Hoybook Holiday Tradition #2

Skiing with the Lodges on Christmas Eve.

Ahem, make that skiing with one Lodge on Christmas Eve. Julia is busy growing two babies so she stayed home from the hill this year. She still joined us for dinner though, so the tradition continues. However, apparently, the boys decided this would be the perfect opportunity to drag Gayle into Heather Canyon, double black diamond territory.

Well, as it turns out, diamonds really are a girl's best friend.

Wishing you all the merriest Christmas and the happiest New Year! May the snow gods bless a slope near you soon.

A note about confidence

I've been thinking a lot about the recent events on Mt. Hood. For the second time in three years, a trio of climbers has gone missing on the upper reaches of the mountain in cold December weather. Both trios started up in light and quick alpine styles on gorgeous sunny days with decent weather windows. Both groups didn't return. As with the well-publicized incident in 2006, rescuers were able to recover one body, but two remain missing. Early this week, weather moved in and now both remaining climbers are presumed dead. Both groups were experienced, had a decent amount of climbing under their belts-- one of the climbers in the most recent group had reached the Mt. Hood summit six other times.

So, why is this still on my mind? Well, for starters, I've been up there. Twice. Once when I was super naive as to what the mountain could do and then again with Scott when he made the summit in 2008. I think to myself, how can you get lost up there? The weather was gorgeous, what went wrong? How come I've been up and down safely without even a hint of impending danger?

I've decided that it all boils down to confidence. All of these climbers were experienced, confident in their skills. But something happened. Something happened to shake that confidence and that's all it took. One little thing goes wrong with the plan and things just start to pile up and bear down. I was thinking about confidence on Friday as B and I were headed up Mt. Hood on the Cascade lift at Meadows. We saw this in front of us:

And that's all it took. I was done, my confidence deflated. I had been skiing well all morning and as we picked our way down in the foggy soup, I got more nervous and scared with each turn. I couldn't see and didn't know where to carve, and if I had fallen on my way down, things would have piled up quickly and we would have had the longest ski run imaginable. But, I talked myself into it and we finished the day lower on the mountain.

I think that your confidence can be shaken at any moment. I've just been blessed and lucky enough to have those shaky moments lower and safer on the mountain. I pray for the families who lost loved ones on the mountain last week. May they feel comfort in knowing they were doing what they loved and out there living it!

Portland Holiday Tradition #2

Tuba Christmas, Pioneer Square, downtown Portland.

Nothing says Christmas like 200 tubas playing carols in the middle of downtown Portland. It was delightful. Absolutely, delightful.

Hoybook Holiday Tradition #1

Cutting down our own Christmas tree.

It's just not Christmastime without tromping out to the countryside to cut down our own Christmas tree. Oh, and then having it up in the living room for five days before I decorate it. Whoops.

Fresh Tracks

Finally! B and I got out on the ski slopes for the first time yesterday. It seems we've been really busy so far this winter and couldn't find a day off to go skiing together. We finally made it happen yesterday and headed up to Meadows on what was easily the coldest day so far this year. We had checked the weather on Tuesday night, saw the predicted -7 wind chill and called Geoff to say we were sleeping in instead. But, he called bright and early and talked us into it. That guy is always making us do ridiculous things.

I'm not going to lie, it was COLD. Living in the Northwest, I've skied in all kinds of weather-- sleet, rain, heavy snow, snow squalls, snow showers, drizzle, sun, etc. However, this was the first time I've spent the day on the slopes in my down jacket with every inch of my skin covered.

Even though it was freezing and the snow wasn't stellar, we had a great day. We literally had the place to ourselves and really, it's not often that we get to ski in sun on Mt. Hood in December. It's going to be a great season.

You may have noticed the curious absence of Julia on this ski trip. Usually, where there is a Bryan, there is a Gayle. Where there is a Geoff, there is a Julia. Well, Julia has been working on a fresh new project of her own and we are so excited. Click here for the juicy details.

Portland Holiday Tradition #1

The Holiday Ale Festival

Gather your friends and join us downtown under a heated tent for a few tasters of some extremely strong, Oregon micro-brewed, Holiday beers.  It's just not Christmastime without getting a little tipsy off a beer called the "Tannen Bomb."