It has been over a month since I have posted anything. I intended to make entries several times but always seemed to run out of motivation or I let too much time elapse after certain noteworthy activities. The prolonged lack of Internet at the Condo in North Creek, was also a contributing factor. That problem is hopefully, over, in fact I am there now.

I will briefly try to recap some of the past month. I got two days of snowboarding in during the week before Christmas and was thrilled to have gotten the season off to such a good start. As Christmas approached, our family (I m sure, like many of yours) began to feel the long and unrelenting reach of COVID. The Omicron variant surged and forced the cancellation of several Holiday Gatherings that we were all looking forward to. On a positive note, this ended up creating more quality time with the immediate family. So while, I was disappointed we were not able to see everyone else, I was grateful for the visiting we did get to do. We got Chinese Take Out, played Monopoly, watched Movies and Football and did Jigsaw Puzzles, I’ll take it!

The Sunday after New Year’s Day, I was back on the road to North Creek, ready to begin what is really the heart of the Ski\Snowboard Season. This trip was made special by the appearance of our first guest at the Condo, my Cousin Tim Barrett. It was great to see him and we really had a great time, whether on the mountain or back at the Condo, conversatin’ and watching Football on the I Phone (thanks to the lack of Internet Connection). Monday was very cold, with temperatures in the teens, but pretty decent conditions. Tim left the following morning. I hope he had as much fun as I did.

After Tim left I spent another hour or so, on the phone with Frontier – the Company that is supposed to be our Internet PROVIDER. After the usual phone maze and the accompanying aggravation, I was given an appointment with a Field Technician for the following day between 1 and 5pm. I was happy to have made the appointment, but was of course skeptical as to how it would turn out. I headed to Gore to make the most of the afternoon, and was glad I did. The next morning I was at Gore by 8:30am and enjoyed terrific conditions before hustling back to the Condo to wait for Frontier. I should have stayed at Gore, since they never showed up, even after I was re-assured at 4:45pm that they were still going to keep the appointment. Ultimately, I was given a new appointment, by Text Message, for the next day (Thursday), from 1-5pm.

So, Thursday morning I was back at Gore, bright and early again. I was really having a great time when I got a call, while riding up in the Gondola, it was 10:30! Frontier was at the Condo Complex and wanted to know when I could be there! I thought about making them wait until at least 1pm. But I really wanted that Internet Connection! So I hustled back to the Condo, once again.

Within about forty minutes they were on their way, having finally provided us with sustained Internet Service! It seems the Router they had installed was no good. So, now we have excellent Internet – it only took since mid-September! I celebrated by heading back to Gore for a couple more hours.

I drove home Friday, with the intention of returning to North Creek on Sunday, again. The Condo wasn’t rented for the weekend and I did consider just staying up here. I had a good weekend at home and decided not to leave on Sunday, as the weather forecast was predicting Icy Road Conditions. So I left yesterday, and arrived in time for some of the coldest weather I have ever experienced. When I woke up this morning, it was -8 Degrees! I was thrilled that the car started and was at the Gondola around 8:40am, but they did not start letting people on the lifts until about 9am. The conditions on the Slopes were very good and there were not many people willing to take on such extreme temperatures. Thankfully, it was Sunny with very little wind, all day. I was all layered up and was careful to go inside for a few breaks (to warm up and get the ice off the inside of my goggles), so I never really felt too cold. All in all, it was another great day out there. I checked the temperature at the top of the mountain before my last run, and it was Zero Degrees.

I stopped for a late lunch at Beck’s Tavern, on the way back to the condo. I had a Sauerbraaten Reuben that was amazing! I am pretty tired and am already looking forward to tomorrow. It is supposed to reach the twenties, by the afternoon. It will feel like a heat wave!