I’m not going to sugarcoat it. After riding lifts in August and September for Turns All Year Months 83-84, I was not super motivated to get out and hike for turns in October to get my 7-years. I did it anyway, ignorantly thinking the “recent snows” meant I wouldn’t be hiking for miles and miles (and miles and miles). I was wrong. But that’s the point of TAY: you do it even when you don’t want to, because not going is worse than going even when it’s bad.
For month 85, the tutu crew of Theresa, Trisha, Cori, Cory, Nikki, and I descended on Stevens Pass for laps inbounds before the lifts opened for the season. The backcountry conditions were really sketchy at this point in the season, and we didn’t want to take any chances with safety.
We rolled in at the crack of 9am and the parking lot was PACKED! Other backcountry skiers and boarders, regular skiers and boarders trudging up hill, sledders with dogs and kids – the place was pandamonium! I loved the frenetic energy. Having grown up with younger twin sisters, I often thrive in a hectic environment.
After a rather eventful gearing up at the parking lot, wherein Cory may or may not have gotten stuck in the ‘turtle’ position, we were on our way. Skinning away from the majority of the crowd, I was taken aback at just how much noise is made by running lifts. We glided upward below the towers of cables and chairs, both longing for their easy swiftness and reveling in the quiet exertion of making our own way up the hill.
We climbed to the top of 7th Heaven, skied down the chutes and continued halfway down the run, then reached quickly warming, unfriendly snow. So back up we went before heading all the way back down. Up and down, and up and down, and it’s the crack of noon and we’re done. All told we spent a whopping hour and a half skiing, which does not, for the record, make the math work when you want to do the thing for longer than it takes you to drive back and forth to do the thing, but, whatever. We went, we saw, we got turns. I came home and proudly crossed “ski in November” off my list. And by the skin of my teeth. It took until November 24 to get out there.
Not to brag too hard, but according to Strava I hit a max speed of 24.4mph. WATCH OUT WORLD! And bonus, we scored a sweet rainbow picture! (Thanks to Theresa and Nikki for sharing their photos for this story!)
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