40 before 40: Ski a volcano!

Mt. Rainier is a Volcano!

Mt. Rainier

Putting on skins after a night in the van; Rainier in the background

Brooks skinning up from the parking lot

Twice now we have skiied Rainier, a volcano south of Seattle.  It last erupted around 1894-95, but is projected to erupt again.  The USGS identifies Rainier as one of the nation's most dangerous volcanoes because of its proximity to populated areas, likelihood of eruption, and danger of lahars.  Its summit sits at 14, 410.  When we attempted to summit Rainier in 2012, we made it to 12, 200.  Muir Camp is at 10, 500 feet.  Anyone can hike up to Muir Camp without a permit, and so we have hiked there twice and skiied down.  It takes 3-5 hours to hike up; both times we took quite the break at the camp and enjoyed a leisurely snack break and even a nap!  Finches are present, looking for crumbs and bugs.

Hiking up!

Skinning up! Mt. Adams in the background

Skinning up to Camp Muir

Man and the Mountain

Camp Muir; one needs a permit to go beyond here

The descent is roughly a 4,500 run! It took us 30 minutes to ski down! It was a major quad burner! Previous to skiing Rainier, our longest descent was a run in B.C. during our week at the hut.

This most recent trip, the snow was incredible! It is pretty much a green run all the way down except for one section that is fairly steep--a black.  The snow was incredible even on the steep! At the bottom of the steep, I was gaining speed because of the small incline just ahead.  Brooks saw me crush the steep, he said he even thought to himself, "Lindsey is getting so good at skiing!"  But just as I flew into the depression, the soft snow GRABBED my skis and I did a total flip: face into the snow, skis over my head, landing on my back.  Because of this rise, all the hikers around me who saw me crush the descent never even saw my crash.  At first, I moved my legs to see if they still worked.  Then, I moved my arms.  All systems go.  Next, I removed the snow from behind my sunglasses.  I was so disoriented I couldn't even turn on my radio to communicate with Brooks.  I slowly stood up and skied my way over to Brooks.

He was standing in the snow, post-holed up to his knees away from his board. He said he saw my head go down out of sight and then my skis came up.  He couldn't see me fully, but jumped out of his board and ran until he could see me.  He saw me testing out my limbs and noticed I was up and moving so he had waited with his radio on to hear from me.

Luckily, there was no permanent damage, just a little ego bruise.  Another reason why I ALWAYS wear a helmet.

It is amazing to ski Rainier and get above the alpine and some times above the clouds! Wear sunscreen!

40 before 40!

I recently read about a girlfriend doing a "30 Before 30!" challenge. I am inspired.  I am also more motivated through the mundane day-to-day with goals and future experiences in sight... and unemployed, needing something to fill my time while I'm waiting for a sub job to call.  I'm 35.5 and ready to go!

In no particular order, but preferably as free as possible:

1. Run a half-marathon
2. Solo backpack a multi-day trip
3. Backpack a multi-week trip
4. Ski a volcano
5. Ski a glacier!
6. Make Brooks a quilt
7. Make Dad a quilt
8. Make myself a quilt
9. Ski at least once a month every month until my 40th birthday 
10. Attend a yoga workshop
11. Attend a meditation workshop
12. Volunteer at something besides school
13. Cross country ski trip in the Methow Valley
14. Hike off trail in North Cascades--Pasayten Wilderness maybe?
15. Hike Mt. Adams
16. Go on a ski trip with just ladies
17. Go on a backpack trip with just ladies
18. Packraft in Washington
19. Do a trip on Alaskan peninsula
20. Learn how to stand up paddleboard
21. Lead Brooks on a ski trip, where I find the beta and set the skin track
22. View the Monarch Migration, preferably from Michoacan!
23. Grow a spice garden (rosemary, thyme, dill, etc)
24. Learn more about birds in the Seattle area and be able to identify something. Anything.
25. Go on a mountain bike ride
26. Do a multi-day bicycle trip
27. Not spend a $ outside of groceries/gas for a month.
28. Do a bike trip
29. Read a book that changes the way I look at the world
30. Become a Google Level 2 Certified Educator (already Level 1!)
31. Bake a pie from scratch, including the crust
32. Take a ski lesson every year to continue to improve
33. Attend a reading/lecture by a published author that inspires me
34. Learn to skate ski
35. Learn to fly fish
36. Learn to use a bbq to make great meals--preferably venison and veggies
37. Re-frame the Alaskan Huong prints Mom gave me and hang them 
38. Take an AIARE Avalanche Rescue Class
39. Take an AIARE Level 2 Course
40. Do a hut-to-hut trip, preferably skiing!

To keep myself accountable, I'll do a write-up each time I check one of these babies off! I have a lot to do in the next 4.5 years!

Mom's week in Seattle, April 14-19, 2019

Mom arrived in Seattle on Sunday, April 14th moments after we arrived in Seattle with the Revel and she dropped off Kelly and Payson to the airport.  The fun began immediately! I "shared" with mom a Note of our agenda and she gave me a thumbs up; I assumed she was placating my anal nature of attempting to squeeze as much into a day as possible, but her only request was a nap!

Sunday night, we watched Game of Thrones, season 8, episode 1! This was mom's first episode ever and lacked enthusiasm, but Brooks and I were beside ourselves with excitement.  We watched seasons 1-7 multiple times since season seven ended... that's what long, dark winters in Alaska are good for!

Monday morning, I got up early for a workout before mom woke up.  Then, once she was latte'd up, we headed to walk Bridle State Park in Bellevue--it was pretty chilly!.  We found a few hills to build some heat and made it about an hour.  Then, we continued our journey on the East side of Seattle to Woodinville to Molbak's Nursery where I found two new members to join our family!  We grabbed Mom's first pho, made it home for mom's nap, and then back on the road to Hot Stove Society's Masa Monday cooking class.  The free margaritas were strong, and so was mom's tortilla flipping skills!  We brought home tortillas, quesadillas, pupusas, and tamales!

Mom at Bridle State Park

Our two new family members: Monstera and String of Pearls!

Mom's first Pho! (And bahn mi sandwich!)

Chef Bridget on the left and Mom filling tamales with the pork verde in the center.

We love to see anti-Pebble Mine notices in the lower 48's!

Tuesday, again I was up early for a workout and came home to help mom get her latte in.  We decided to wait until later to walk since our Monday walk was frio! Instead, grocery shopped for paella and sausage, including heading over to The Swinery in West Seattle and picked up some pork shoulder for caribou sausage!  Mom was a trooper and down to help me grind the chunks of caribou meat and pork shoulder, then mix the seasonings for Sage and Juniper Sausage, though we opted to not use casings.  It was fun to hear about Mom's experience cleaning a Moose Dad and a friend had harvested early in their marriage.  We wrapped up sausage making in time for Brooks to cook Mom some seared caribou tenderloin.  She liked it! That's a big success for us and a big success for her!  Although we did find time to get mom a nap, but we didn't have enough time to get in a walk.  We gave her the night off and headed for our final Nat Geo lecture at Benaroya this season.

Mom hand mixing in the gin

Wednesday, I was out the door early and back to help mom get her latte machine set with coffee grounds.  Then we headed down to the waterfront.  We put in a good effort at Seattle's Olympic Sculpture Park and the Centennial Park.  We saw sea lions doing circles around a pen of salmon.  We worked our way back to Pike's Market visiting a fabulous Italy & Spain Store and had lunch at Matt's on the Market.  We picked up a few bottles of wine and the final requirements of seafood for paella and headed back for our nap.  At 4:30, we got cooking and Adrienne came over to share with us.  It was a fun and fabulous dish.

Sea lions twirled around this

The Italy-Spain Store had a massive Paella section; we were in the right spot!

Matt's on the Market for lunch!

Paella on the way

Final toppings: spot prawns and mussels!

Thursday,  it was raining.  So, Mom accompanied me to a quilt store and helped me match fabrics.  It is always a time warp going into a quilt store! We came out and it was lunch time so we headed to Georgetown for pizza and beer.  We made it home for a nap, then Libby came over for Paella leftovers, wine bottles in hand, and Brooks seared up a Caribou backstrap!

Friday was Mom's last day in town.  We had a slow morning, discussing what she would need for our upcoming AZ hiking trip, and her packing herself up.  We went down to Seward park for a walk around the peninsula and a fabulous salad lunch in Columbia City.  As she was all ready to go, we found out her flight was delayed, so we steamed up the remaining tamales from our class and cooked up the rest of the masa and had a great dinner.  We dropped her at the light rail from the Revel and Brooks and I headed north to ski on Saturday.  It was a fantastic trip with Mom, as always! Best. Mom. Ever.

Mt. Baker for MLK Weekend 2019

After scouring the multiple weather sources, Mark, Brooks and I decided to head to Mt. Baker for the MLK Jr. weekend.  Mark pulled into Seattle late evening on Friday and crashed in his van.  We awoke early and drove both Mark's van and our Tundra to Baker, arriving just after sunrise about just before first chair.

The first day was survival skiing the groomers.  Off-piste was just as dangerous.  The allure of recent snowfall that lured us to Baker in actuality had been 2", but that was the day before, and multiple people fully enjoyed it.  Today, their tracks were life-threatening snow speed bumps in the runs and the icy corduroy offered no better ride.  The guys suggested we keep shaving the groomers along with all the other riders to create a type of pow on top.  Brooks chimed in that the freezing level was to drop, making conditions even worse.  He was getting beat up on a snowboard and opted for an early nap while Mark and I continued on the slopes.  Fortunately for us, the runs continued to improve.

Brooks waking from his power nap in Mark's van

Cheers!  Mark's van was the perfect hangout spot!

Dinner at Chair 9 just outside National Forest lands and before the community of Glacier provided us some fantastic pizza and beer & cider.

Bruh

Nightcap in Mark's van, Phoenix or Hütte

The next morning, Mark did not disappoint and made us his famous Tomlettes!  Then, we skinned into the backcountry based off a map we studied, Gaia tracks Brooks downloaded, and local knowledge.  It was a bluebird day and the snow was like butter, provided you steered clear of the snowshoer tracks.

My view sitting in "bed" while Brooks makes coffee.  #cozy

Breakfast!

Headed in!

His colors pop!

Ice-cased trees

Mark!

Me!

Brooks!

Lunch: leftover pizza!

Mark describing a great ski run

Brooks really needs to tone it down with the colors in his skiing attire

Mt. Baker

Mt. Baker in the background; photo taken by a family from Ketchikan!

Tabletop Moutain in the background

iPhones aren't great for capturing a lunar eclipse.  It was beautiful.

(Side note: snowshoeing is alive and well in the State of Washington.  Prior to skis, I used to snowshoe to get winter elevation.  I defend this activity because Kodiak is not the ideal location to learn how to ski because of the less-than-ideal snow conditions.  Since learning to ski, I cannot go back.  Living in an area where skiing is prevalent, conditions are fantastic for skiing, and areas are accessible, (I'm looking at you, Seattle) I don't know why people would opt for snowshoeing in the numbers that they do.  There are hordes of snowshoers of all ages, races, and nationalities.  If you're not at the age where one would assume your knees can't handle skiing, I'm befuddled why people would opt to snowshoe down a hill instead of float on skis... -a confirmed skier).

Dinner at Chair 9 was on our agenda again and we caught the end of an exciting Patriots and Chiefs game.  #AnyoneButPatriots was the theme of the restaurant, but it was in vain.

Our final morning, Mark again whipped up an amazing breakfast concoction of egg, cheese, prosciutto, and bread and we headed out.  This time, we struck out in a new direction for new terrain.  We found a beautiful lake to skin across and a slippery slope that required ski crampons to ascend effectively.  The sun came up and the clouds slowly crawled in.  Beautiful snow awaited our descent before we had to pack up and head home via a quick lunch with Molly and Elliott and playing with bubbles with Ezra and Preston.

Brooks captured this.

Too bright for the selfie! I couldn't even see what I was doing!

Brooks is our lead dog

Bagley Lake

We paralleled the creek to Bagley Lake

Almost to the top!

The sun and the clouds made for great photos!

Heading back to the parking lot; notice the number of tracks!

Baby Preston <3

Brooks then jetted off to San Diego Monday night for a conference and I settled into the quiet home with drying gear.

This is what a great weekend looks like on the backside!