concrete like consistency. It was practically impossible to dig an edge in for some traction. Very sketchy all around. On our way across one of the many flat-lands, Ryan managed to catch an edge on the unforgiving surface and fell, smacking his head into the ground. His helmet saved him from a concussion and maybe a trip to the hospital, but its structural integrity is now in question.

We went up and down the same run a few times before feeling that our $25 was up and heading back to the car, both feeling relieved that we were no longer risking our lives. We climbed out of our gear and packed up the car, grabbed the camera and walked around for a bit to take some pictures.

The Timberline Lodge is absolutely stunning. I didn't take too many pictures of the outside because of the darkness, and I didn't take too many pictures of the inside because the scene was so mellow inside that I didn't want to be disruptive with camera flashes. The place itself is timely because it was built as a result of the previous Depression's "stimulus". During our current economic meltdown, I keep saying that now is the time for great things. Places like the Timberline Lodge sort of prove that. I said to Ryan "It's interesting that the Great Depression gave us a place like this." He amended: "this, and breadlines."

Here are the rest of the pictures I took.