Crunch

Schweitzer closed abruptly on March 18, a decision triggered by COVID-19. Ours was one of the few ski areas remaining open; hence drawing clientele from those that had closed - perhaps an effective way to spread the virus. At closing, the ski area was still in fine shape with 115" at the top and more snow expected next weekend. At the moment it is sunny and clear. Here is Schweitzer as seen from Sandpoint City Beach:

We had a fine Nordic year and here are a couple of Schweitzer photos from the Nordic track taken by Eli:

I had 21 Nordic ski days, but only accrued 213 km. Eli accrued more distance, being the swift and efficient skate skier she is.

After a slow start, the alpine skiing became typical with one 10 day stretch in January that dumped 7 feet of new snow. I got in 20 alpine ski days, fewer than usual with a slow season start and the abrupt closing. Here is a photo of Audrey and I at the top of the new Colburn Triple.

With my thoughts now turning to kayaking, I have a vague intent of readying the car's kayak rack by April 1. The kayaks are pretty much ready as is, but may need some inspection and addition of the 2020 Invasive Species Stickers. The lake water level is still too low for the nearby launch sites. Unfortunately, our early summer kayak trips to Vancouver Island may be in jeopardy, because the Canadian border is closed to non essential traffic. This, of course, is due to COVID-19.

Ski Season is Winding Down

There remains about one month in Schweitzer's ski season. At this point I have had 20 days of Nordic skiing and 18 of alpine. The hill is in good late season shape, and just received some snowy refreshment. However, many ski areas have already closed because of the Corona virus (COVID-19) - including most in Colorado, Washington, Sun Valley in Idaho, Whistler in BC etc. Eli's son (Nik) and grandsons (Talbot and Barrett) have made airplane reservations to visit and ski before season's end. We'll see if that plan survives. Audrey visited for 4 sunny ski days in February.

Yesterday we had a major wind storm whip through Sandpoint. Lots of trees were downed, taking power lines with them. The north wind also brought sideways snow and cold temperatures. At our house, we lost power for ~16 hours and worked our way through most of our remaining firewood. We left in the late afternoon for pizza at the winery and found our power restored upon our return home.

Nevertheless, other than the wind storm, the weather is mellowing and daylight lingers longer, so my thoughts do turn to kayaking. Matt, my trusty and dependable rolling partner, may be working in Qatar for kayak season, so my kayak rolling practice may be solo. I have a list of things to work on. Further, there are a number of us who need to work on rescue practices as victims and as rescuers, perhaps starting in June when the water returns to full pool level and also begins to warm.