2 degrees farhenheit

So said the ski bus guy. It was the warmest spot on the mountain that day - between Mt. Bachelor, Hoodoo, and Willamette Pass. We were headed for the warmest of the three. Bachelor was at 2 below and Hoodoo at 1 below. Maybe it's a good thing that I hadn't waxed my snowboard since my last ride.

I am not an early morning person, most of the time. But if it involves some sort of fun activity, like hiking on a sunny day, playing in an all day softball tournament, or, in this case, snowboarding, I don't have too much trouble getting my lazy self out of bed.

The hour-long ride seemed short since I didn't have to do the driving. Not much snow on the road side until about 15 minutes from the Pass. Even then, there were signs that ice had taken over the mountain, so catching an edge and falling could be quite painful. I wished that I had brought my sunglasses though as the bright sun was beaming through the bus windows and striking my eyes at odd angles. So much for catching some zzz's en route.

Stepping off the bus was like walking into a one of those giant freezers. A slight wind was blowing around what little snow had fallen that morning. Albeit, no fear - once I get going, some of the layers that I've got on are coming off anyway.

I managed to convince Cody to head for Duck Soup instead of the bunny hill to get started. The lift ride up the slope only reminded me of how awesome the outdoors can be, even in 1 degree weather. Although slightly obscured by the lift, the view of Diamond Peak and the surrounding area was magnificent! The sky was that bright blue, with a few clouds passing by here and there, and white glistening now all around. I wished that I had brought my camera. Man, it's gonna be a great boarding day!

It took a few moments for us to get going as Cody has only been boarding one other time. Man, if I was not impressed with his ability to keep plugging away at it despite all the tumbles and falls he kept on taking trying to balance himself. He even managed to accidentally tumble into a side-to-side 360! My stumbling highlights came a few short moments later, when I caught an edge while turning, went airborne, and landed about 6 feet from where I had started. From Cody's recap, it looked like I was skydiving sideways, with my feet in the air and face plant in the snow. We now call it a "downward facing dog - snowboarding style". Aside from one other tumble onto my noggin (trying to avoid an indecisive skiier), the rest of my runs were smooth and comfortable. I felt like I was gliding across the snow - a sharp contrast from my Silver Star trip a couple of weekends ago. I was even passing other boarders and skiiers with ease!

In all, it was a great day to be boarding. Even the butterscotch flavored hot chocolate drinks at the lodge weren't so bad!