The Trip to Mt. Baker

He dreamed it. Ate, slept, talked, lived it. Mt. Baker. The record for the most snowfall in one year. Had to ski it. So... after several years of hearing the irregular ravings about how wonderful it would be to ski there, I finally caved in and agreed to take him.

Google Maps said it was just under 11 hours to drive. Straightforward. Get on Highway 1, go west to Abbotsford. Turn left. Follow winding mountain road to ski lift. Have a pile of fun.

And that is about the way it went.

Sort of.

We did have a pile of fun. The weather was mild. Up to 12 Celsius some days at the base, but always snowing on the mountain. The boys skied four days, I skied one. The snow was heavy and wet. Our accommodation and the amenities were comfortable, an idyllic setting: cedar/spruce forest beside a rushing river. At the rec building, I dominated in ping pong and totally shocked the boys with my expertise). We relaxed in the pool and hot tub, watched movies, played games. Laughed ourselves silly.

The trip back was challenging, with a sick son and road delays, we arrived home 3 hours late with a $500 broken window from a stray rock. Our other car was damaged by a driver losing control and running into it, the latest estimate of charges his insurance must pay is $7,500. Still I was at peace. We were alive, uninjured, together. The trip of a lifetime.

Thanks for reading this far. Just wanted to share my Christmas blessing.

Prayer for My Son

It's that time of year when I have to take off my imaginary cloak of security and let my only son engage in activities that defy gravity and rattle my sensibilities about the nurturing and protective nature of a mother.

I woke at 4:30 a.m. to take my son to the airport. He's flying to Grande Prairie with his ski team buddies to train at the water ramp. They ski down the ramp at ridiculous speeds, do their aerial maneuvers (flips, spins, spread-eagles) and land in a pool. They practice and perform their freestyle tricks for a coach who will "qualify" them so that they can perform the tricks in competition this winter. More pictures and info can be seen here.

Since he nearly lost his spleen during a competition last year (Jan. 31) and was out for the remainder of the season, a mom tends to think about the risks of sending her son 550 kilometers away for the weekend. The dad thinks more about the cost. Airfare, hotel, shared car rental, food. Pretty expensive recreation, but it keeps him happy, healthy and busy.

Rather than spend my weekend worrying, we started the morning with prayer. In her recent simulcast, Beth Moore said, "Pray that your children will be protected from everything except God's glory." We can pray for protection until we're blue in the face, but we must recognize that we are not exempt from injury or accident simply because we are followers of Jesus Christ. What matters is how we respond in the crisis.

After I dropped him off at the airport and he was ready to clear security, I headed home and read the prayer of Jesus for his disciples in John 17. There I saw it. The very prayer I can pray for my own child:

My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Protect them from the evil one. We can ask it. Specifically. And that is the truth.

Parenthood and Menopause (repost)

Adolescence and menopause in the same house at the same time... add the busy schedule of a teen athlete...

Really, what was God thinking?

Jasper Travelogue 4

Sunday was Table Top.

Big air.

Bigger jumps.

Several injuries.

Andrew did a perfect 360 on the first jump, and a great 540 on the second, but his right binding broke at landing and he took a spill. He wasn't injured but had to ski all the way down the hill on one ski.

All in all, he had a great experience and a performance that made me very proud.

For his first competition - at the Provincial level no less - he performed quite well. He had a ball. He enjoyed himself and spent a fun five days doing what he loves most with some very good friends.

I skiied three days. Not a lot - mostly just to get to where his comp was and then back down the hill again. I'm a green run skier and don't mind saying so. No pressure. No adrenalin overload. I do enjoy the view from the top, though, so ski hills, take note: put a green run down from the best view and you've got my patronage for life. Here I am at the top of the Paradise Chair.

The drive home was spectacular. One of my favorite drives in the whole world. Perhaps that is because I've only made the trip twice now. I don't know if I could ever tire of the beauty of God's matchless creation: the play of light as the setting sun illumines each peak; the sawridge tops and crevices highlighted by a new dusting of spring snow overnight; that transcendent moment of awe that goes beyond expectation and into the realm of "This is My gift, enjoy! Drink it in and be satisfied," with love from my heavenly Father.

Jasper Travelogue 3

This isn't really much about Jasper, it's really all about my son and his competition. Today was Dual Moguls. Basically, two skiers do a simultaneous mogul run and if both of them do equivalent tricks on the two jumps and don't crash, whichever one crosses the finish line first moves on to the next heat.  This is tough when two excellent skiers are competing against each other.

One of the skiers in our club won gold.  Everyone attended a banquet tonight where awards were given out. A won a door prize: new ski pants.  4 sizes too small.  He gave it to a younger skier.  There's one more set of competitions tomorrow: aerials and table top.  A is in table top - in the afternoon.

Today I arrived quite late, but didn't miss anything. Unfortunately, one of the female skiers in our club crashed badly during a training run and had to be taken off the hill strapped to a board.  As a result, the start of the race was delayed by about 90 minutes.  There were two other bad crashes elsewhere on the hill later in the day - no one we know.

I didn't ski much but as I was heading down on my last green run, I realized how much I enjoyed that type of skiing.  I could navigate the blacks and the blues but I could relax and have fun on the greens.  We can also ski right to the parking lot at Marmot.  And it's so beautiful - as if you have been planted right smack dab in the center of the best of the Rocky Mountains.  It would be great to come back for a long weekend - to ski in the winter or hike in the summer.

I missed my hubby on this trip.  He takes care of so many things.  It makes it easy to relax and there's half as much to think about and/or remember, because he's always taking care of it.  Thankfully, one of the other boys in the club and his dad were here on their own so they took A to the hill every morning and I was able to take my time getting ready.  That will help greatly tomorrow when I need to pack everything up on my own and check out.  We'll be going home straight from the ski hill.  It's about a four hour drive in good weather, but it's supposed to snow, so hopefully it won't be too treacherous.

The best part about this trip was the boys got to hang out.  They competed during the day, we had supper, then they played X-box 360 in our room the rest of the night.  Every night.  I loved watching the interaction between them all - at one point there were five of them, all crowded around the 7 inch portable DVD player they had to use as a monitor for the game.  There was a big TV in the room, but the hotel had it programmed so that you couldn't use it as a game monitor... something about their contract with a company that provides GameCube access for a fee.

Andrew was the oldest of the five and when one boy repeatedly used a swear word in frustration, Andrew smoothly suggested alternate expletives like "Why not crum or crud or even sarcasm - 'Isn't that just fantastic.'"  Firmly but kindly, he did this more than once in a non-offensive, non-embarrassing, non-confrontational manner - friend to friend.  It opened my eyes to a side of my son that I haven't had the privilege of seeing before now. 

It's been a good five days.  I even read an entire book over this timeframe.  Fiction. (I never read fiction). I'll enjoy getting home, but this was truly my spring break as well as A's.  I am grateful.

Thanks for listening.

Jasper Travelogue 2

Well, I survived.  I actually did quite well, considering those black runs were so steep.  I got to A's competition site, dug a flat platform in the snow where I could stand without tilting or falling over.  Otherwise, in my inflexible ski boots, it would have been an uncomfortable day. Generally nice weather - partly sunny.  Other parents of competitors kindly took me under their wing, led me down the easiest of the black runs, helped interpret what was happening with the comp.

I had started the day with a vicious sore throat, took a pain reliever in the morning and at noon and now I don't feel it at all.  

A had a great first run on the mogul course, made the cut and competed in the final. Pretty good for his first year competing.  All in all, a great day.  

Jasper Travelogue 1

It's spring break. Not for me - I had to take days off.

Drove up with A Wednesday to Jasper on the most beautiful drive in the world between Lake Louise and Jasper: The Icefields Parkway. There's a couple nice scenic shots on this man's website.  Got to Jasper in good time to have supper and a nice rest. He trained today with the coaches. We dined out with three other families tonight - great steak and dessert. Had to move rooms in the hotel in order to get internet access - wireless isn't working at the hotel and so I had to resort to ethernet - at least they had that as an option.

I spent the day working on the weekend bulletin - it's done. Hooray. Got some other things done too for advertising coming events - always a good idea.

A showed me where his mogul competition is tomorrow. I shuddered and almost backed out of coming to watch. The only access to it is via black diamond runs. I haven't skied one of those since before he was born. I haven't skied yet this year and only skied once last year. Still, if I have to slide down on my backside, I'll be there to watch him compete. Pray for me.

Fools rush in...

Family Bonding

We went away this weekend for some much needed family time. We took a hotel room in Banff. Our amazing athlete "A" skiied Lake Louise yesterday and we all skiied Sunshine today. It was beautiful. The sun was shining all day, early clouds cleared and we could see for miles on the Continental Divide peak. "A" graciously skiied a couple of runs with us, showing me his jumps, spins and backward skiing ability while keeping track of me trailing at the back and "B" happily talked me into trying Goat's Eye Mountain - skiing a blue run along the perimiter of the ski boundary. It was broad and uncrowded, "B's" new favorite. We all took the ski-out after the lifts closed. Other than a few rude boarders, it was a great way to end the day.

The hotel was amazing. The package deal for March gave us a fabulous breakfast buffet and a very comfortable superior room. We liked it so much we've booked two nights later this month.

We were all in good spirits and laughing together. Much needed break.