Panda-monium!

Guess the Freshie!! If you can match the Freshie with the pic below you win your choice of a) any beer from the previous post, b) a Sam Adams XL t-shirt that we won tonight c) a group massage from the ski house gals or d) a budweiser baseball cap (I know which I'd choose!!)

We Love Beer!

We didn't really perfectly coordinate who was bringing what beer and when this year... As a result we all brought big variety and quantity at the start of the year. Check out the pic below - these are all the different types that we were able to find in the fridge. And there's more...

Tundra temps doesn't temper our mojo

We went to the 'cat today - 8 degrees at the base, 0 at the top. Sounds pretty miserable, right? Not!!! There was no wind, crispy-clear sunny skies, and no lift lines due to the cold forecast. Skiing was awesome - big snow (well, compared to 2 weeks ago) and comfortable weather given the sun and no wind. Tiny Boarder, Spider Pig, Kiwi, Speed Racer and Lucky Jeans we're all strutting their stuff today. 100% fun!

Freshies are ready for 2011!

Happy 2011! The Freshies kicked off the 2011 season with some celebrations at our favorite North Conway locales - dinner at the Moat, drinks at Wine Thyme's ice bar, fireworks at the park and then lots and lots of bubbly, laughter and antics back at the house. We welcomed our newest ski house member, Patrick, who partied a bit too much to last until midnight.

The first ski days of the season felt more like the last. With temps in the 40s/50s and soft snow, Wildcat and Attitash offered surprisingly good conditions with light crowds. Favorites at Attitash included Tim's Trauma, Idiot's Option, Tightrope and Illusion on Bear Peak. We introduced Patrick to his first Apres Ski experience. It turns out that he's a big charmer with the ladies.

New Year's Resolutions were put on hold for a big feast of cheese, crackers, chips, salsa, guacamole, hummus, gourmet pickles, salad, bacon wrapped scallops, burgers with Montreal steak rub, chicken pot pie and lots of red wine. The next morning, we awoke to a wonderful egg, sausage and mushroom strata. We enjoyed our breakfast while gazing out the sliding door and lamenting at the fading snow cover. Hopefully, this is not a sign of things to come.

Happy New Year! Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

The girls go a-zorbing

Three members of the Freshies headed to Amesbury Sports Park to enjoy a little zorbing adventure.
We all started with the harness zorb - where you go alone and are harnessed into the middle of the zorb. One little push from the staff and down we each went. Head over heel, topsy over turvy (Speed Racer even caught a little bit of air...but does that surprise anyone!?! Of course she went down the fastest!). Thankfully none of us got 'ill' in the zorb, though we were all just a wee bit disoriented at the bottom.

Next came the water zorb, which on a 93+ degree day was a welcome thrill. Speed Racer and Private Dancer climbed in first and down then went, sloshing and bumping about. Next came Kiwi and her British colleague "Weezy." SO happy to be in the frigid spring water zipping down.

We all loved it and can't wait to go back for more with more of the Freshies!

Kathi Hardpack Lives up to Her Name!

(Spring conditions earlier in the week) + (10 degrees overnight) = extreme hardpack conditions!! Most in the house, with spring attitude firmly embraced, decided to take the day off with ski plans for tomorrow's 40 degree forecast. But one hardy soul embraced the weather and conditions. She packs the attitude, spirit, and abs that are symbolic of the founding principles of the ski house! Whom am I talking about? No, no, not Peekaboo Street. Nope, its also not Linda Hamilton (yep, chin-up scene from T2 was where my mind was). Not Uma Thurman from Kill Bill either. Drum roll please... Yes! Its our very own Kathi Hardpack!!! Do you think it matters that the temps are cold and the conditions are extreme hardpack. Nosireee! She said "bring it on"! And then, what did she do? She brought it on in return! You go girl!!

Goldilocks and the Three Chairs

While I am thrilled to continue to provide photographic stimulation to Danger Boy (who, ironically, seems to escape the camera during his many artistic tumbles as well), I cannot let the blog go on without telling a little fairy tale of the modern kind.
Once upon a time, there was a little boy who loved to ski. In all the excitement of powdery loveliness that fell hour upon hour, the little boy eagerly greeted each ski day early in the morn to be sure he could dazzle the damsels with his moves.
The little boy headed up the chair lift and started to make his way down the mountain. He was doing fine until he realized his ski had come off. "This one is too big," said the little boy. He put the ski back on and skied onward.
The little boy took the chair lift again and again the ski came off. "This one is too big!" exclaimed the little boy again, realizing his ski was left on the trail above him. Thankfully his trusty companion Kiwi, who was nice enough not to carry a camera, picked up the ski and returned it to him.
The little boy, in despair, headed into the lodge to have the wizards fix his ski. After some time, the little boy came out and took a third chair to the top to try the wizards work. Just a few turns into the run, the little boy giggled with glee, "this one is JUST right!"
The next weekend, the little boy went out to ski with some of his woodland friends. Shortly after reaching the mountain, the spider pig noted, "hey, this ski is TOO small!" The little boy looked on in horror as he realized that in all the wonder and excitement of having 3 consecutive powder days, he mistakenly fitted spider pig's ski to fit his boot.
In his shock and anger at the mistake, spider pig wanted to eat the little boy for lunch, instead, he chewed off the heads of the wizards who helped the little boy fit his ski and they were never heard from again.