Turns All Year: Months 82-83

For most people, ski season begins with bellies full of turkey, cranberries, and yams. Winter resorts open around Thanksgiving, welcoming riders in droves for the first crappy, rock-laden turns of the year. These same folk ski until mid-March or early-April - depending on your geography - then stash the skis in the back of the garage to be forgotten until the next round of stuffing and pumpkin pie.

These are not my people.

My people approach April with glee, knowing the best adventuring opportunities of 'Volcano Season' are right around the corner. May and June, and sometimes July, bring an ample harvest of spring corn in the sunshine. Slushy-turns, laying trenches, and skimming ponds are our soup du jour.

Only the hearty survive the next season. Chasing turns in August, September, and October can be most accurately described as "fine". Generally speaking these trips involve a lot of hiking with skis on your back, skinning with skis on your feet, skiing (if you call it that), and hiking some more while schlepping the now-useless sticks you carried for hours only to use for a handful of minutes. But for those of us who chase Turns All Year, these summer sufferfests can be some of the most rewarding.

If you're thinking about joining the TAY crew, be warned: you can easily make it to July, and probably even August, but September and October are where the Vibram meets the pavement and most people fall off the wagon, consoling themselves with the thought that "9-months is enough". It's not; you're a failing failure who fails. 

But I'm going to let you in on a little secret.

You can ski at the end of August and the beginning of September at Wy'east (Mt. Hood). On a chairlift. With a beer in your hand. All it will cost you is $60 for a lift ticket (or $49 when the snow is especially horrific).

The only place in America to offer year-round skiing, Timberline Ski Resort, operated on the Palmer Glacier, offers winter enthusiasts the opportunity to ski salt-treated glacial ice for all but two-weeks a year. For the last 5-years, lift skiing at Timberline has served as my easy-button for TAY. This year a whole crew of crazies descended from Seattle and Hood River to celebrate Cori's birthday and ski in August and September. Here are my favorite photos from the trip:

Friday, August 31, 2018 | Palmer Glacier

That's not what it's supposed to look like under the chair...

Ben slooshing through the clouds!

"Recharging" on the chairlift!

Todd rocking the corn pow!

Happy skiers!

After skiing we went to Trillium Lake. Because it's still very warm in August and we do what we want!

Steak for dinner? Don't mind if we do. Excellent dinner choice and preparation Ben!

Saturday, September 1, 2018 | NOT Skiing
On Saturday, I worked from the lodge (because I skied on Friday, and you can't play every day of the week) and hung out with the lovely Miss Erin (who really rocks a cane if you ask me) for a few hours before she went to pick up Todd and Theresa. They opted for a 20 mile trail run through a hornets nest when they could have been skiing. I know, I don't understand it either.

#TeamLodge

#TeamHornetsNest

If you have to work, this isn't a bad place to do it!

Later that same evening, we were really rocking the pink. We decided to form a band called Fuscia Fiasco.

View of Wy'east from our campsite.

Sunday, September 2, 2018 | Palmer Glacier

Helloooo ladies!

Someone is ready to rip!

Annnnnnd....there she goes! 

One must have colorful outfits of ridiculousness for summer skiing.

About half of the gang! Thanks for coming friends!!! See you next year?

The two-fer is definitely the preferred way for me to ski in the summer. Extra beta for you: August 31 falls on a Saturday in 2019. September 1 is Sunday. Mark your calendars.