Night skiing is THE BEST!

“We had the BEST night ski Friday night....we were planing to ski up the road at the North entrance of Lassen Park, but once we got there we decided to head into Lassen national Forest to get to better snow.

We 4 wheeled up Rd 17 to the turnoff for Onion Springs. The snow was much deeper and the skiing was superb. The full moon was out from under the clouds and the views were amazing. This was classic touring....gentle kick and glide up the road for a couple miles, in and out of the shadows of the full moon.


We came across fresh bear tracks, he obviously was lost, as he crossed the road several times , but he seemed to be heading to Onion Springs with us...we never did see him though..hope he found his way.




We finally turned around about 11:00 and headed back down....the ski out was absolutely fantastic...the tracks we so carefully made on our way in had frozen into perfect grooves to hold our skis...the run was rather exciting as we wove in and out of the shadows, picking up speed in the frozen snow. You soon learned to just "let it ride" when you couldn't see in front of you, it was like being on a Roller Coaster . About the time you started to panic because you were traveling a tad to fast, the road would level out enough to get your composure back....then off you would go again, in and out of the shadow and around the curves. It was SOOOOOO COOOL!

I finally got home at 2:00 am and couldn't sleep because of all the adrenalin.

One more note....

I know it shouldn't work this way, but everyone noticed that the snow was icier and harder in the shadows then in the full moon light....gotta be a coincidence....huh?

Note to self....next time I must remember to bring the moon screen, my face is rather red.......

A couple pictures can be found here and on the previous page.
last edited: 10/30/04 12:11:57 PM”

“isn't the thread title sonny bono's last words? Awesome sounding trip and pics..this alabama boy is working up to more and more snow trips”

“I suspect Sonny's last words were..Oh sh*%

Good luck with your winter trips..looking forward to seeing your pict's.

Go Winter!”

“I love night skiing, used to do it all the time. Problem is someone suggested that since I did it alone (I could never find anyone else), and there is a possibility that I could break a leg out there......

Now a days, I have a little difficulty staying up that late.”

“Bill Cosby:"first ya say it then you do it."”

“Rodney reminded me of a plain we hatched during our ski...a circumvent of Loomis. We figure it will take 3 to 4 days. Right now we are debating between the end of February or sometime in March. It's going to be only 18/20 miles, but the terrain can be a bit sketchy in places. Anyone that's interested , drop me a note.”

“Unless you're stuck in a gondola...


Awards:

Tough Texan award:

These guys knew what they were doing. They made sure we were OK," said Elman, 47, of Houston, who was lowered by harness about 130 feet (39 meters) to the ground. She said it was an adventure.

Generation Y award:

Derek Goodbrand, 22, of Calgary, who was also trapped, said he was bored until the rescue started. "It was really fun being lowered in the harness," he said.

And finally...

Whiny-ass dad award:

Michael Giuffre, a cardiologist whose 15- and 10-year old sons were among those on the gondola, said the rescue plan was only initiated after people had been stuck for two hours.

"I'm very unhappy," he said. "They've had no fluids, no food, no external source of heat. They're at risk for hypothermia."

Giuffre said the resort brought out lights to illuminate the hill for those trapped only after he complained.

”