Mid January Update

It's been a cold week around here. It finally started snowing again in West Virginia after a long spell of rain. The downhill resorts have been making snow as well, so we figured the time was right to go lift-served skiing. The forecast was calling for downright frigid temps, but we decided to go for it.

We left early on Friday, with the forecast in WV calling for a high temp of zero, and wind chills to minus 24. As we got closer, the outside temp display on the dashboard kept going lower and lower, bottoming out at minus 8. It was 5 below when we arrived at the ski area, and there were plenty of people getting ready to go skiing (one guy without gloves on!). We walked up the lodge and talked to a few folks who convinced us it really wasn't that bad. So we went for it and had a good time! It was actually a good day, because Anna finally figured out an awesome combination of layers and stayed toasty all day (except her feet; toes warmers are on the list).

Our intention was to try several of our skis and boots, but we never went back to the van to switch gear. Here is the pile of boots we brought along:

Keep in mind there is an equally impressive pile of skis to go along with all those boots!

We spent Friday night in the campground, plugged in of course. Upon waking Saturday, the outside temp was reading -15, and the inside was around 25 to 30 degrees. We actually stayed plenty warm in our sleeping bags. We planned to XC ski around the state park before driving home, but it took until 1:00pm before the van would start. The diesel was gummed up and the engine block so cold, it wouldn't turn over. Bob warmed it up by using the bus heater and wrapping the van to hold in the heat. We were very happy we didn't have to pay for a jumpstart or a tow!