Sliding Down The Slopes: March 2009

Monday, March 30, 2009

Just When You Thought it Was Over...

266 Hours

If you've read this blog at all you know that I'm pretty crazy about skiing. The "final" numbers are in and this season I logged 266 hours of downhill skiing. (And a significant number of hours XC skiing at the beginning of the season) Given the fact that 100% of my time on the slopes was ski patrol related this year I had very accurate measurement of the hours I put in.

This weekend I think it made my final trip north, but instead of driving I rode in style. A patroller friend of mine owns his own plane and he offered to fly us up to Harbor Springs where he had a car waiting for us to go to Boyne Highlands. It was definitely a sweet way to go skiing and on the ride up I even got to ride shotgun in the cockpit of the plane! In all three of us made the trip and stayed at a condo rented by some other patrollers. We had a blast on Saturday and enjoyed a beautiful sunny day of spring skiing.

Then just when you thought it was over, mother nature fired back up the snow machines and we woke up to nearly 7 inches of fresh powder Sunday morning. Despite the snow, the area was scheduled to close Sunday and by 4:30 a freshly covered ski hill was emptied of skiiers one last time for the season, marking the end to an amazing season of winter activity.

It was a season that brought me skiing to:

Bittersweet Ski Area; Otsego, MI

Boyne Highlands, Harbor Springs, MI

Boyne Mountain, Boyne Falls, MI

Caberfea Peaks; Cadilliac, MI

Cannonsburg Ski Area; Rockford, MI

Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville, MI

Marquette Mountain; Marquette, MI

Mt. Holiday Ski Area; Traverse City, MI

Nubs Nob and Boyne Mountain are the only two ski areas I know of that are still open in the lower peninsula and Nubs is planning on closing next weekend. Boyne has not set an official closing date but generally they plan on closing around Easter weekend. As sad as it is to say, I think I am officially done for the season, but even I can't say that with 100% certainty. You just never know what mother nature will throw our way and you never know when I will get the urge to jump in the car and do what I love the most.

Here's to a great ski season and all the new friends I made along the way. See you on the slopes!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Productive Sunday

Here is what I accomplished yesterday:

1. Took apart the deadbolt door lock, fixed it, re-installed in door. (It even works!)

2. Washed my car and vacuumed the seats & floor.

3. Cleaned car seats with upholstery cleaner, put in new floor mats, washed inside windows, rain X'ed the windshield.

4. Touched up stone chips with some new red paint. (Just in time for pothole season)

5. Did the dishes. (Twice)

6. Changed lightbulb in kitchen.

7. Marinated turkey tenderloin...to be grilled later in the day.

8. Planted my indoor Herb garden (Chives, Parsley, Basil, Cilantro)

9. Took a nap with the dog.

10. Took the dog for 1 mile walk.

11. Picked up dog poop in the yard.

12. Washed the dog's blanket that goes in my car, hung outside to dry.

13. Read a few blogs

14. Set rat traps in the attic...(squirrels are back in the walls again).

15. Did some shopping.

16. Grilled the tenderloin, w/ grilled asparagus, peppers, onions, & garlic.

17. Ended the night by watching TV with Erika.

Not to shabby of a day. Hopefully I'm able to stay this productive the rest of the week.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Random comments on a Monday night

Random Comment #1:

This weekend I got a head start on my tan. I was up at Mt. Holiday enjoying some beautiful spring skiing. It was bright sunshine and in the mid 50's all weekend. Needless to say I got a nice sunburn with some sweet sunglass lines included at no extra charge. Hopefully the spring is short and summer gets here quickly so I can get the sailboat back in the water.

Here is a panoramic picture from the top of Mt. Holiday. It was kind of hazy but on a clear day you can easily see the entire Old Mission Peninsula from the top of the ski hill. One of my

favorite views in MI.

This is what I woke up to Saturday morning looking out the window of my grandparents old house on the peninsula. Now if we could just come up with a few hundred thousand dollars to keep it in the family for the rest of my life I would be all set.

Random Comment #2:

Saturday I left the ski hill at about 5:00p.m. I had the dog with me this weekend so I had to go home and let him out. Being back at the house early Saturday night I decided to start a fire in the fireplace and watch Saving Private Ryan. I've seen it before but wow. I'm not sure how historically accurate the movie actually is but even if it is 25% true those soldiers were true American Heroes. The men that fought in that war were a different breed of Americans than what we have today. (Not that our soldiers are not brave today) But for them to go into battle with few resources they had available to them is incredible. I know I personally don't have the strength or courage to put myself into that situation. It's a very touching moving and I highly recommend it, it really puts life into perspective. We don't have nearly as bad as people think we do.

Random Comment #3:

Last week a kid at GVSU was shot in the chest by a Sherriff's deputy during a drug raid on the students off campus apartment. The facts are still limited but students and idiot individuals are going off like crazy on online news message boards and chat rooms. I can't believe the claims people make when they have no idea what actually happened on that night. These inbreeding morons are making claims outrageous claims and accusations before any of the facts have even been released.

It is true the student was unarmed, and it has not been said as to why the officer fired the shot, nor will it be said until some time. The morons commenting on this case can't seem to get it through their thick skulls that police investigations like this take time because they don't want to screw it up and they are not going to release all the information right away. If this officer did indeed make a mistake and wrongfully discharged his weapon then that will come out in the investigation and appropriate action will be taken against him. I'd like to think we can have enough faith in the system to let it work this case out. Instead people are making this out to be the biggest case of crime and corruption in the world. Sure there are corrupt police departments, but this is Ottawa County for crying out loud. Let the system work and THEN make judgements on the case. Don't go around accusing cops of shooting people for the sake of shooting people. I for one appreciate the work the cops do for me, it's work I certainly wouldn't ever want to do. I know here are corrupt cops out there and the officer involved in this case MAY be one of them, but there are also priests that molest little boys, it doesn't mean they are all like that.

Here's a tip: Don't buy and sell drugs from your home and you won't put yourself in a situation to get shot. Seems to be working pretty well for me and all of my friends.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

A brilliant letter to the IRS

This letter is all over the net but it pretty much sums up the majority of my thoughts about our government. How much more of these idiots can we take before the country just implodes?

"Dear IRS,

I'm sorry to inform you that I'm not going to be able to pay the taxes owed on April 15th, but all is not lost. I paid these taxes, accounts receivable tax, building permit tax, CDL tax, corporate income tax, dog license tax, federal income tax, unemployment tax, gas tax, hunting license tax, fishing license tax, waterfowl stamp tax, inheritance tax, inventory tax, liquor tax, luxury tax, Medicare tax, city tax, school and county property tax up to 33% the last four years. Real estate tax, Social Security tax, road use tax, toll road tax, state and city sales tax, recreational vehicle tax, sales franchise tax, state unemployment tax, federal excise tax, telephone tax, telephone federal state and local surcharge tax, telephone minimum usage surcharge tax, telephone state and local tax, utility tax, vehicle tax, registration tax, capital gains tax, lease severance tax, oil and gas assessment tax, Colorado property tax, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Mexico sales tax and many more I can't recall and I've run out of space and money. When you do not receive my check April 15th, just know that it was an honest mistake. Please treat me the same as the way you've treated Congressman Charlie Rangel, Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, ex-congressman Tom Daschle and, of course, your boss, Timothy Geithner. No penalties, no interest.

PS, I'll make at least a partial payment as soon as I get my stimulus check.

Ed Barnett, Wichita Falls."

Sunday, March 8, 2009

The End of a Long Road

Great news today as I passed the last of my tests for the Senior program for the National Ski Patrol. This program has tied up 6 of my weekends this winter with training and testing activities. Since October I've spent one night a week studying and practicing emergency medical scenarios with three other individuals from Cannonsburg. We knew going into the program it would be demanding and take a lot of our time but I don't think any of us knew just what we were getting into.

The Senior Emergency Management test looks not only at an individuals basic first aid skills but also tests their leadership and scene management skills as well. This morning we had the S.E.M. test and despite the crappy rainy weather, three of the four of us from Cannonsburg passed. For two of us it was the end of a long road of training and nervouse nights.

I'm now officially a Senior member of the National Ski Patrol. Despite the challenges this test put me through and the amount of time I spent worrying about passing the stupid ting, I have learned so much more in regards to my first aid skills. I am a much more confident patroller now that I've completed this program and I think it really has prepaired me for the unexpected. When I joined the ski patrol last year I did so because of my love for skiing, but over the course of the last two years I've learned the patrol is so much more.

I've met some great new friends through ski patrol, people I would do anything for and I know they would do anything for me. It is a family of people who love winter, love to ski, and love to help others out. 95% of our time is spent enjoying each others company and enjoying our time on the snow but when people get injured and need help it's important we are trained both mentally and physically to be ready for the other 5% of the time we are not having fun. Until finishing the Senior program I didn't think I was a strong patroller and I dreaded the times I was called to accident scenes. I used to be scared and doubted my ability to treat patients if other patrollers were around watching over my shoulder. This all changed last weekend when I was called to a real life Senior level scenario.

I was called to the tube run at the bottom of our hill for a "serious" injury. We were notified by the main office that the people who reported the accident said it was seriouse and suggested we call an ambulance. I had no idea what I would find when I skiied over to the patient. Once I saw where the patient was laying I thought for sure this was going to be a call that I would never forget. The call all ski patrollers and first responders dread. The child was deep in the woods and crying like crazy. As I arrived on scene and completed my initial assessment of the patient I was releived to find no major bleeding or life threatening injuries. But her injuries were severe enough to require we place her on a back board and get her to a hospital for further evaluation. My training kicked in and as soon as my other helpers arrived we had the patient on a backboard and loaded into the back of an ambulance in under 15 minutes. We even reacted when her dad collapsed from stress and over exertion. Two patients in one sceniro, just like all of our training for the test. It's amazing what happens when everything falls in place and your training kicks in.

The accident last weekend really gave me a confidence booster for today's test. I made a few mistakes in my first practice scenario but got my head back into the game and finished the test strong. After a two hour evaluation period, the results were announced and my friend and I passed the test were handed our new patches and our new senior badges. What a great feeling after completing a long, and at times stressful, training process.

It might not seem like much but I was excited to sew my new patch on my vest. (Actually Erika Sewed it on for me....but whatever)

Saturday, March 7, 2009

6 Days of Skiing

This week Erika and I took a few days vacation and headed North in search of better snow and good skiing. It takes a special kind of sick individual to head north in March for vacation but that's just how we are. The snow around Grand Rapids is gone and what is left to ski on at Cannonsburg is slush and ice. With the rain we have now I would imagine the ski season in South West Michigan will come to an end this weekend.

We loaded the car Tuesday morning and made the 6.5-hour trip to Marquette. We had a beautiful day for driving and the sun was out the entire way. The trip actually went by fairly quickly and was pretty enjoyable. We pulled into Marquette and I wanted to take Erika out to Presque Isle Park before we checked into the hotel room and then went skiing. Unfortunately only part of the park was open and you couldn't get out to the lakeshore unless you hiked the 2-mile snow covered road around the island. We didn't have time for that as there was skiing to be had so we drove around the park the best we could. As we drove down the street we looked into the woods and found a TON of deer.

They looked like there were very well fed, despite the signs all over that say don't feed the deer. These deer weren't even afraid of the car and let

us take picture after picture. They just looked at us with as much amusement as we had looking at them.

We took a few more pictures and then headed up to the Super 8 Motel to check in. We got the rooms for a cheap rate so we figured it would be kind of a dumpy place. We were surprised when we got there and noticed it was well kept and even had a pool, hot tub, and sauna.

We changed into our ski gear and drove the 3 minutes down the road to Marquette Mountain Ski area. Unlike most ski areas in Mi, Marquette Mountain is actually a Mountain. Granted, it's pretty small but there are some beautiful rock outcroppings around the hill and there are beautiful views of Lake Superior. We headed to their patrol room and checked in with the hill leader and showed him our credentials as patrollers. All of the patrollers there were so nice and welcomed us with open arms. They gave us a radio incase we had to call in any accidents and they told us to go out and have fun. We skied for about 4 hours on Tuesday evening and had a blast. There was some good steep terrain and some nice long runs too. The snow was beautiful packed powder and had no ice at all in it. Just what we were looking for.

We left about 9:00p.m. in search of some dinner. Apparently all the good local food places in Marquette close at 9:00 so we settled for Wendys instead. Then we went back to the hotel and soaked in the hot tub for a while and went to bed. After the drive and skiing for a few hours we were both pretty beat.

Wednesday morning we woke up and got ready for skiing. We were at the mountain and skiing by 10:30. It wasn't as sunny as the day before but still a great day for skiing. We met up with another patroller and skied with him for a few runs, again everyone was so nice and welcomed us to their mountain. It was really cool. We skied until lunch and then went down to the patrol room and ate with a few of the other patrollers. Then it was back to the slopes.

Marquette Mountain has this great little area called "The Back Door" on top of the mountain. It is located down a trail back in the middle of some woods that have been cleared away. The Back Door is an adult’s tree fort that is sweet. The area was made by the locals and each summer they haul wood to the top of the mountain and stack it for the winter. But they don't just stack it in piles; instead they make a sweet wintertime picnic area and shelter out of all the stacked wood. The Back door is complete with a ladies restroom, gentleman’s rest room ( or area with a lot of yellow snow) a wall of wood to block the cold north wind coming off the lake, a room made of stacked wood for days it's really cold, a fire pit with grill and cooking utensils, chairs for around the fire, two pantries to store food and condiments, and hundreds of old skis used as fencing around the area. It is really a neat place and a skier’s paradise. We stopped into The Back Door twice during our trip and had some good conversation with some local yoopers. They too were very nice and offered us food they had cooked over the fire. We spent the rest of the afternoon skiing until about 6:00p.m. Then we said goodbye to our new patroller friends and headed into town for dinner at The Border Grille, a fantastic little Mexican restaurant.

After dinner we went back to the hotel and got cleaned up so we could head to the casino. I wasn't a big fan of the idea of wasting my money but Erika wanted to go so we did. Once we got there we started playing some of the slot machines. I quickly blew through $10 of the $30 I planned on gambling with and was getting discouraged. I found an old time slot machine that actually had the crank handle instead of all the electronic buttons and had a seat there. I put in $3.00 and tried my luck. After a few minutes I was down to about $.75 left when after pulling the lever the machine started dinging and making some sweet noises. Turns out I won $120! Sweet. We played for a bit longer and ran out of luck and money so we left with $120 cash in hand. A little more and we would have almost completely paid for the trip.

We left the casino and headed back to the hotel. My legs were sore from skiing all day so I jumped in the hot tub while Erika read a book for a bit. We didn't really want to head back to GR in the morning but with the hotel and the cost of boarding the dog was getting more expensive than we wanted. We left early Thursday morning and made the trip back home. We stopped in Mackinaw City for some photos, fudge, and pasties. Unfortunately we couldn't stay long in Mackinaw City, as we needed to get back to the kennel by 6:00p.m. to pick up Porter. We pulled into the kennel at exactly 6 and took our tired little puppy back home. It was his first time being at a kennel but he did great. I'm not sure if he didn't sleep well or if he was playing too much, but he was asleep on Erika's lap in the front seat of the care within 5 minutes of leaving the kennel.

All in all we had a great trip. For me it completed 6 straight day of skiing and gave us one last shot at good snow before we get into our marginal spring skiing conditions. I wish we could have stayed longer but we got to see some beautiful scenery and met some really nice people. Marquette is a long ways away but both Erika and I agreed we wouldn't mind moving to this little northern Michigan paradise if the opportunity ever came up.

Sliding Down The Slopes

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