Skiing is a lot of fun when you have a lot of snow. Skiing is also a lot of fun when you are with a solid crew of friends, new and old. Of course, it's not bad when the snow and the friends come together in the same place at the same time.
It's been a few years since we've been blessed with a monster dump for the annual Burhop Ostrander Expedition. The snow naturally (and probably with the modern world's help from time to time) cycles through good year and bad years in the Sierras. However, there has yet to be a BOE that didn't bring together the solidest of crews. Word got out about the
2012 Backcountry Skating mission and the group was back to the upper limits of the Yosemite Ski Club: 14 deep.
Unfortunately, there was no skating in 2013. Just a lot of really fun skiing and shenanigans.
Each year the Ostrander trip is a little different. This year we bypassed the hotel/motel/HolidayInn near Yosemite on Ostrander Eve, opting instead for a 4am wakeup and departure from the East Bay. In typical fashion, I took this not as an opportunity to get a good night's sleep at Sara & Jonny's but as an opportunity to stay out in SF until the wee hours. Well worth it to take in some tunes courtesy of The Hot 8 Brass Band. They jammed. With two hours of sleep under my belt, I awoke and hopped on board with SLC, JB, ERock, and Ali. Before we knew it, we were sliding on in to Ostrander!
 |
| No chains required. |
 |
| NorCal. I love NorCal. |
 |
| Kevin "The Silhouette" Smith |
 |
| Professor Burhop keeps his students thinking two steps ahead |
 |
| There's a freight train a-coming. |
 |
| Leaving rainbows in his dust |
 |
| Buena Vista (Peak) was a new destination for a few of the crew |
 |
| The Egyptians got nothing on this crew! |
 |
| The Weamer Pyramid! |
 |
| Yu took in the sunrise atop Horse Ridge. Of course! |
 |
| No Pants Dance Party! |
 |
| The Brochure |
 |
| We left a trace or twenty. And we'd do it again! |
I say it every year, but I count myself lucky to be able to make the trip to Ostrander every time I do. It's not often you get to spend three solid, three uninterrupted days with so many near and dear friends. We laughed, ate, drank, played, massaged, and skied our way through the weekend without a care in the world. What more could you ask for? (Knee deep pow!)
It was sad to say goodbye to Ostrander. Luckily, I left the hut on Sunday evening with a hunch that I'd be back sooner than originally planned: Monday.
1 comment:
FKNA right! The Nard was all time. When we woke up at 4AM he was still in party mode. "I should know this!" I think he got three minutes of sleep that night. Another best day of our lives. Too many to count! See you next year.
Post a Comment