So far I’ve been really lucky in Washington. Since I don’t have a vehicle that can handle snow while I’m in town I’ve been really good at carpooling and hitching rides. I’m going green in Washington.
I talked to Gorio from evo and the original plan was to ride Sunday, waking up at 7am. Well 7am passed and I went back to bed thinking if there’s no call then I can spend the day hanging in Seattle. Eventually I got the call and met up with him to go ride Stevens Pass. With a quick stop at the Sultan Bakery for some breakfast, we journeyed up to the mountain. With no new snow it was a good morning to sleep in a little bit and drive up to ride by mid-morning.
One thing I miss about Washington is the people that push my riding and in Washington they really do and they are older than me! The Washington mountain men kill it snowboarding, now in their 30’s and 40’s these guys still make me work my ass off when I’m riding and still I’m in awe to be riding with them. I swear they get better with age.
Washington: Sometimes dismal but still beautiful. Reflection of chairlift in the parking lot
Huge thanks go out to Dennis Kelly, an old friend and awesome guy who hooked it up so I could ride and came out to ride with us. He works with the RFID lift access which I’m used to when I go to any Vail Resort but now got to experience it at Stevens and going through the access gate which Vail Resorts doesn’t have. I had no issues with it and it worked fine for me. The best was overhearing a liftie telling some guy “you just gotta give it some love” and it was a total “Out Cold/Hot Tub scene” voice that made me laugh at how it sounded. So I kept hearing from Washington people that it hasn’t been the best season for them. Snoqualmie on Saturday wasn’t epic but I didn’t hit rocks or dirt so I didn’t find it horrible, the snow was interesting but still rideable. Stevens with a little higher elevation was still in good condition and only one spot on the way to the park where you had to jump over rocks…extreme rock boarding to park ride.
We lapped the park and I lapped the halfpipe most of the day. With the guys being my guides and me taking the easy nonchalant lets go wherever approach, we hiked up just a tad out of bounds to find some snow that might still be decent.
Gorio and Dennis hiking up
Dennis checking out the view
Stevens Power lines
I followed the guys down and there were some turns to be made before coming to where everyone else had cut across to make turns.
Bottom of the park, looking up at the halfpipe
Throughout the day the sun kept wanting to come out and it came out a couple times offering up a nice day for a couple runs.
Dan from Casual Industrees made it out to ride and we all made some laps together before calling it a day to get some beers at Foggy Goggle in the lodge.
We ended the day and hit the road back down to Seattle, I did my best to stay awake and keep Gorio awake on the drive like a good carpooler.
We ended the day and hit the road back down to Seattle, I did my best to stay awake and keep Gorio awake on the drive like a good carpooler.