70s Style Skiing

After the much-needed storms of the last two weeks, we went for our second weekend in a row to Baldy to downhill ski. It's a very rustic, "retro" resort, with what look like barely working lifts (I'm sure they're safe, even with the broken seats and backs!), and a somewhat smelly day lodge. But we love the skiing there if we're staying in town. It has a mom/pop feel to it, and most of the staff are friendly. It doesn't have the typical crowded, high-strung LA vibe to it either. It's a definite throwback to the 70s.

Joining us today was Dave with his "retro" (now back in high style) flourescent orange ski jacket. He blended in well with the rest of the resort. :)

The runs had pretty good coverage. Snow quality was better last weekend because there were colder temps, but can't complain! We were even able to ski all the way down to our cars at 6500'!

Whiling Away the Holidaze

We waited 'til the last minute to plan our OC getaway over the holidaze. After lots of heated discussion (where I had to deny that I was trying to kill Alan), I decided that the mid-December SoCal storm meant that a trip to the Eastern Sierras was a must.

We went to Mammoth Mountain for some downhill resort skiing. I think that whole recession thing kept the LA crazies away, so the experience was not bad at all. The snow conditions right after the storm were pleasant!

After we got a small semblance of our ski legs back, we headed down to Rock Creek Lodge.

You can almost imagine old miners sitting on the porch talking about the day's finds. OK, it was probably just a tad warmer. Even with the storm, the snow coverage was pretty thin.

Unlike my waistline after the trip.

This was dessert on New Year's Eve. Some chocolate mousse substance that was heavenly.

Fortunately, the Lodge doggie helped us burn calories by begging to play catch.

We ended the year with a Lodge bonfire. Apparently, there's supposed to be some wildness and mayhem (skiers are a feisty bunch, after all), but Alan got too sick to stay up until midnight.

Hm, I'm having some trouble with posting large photos on this blog using the default editor. Until I can figure this out, they're on Picasa in large format.