#16 2/19/2000
Black Diamond
Slow Down--You Are In the Mountains--Enjoy Life
Could this be a WEB
story about a skiing adventure on a Black Diamond run at the Whistler resort in
Canada ( http://www.whistler-blackcomb.com/
)? Could this is a story about snowboarding down a Black Diamond run at
Heavenly, Lake Tahoe, California? Read the story and find out...
On Friday night of the Presidents' Long
Weekend, Theresa and I drove three hours to get to the Yellow Dog Inn in Arnold
( http://greaterarnold.org/
), California.
This was our third time staying at the Yellow Dog Inn ( http://www.yellowdoginn.com/
), which has four rooms. Room #2 is our favorite because it has a giant,
over-sized soaking bathtub for 2 :-) Incidentally, this place was on sale.
The bedroom was tastefully decorated with cozy and warm country furniture. It
even had a king-size bed.
One of the highlights of the room was the gas fireplace.
The next morning we had breakfast at the Blue Coyote Cafe, which is our favorite
restaurant in Arnold.
In order to fuel up for my big day at the snow, I decided to have a large bowl
of homemade granola with dry fruit topped with plain yogurt. I also warmed
myself up with a cup of boiling hot homemade black tea flavored with orange and
cinnamon spice. Yes, I was ready for the snow.
Ironically these words were painted on
one of the ceiling beams in the restaurant: "Slow Down! You are in the
Mountains. Enjoy Life." Was the waitress trying to keep my patient while I
was anxious to get to the snow? Or perhaps this is the way that I should be
celebrating the rest of my life--Slow Down and Enjoy Life :-)
After breakfast we drove 30 minutes to Bear valley ( http://www.bearvalley.com/
).
You thought we were going to snowboard? I don't think so. I believe that there
are three sports that Theresa is very unlikely to attempt: 1) surfing, 2) sky
diving, and 3) snow boarding. I believe Theresa is more willing to climb Mt.
Everest ( http://www.mountainmadness.com/intl/asia/nepal/everest.htm
) than getting on a snowboard. :-) Here was Theresa strapping her brand-new pair
of Atlas ( http://www.atlasworld.com/
) snowshoes, which we bought last year on
the last shopping spree at REI as we prepared for our Mt Kilimanjaro climb
in 1999.
By the way, exactly 1 year ago on 2/19/1999 Theresa and I were on the first
stage of our Mt. Kilimanjaro climb. At Shira Plateau
Camp(11,300') I was green and puking as I was suffering from High Altitude
Sickness...
Coincidentally, my computer is now playing a MP3 song of Gloria Estefan's
"Reach," which was the theme song of my Kili hike:
- If I could Reach, higher
- Just for one moment touch the sky
- From that one moment in my life I'm gonna be stronger
- Know that I've tried my very best I'd put my spirit to the
test
- If I could reach
( Click here for a QuickTimeMovie,
or RealAudio
from http://www.estefan.net/clips/ )
( http://www.adventuresports.com/asap/ski/bearvaly.htm
)
Here was my pair of Atlas model 825
snowshoes. It was only appropriate that I celebrated our anniversary on top of
Kili by wearing my boots and gaiters, which kept my feet warm and dry whether I
was on top of Kili or here at the Bear Valley Cross-country trailhead.
We enjoyed nice scenery as Theresa and I hiked on the semi-challenging
4-kilometer Indian Rock trail.
I was smiling while I got to the top of this hill.
If there was ever an expert at using a pair of hiking poles it was Theresa. This
was the same pair that she used going up and down Kili.
What's the best part of snowshoeing? Of course, it was the food :-) Theresa and
I both enjoyed freshly BBQed hamburger at the warming hut cafe.
It was nice to warm up as the temperature
was only 38 degrees F.
Here was I getting ready to tackle the
more challenging 4-KM Black Diamond Trail.
Those of you who have seen documentary on Mt. Everest know that climbers have to
cross dangerous ice crevasses on top of haphazardly strung-together ladders at
the Khumbu Ice Fall . Did we have to cross dangerous crevasses on this Black
Diamond Trial?
Actually, we crossed the river easily on top of a wooden bridge. Here is a
6-frame panoramic photo of the top of the Black Diamond Trial. You can see
Theresa heading on the left of the picture.
As you can see that both Theresa and I survived the Black Diamond trail without any troubles :-)
No blood on my hand this year. Last year, it was a different story: "The
Blood, Sweat, and Tears of Mt. Kilimanjaro."
We ended up our evening by having dinner with my high school friend Stephen.
In fact, he is celebrating his 40th birthday this year also. We played a few
games of Mah-Jong. By winning several hands he came in first place in front of
Theresa and I. Notice that I don't have any pictures of any Mah-Jong limit
winning hands--Theresa was close to having 7 pairs at one point, and I almost
had 5 doubles. No such luck tonight :-(
After hearing about our adventure, Stephen decided that attacking the Black
Diamond trail with snowshoes would be so much fun that he decided to join us
the next day. We picked him up after breakfast from his parents cabin at Arnold.
Here was our $12 per person per day trail
pass.
Stephen took this picture of Theresa and myself on the Black Diamond trail.
Theresa took this picture of Stephen and myself with a snowman. No, we did not
build the snowman, but we did put the eyes and nose back in.
Theresa and I reluctantly left the top of the Black Diamond trail. By this time,
the weather was getting worse--as large snow flakes was blown harshly against
our exposed face. Maybe this was not quite the South Pole or the top of Mt.
Everest, but I could relate just a little bite of hiking in icy condition.
Theresa even had her hood of her Gore-Tex jacket on. Stephen was not bothered at
all--I think he was ready to be trekking in Alaska. :-)
The best part of snowshoeing was the opportunity to battle the elements. The
second best part was the excuse to eat--in this case at Mister B's Diner I
loaded up with a chocolate milkshake, French fries, and French dipped roast beef
sandwich, which was one of the best I ever had because the au jus actually had a
thick layer of grease on top!
I suppose another good way to finish our
snowshoe adventure is actually have a hand-brewed beer from the Snowshoe Brew
Pub ( http://www.snowshoebrewing.com/
) at Arnold. On this particular evening I enjoyed an Apricot Wheat Ale at
Tallahan's restaurant. The salmon with a Horseradish crust was delicious but
slightly uncooked in the middle.
Tallahan's at 1225 Oak Circle.
By the way, I found this Snowshoe cocktail on the WEB:
Snowshoe
Equal parts of; Peppermint Schnapps & Brandy
Hand swirl in a Snifter
The next morning the weather was gorgeous as the sun was shining
brightly on the fresh snow on the ground.
If you are ever in Arnold, you have to try out the Almond Roca French Toast at
the Blue Coyote Cafe. However, I think I needed to snowshoe another 20 miles
just to burn off the calories from these three slices of homemade bread, topped
with butter, powdered sugar, chopped walnuts, and maple syrup!
But then, what's the hurry?
Slow Down--You Are In the Mountains--Enjoy Life
Some other snowshoe areas in California. ( http://www.yubashoes.com/resources.asp?area=recreation&parent=34
)
Of course, next year I really wanted to go nuts on a snowmobile ( http://www.bvsnowmobile.com/
)
We are also looking forward to our next year's snowshoe adventure at Yosemite
( http://www.yosemitepark.com/ ) and
staying at the historic Ahwahnee Inn ( http://www.yosemitepark.com/lodging/ahwahnee.html
).
