In December, the Club organized several ski outings to take advantage of the fresh white stuff after a snow-less November.
James Cagney led a group of nine skiers out to the Swampy shelter on Friday, December 17. James reported that “the snow was excellent, the sky was blue, and Swampy shelter was magnificent.” After socializing at the shelter, most of the skiers continued on the long Swampy loop. James summarized, “We could not have asked for better snow or conditions.”
The following Tuesday, James Cagney took out another group, this time nine skiers on the Swede loop. The snow was terrific, the kind of powder snow we rarely see in the Cascades. Borrowing a phrase from snow boarders, Jerry Sebestyen described it as a day to “shred pow-pow.” The group skied into Swede shelter using the South Swede loop and had a snack there. Then the group returned trip to Swampy Sno-Park by way North Swede loop. Jerry Sebestyen emphasized, “There is a big difference in the elevation gain between those two legs of the loop. Personally, I had forgotten how steep the north leg is. It seemed to climb forever. The expression ‘up, up and away’ comes to mind.” Everyone enjoyed this challenging (and calorie-burning) ski, despite its demands.
On Thursday, December 30th, the eve of New Year’s Eve, John Stockham organized a trip for nine skiers from the Swampy Sno-Park to the Nordeen shelter. Again, the snow quality was amazing. The day was overcast, so there wasn’t much of a view from the shelter. After lunch, some members of the party returned via the route the group had followed to the shelter, while the rest (the A Team) continued clockwise to complete the Nordeen loop. In the words of Jerry Sebestyen, “Everyone enjoyed the ski, snow, and company.”
