Skiing with Curley and Moe

My Dad and Steve Stiefvater have been friends since their days at Cal, 125 years ago. They've also been ski buddies for about that long. They've taught their children, friends, and various boy scout troops to ski. Over the years they have fine tuned their methods, skills and (since I've been gone) their ski day schedules. Since I would be going skiing with them this time (after a long absence) I was given specific instructions on how our day would unfold.

I must say it was executed with impressive precision.

5:00 a.m.: wake up, leave Mill Valley by 5:30.


7:15 a.m. : arrive at the Rocklin Starbucks to meet up with Steve. Transfer ski equipment into one car.

7:30 a.m. : Stop at Safeway (grocery store) to pick up power bars (for the 10 am snack) and sandwiches (for the 12 p.m. lunch). The lady at the deli counter is to make the lunch order to exact specifications: Two roast beef sandwich wraps cut in half and individually wrapped. (The "wrap" is key so that they can stuff one 1/2 in each of their parka's pockets. This is so they don't have to return to the car to get their lunch, at high noon. I, of course, did not know the system and ordered my roast beef on a sandwich roll--too big to stuff in my parka. I guess that decision made me the 3rd stooge) 7:45 am: Final leg to Tahoe begins. Conversation of politics, stocks, housing crisis and the problems with
education begins. "What do you think are the top 5 problem Obama faces when he takes office?"
The conservative in the front seat asks his audience.

1. Health care
2. Housing crisis
3. Financial crisis
4. Education reform
5. The war in Iraq/Afghanistan
The moderate, independently-minded but tends -to- lean- conservative
audience in the back seat, responds.
No national problems are solved on this car trip , but we arrive on time to
Sugar Bowl at 8:57 a.m. (ETA 9:00)

The transformation from old business men to expert skiiers begins with the donning
of the ski apparel. Of course, the older these two get the longer it takes for them to get ready.

I realized as I pulled my ski poles out of the car that it'd been a few years since their last use.

I don't know what Steve's excuse was (his boots, last used last year had
as much dust and as many cobwebs as my poles)

Sandwich-wraps and power bars strategically placed in the parka pockets.

Normally on the top of the mountain by 9:30, my presence and my need to
rent my equipment (+ the crowds that day) delayed the start by an hour.

10:30 a.m.: Finally on the lift.

10:30 am - 12:00ish: a group effort to help me with my form.
Dig your edges into the hill!
Keep your weight on the bottom ski!
Lean forward!
Fluid movements!

12:00 p.m. Lunch at the lodge.
2:30 p.m. Last run
3:00 p.m. Meet the Dads back at the car. Katie drives home.

4:30 p.m. Christmas gift exchange in parking lot before leaving Steve off at his car. His gift from my Dad? A halitosis detector. (You'd think these two were still in the frat. house)
Mary, Kate: next year you need to come and save me from our fathers. :)