The smell of wood burning during the crisp Oregon evenings is always the first sign fall has come. The days slowly get shorter while we take out our sweaters packed away since May. Football is in full swing and the candy hangover from Halloween quickly passes and Thanksgiving comes. Fall is my most favorite season, but fall sure does suck.
All skiers and snowboarders will relate when I say fall sucks. No matter how awesome our fall days can be, it’s still the anticipation of snow that keeps us from enjoying it. We all remember that one season when we were skiing by Halloween and the deep powders days just kept coming all winter long. It’s the fact that we never know exactly when ski season will start that keeps us from fully appreciating fall.
Just the other day I was about to pack it in and take a nap when the rainy weather began to change. I started up from Timberline Lodge in the wind and rain and as I passed the top of Palmer, the sun came out and I had a fresh coat of powder all to myself. Looking down from the summit, all I could do was laugh at myself for being grumpy in the lodge. The turns were so sweet and it was as if winter had never ended. All was right in the world again.
I walked back into the lodge, where my friend was sipping cocktails and reading a book. I could tell she had just as much fun having a lazy afternoon as I did climbing to ski fall powder. The beauty of our great state of Oregon is that we have so much access to awesome outdoor places that it is sometimes hard to choose which way to go. So to clarify, I don’t really think fall sucks. I think waiting for winter sucks.
