TR: Midwest to East and Back Weekend Endurance Run 3/29-4/1

[wanghoeby]

First off there are some serious thanks that need to go out for making this weekend happen. Plakespear is the man! Taking time out of his hectic ski bum lifestyle to show me around the northeast made this all possible. Thanks a bunch!

Highlight: I’m not a huge fan of lengthy TR’s, especially when it is mediocre grammar, much like mine, but in this case it was easiest just to copy and paste from my trip journal. So for those who prefer the picture book style TR’s here’s the ten most important things to know about my weekend.

Several mistakes made in O’hare, close call for missing flight
Skis got left back in Chicago
Bought the car, which is freakin sweet
Skied Jiminey Peak with Plakespear
Skied Killington the next day at the Bear Mountain Mogul Challenge
Got to ski with over a dozen mags and had one of the best times I can remember
Ate a full plate of steak, literally
Accidentally went to Canada
Traveled nearly straight through back to Wisconsin by myself
Only got 15 hours of sleep over 4 nights with no compensation naps

And if that is too enticing of a plot to not read more, knock yourself out.

FRIDAY:

Things didn’t actually start out all too well; I got home late on Thursday night and ended up getting only two hours of sleep before driving three hours to Chicago. After missing the O’hare exit, getting dropped off at the wrong terminal, waiting in the wrong line for an hour, I finally got to the ticket counter. And just like a new Microsoft operating system, CRASH, the whole system went dead. Once I was manually checked in, things went okay… until I met up with Plakespear and concluded that my skis were still back in Chicago. Interestingly there were about ten pieces left behind; some of the passengers actually saw their luggage sitting out on the tarmac. We quickly filled out the necessary paperwork and didn’t worry too much of it as Plakespear just happened to have two pairs of skis with him. One last quick stop to fill our vacant stomachs at the Olive Graden, curticy of Plake’s mom, and we were on our way to Red Hook. The car transaction there went super slick.


We soon changed our bearing to Massachusettes and Jiminey Peak. A standard hour and a half drive put us at the base of the hill where we had a small ponder of whether to ski or not to ski. Despite my two hours of sleep catching up to me and the conditions not at their prime, the feeling of stepping on snow and the idea of keeping Plakepear’s streak alive gave us too much of a rush to turn back now. We booted up and hit the slopes.


Wanghoeby happy to end his three week drought of skiing.

There were really only three runs we consistently went on, the rest were either closed or too shallow of a slope. The snow was decent, at least for me; only one large ice patch on the top of one of the runs.


Plakespear cutting a line into the deep slush.


Wanghoeby spraying snow flavored squishy all over.


Plakespear leaning in as the snow started to firm up.


The scenery as the sun set and the moon rose was outstanding. Quite the views compared to Wisconsin.

As soon as the sun went down the the snow firmed up and shortly thereafter we headed out. Another hour and a half drive put us back into Plakespear's place where a quick PBR was consumed before a long 6 hour rest.

SATURDAY:

Saturday was just like Chirstmas morning. Except instead of a new pair of skis under the christmas tree, there was a 6 year old pair of crappy rock skis sitting out on the deck. Nonetheless I was ecstatic to see them.

By 6 AM we were both up and about putting things together for the day ahead. We arrived in the frosty Killington parking lot near 8 AM and headed up to the K-zone area to see who else was there. With each new mag arrival my excitement grew exponentially. Once we populated to the size of a small band we decided it was time to head out. After a killer hookup from Bluebird we booted up and hit the bumps. See Kmart Saturday thread for the full agenda of events that went down.

Basically the day involved skiing lots of bumps with a few park runs in between and much PBR was consumed thanks to Plakespear. I had such a blast skiing with so many mags. Being from the Midwest and never making it to a summit yet, this was freakin awesome!

The lifts closed sometime after 4 and I stopped just in time to see Blue Oyster Cult sing Don’t Fear The Reaper, as enthusiasts with cowbells banged on in the front row. After extending thanks and good byes we were off yet again; back to Plakespear’s place to watch two uneventful basketball games. During the games though, one of Plakespear’s roommates was kind enough to lend his cooking skills out and made some succulent steaks to chow down on. I think the exhaustion had really gotten to me as some how my skinny ass was able to down a whole plate full of steak, literally, that thing was huge! Had I known I was going to finish it I would have done a mini TR on it. After a quick watch of Anomaly I was off to bed.

SUNDAY:

Two hours later I woke up at 2:45 AM and was out the door by 3 AM.


Off to my last frosty start of the season.

Periodic morning naps were taken before the sun was up. But once daylight set in I was able to make it all the was to Buffalo, or should I say Canada. I took the worst wrong turn possible in Buffalo. Anyway, after 30 minutes or so of questioning on both sides, I was let back in with my new car. Finally getting to my destination.


Definitely worth it though.


Here's a quick rendering of the panorama I took at the falls. When I get some time I'll finish it off and post it in the panorama thread.

From there I pulled one of my favored endurance runs, going from gas station to gas station, blowing over 400 miles off of my trip without stopping. The next place I put a foot down was in Indiana and from there I made periodical stops, slowly making it back to La Crosse by 2:15 AM Monday Morning, only a half hour shy of being on the road for 24 hours by myself. To be honest though, driving was not fun at all. Normally I love driving and love the excitement of seeing new places and driving through really busy cities. This time I found it a chore not to stay awake but to concentrate hard enough on driving so to be safe. It even got to the point where I felt dizzy when I got out of the car from driving, but as soon as I got back in the drivers seat I felt normal, definitely freaking me out.

It doesn’t stop there either though; I woke up a mere three and a half hours later to finish a homework assignment that was due in a few hours.



All in all it was one of the craziest weekends I have ever had, I'm not sure if they get any better than that. I had a blast meeting so many great people. The whole thing is making me realize how much it sucks when you have no friends to go skiing with. I felt like I made more friends in one day than I could ever make here in La Crosse. Again, major props to Plakespear for carting me around the area for the weekend and Bluebird for the incredible hook up.

I really appreciate the time I was able to spend with you guys and hope to see you in the near future. If any of you are in the area (Wisconsin fall through spring and eastern Washington this summer) be sure to let me know and I’d be more than happy to bend over backwards to help you out or hit the slopes or trails with you.

[workinforturns]

dude, i knew you were gnar. going to Canada and everything! hahaha. sounds like a good time.

[road trip]

Great time skiing with you on Saturday! Glad you were able to indulge in some east coast shenanigans!!

[fonixmunkee]

Is Wanghoeby throwing some reverse shoulder action in that fourth picture? Stylin'.

Thanks for the pictures, never been to the east coast. Glad you guys had a good time.

And what's up with the "plate of steak" thing?

[wanghoeby]

Is Wanghoeby throwing some reverse shoulder action in that fourth picture? Stylin'.

Thanks for the pictures, never been to the east coast. Glad you guys had a good time.

And what's up with the "plate of steak" thing?

[drooling]Mmmmm... that was some good steak.[/drooling]

[Plakespear]

I told you that when Brent cooks, it's worth it. Seriously, wanghoeby was a lot like John Candy in "The Great Outdoors" with that steak. The thing was ginormous. After he finished the meat, he ate some salad and veggies as well. Very core. Glad to show you around. NOW GET SOME SLEEP!!!!