Powder slopes and dashed hopes.

Today, Ted, Jesse, and I went snowboarding at Mt. Baker. It was incredibly beautiful and the snow conditions were perfect! I love it when the morning shadows make the snow covered trees, peaks, and slopes so much more distinct. What made it really nice was the new snow, right temperature and mostly clear sky.

Riding the lifts can be boring, but with such awesome views it was a treat. I haven't boarded on Baker more than 6 or 7 times and this time I found a few new spots. It's important to watch out for the tree hazards, but going on the less travelled areas with deep powder is a lot of fun.

In the first 10 minutes I nearly broke my arm, but survived just fine the rest of the day... except when Ted and I took a wrong turn and encountered one of the steepest ridges full of trees. We didn't know what lay ahead so we worked our way onwards, down the hillside - what workout that time. The trick lay at the end... about 150 feet down and 50 feet forward. If you sat down you'd be sliding down the hill and starting a mini-avalanche. We made it just fine though. We aren't top notch snow boarders what we do take the diamonds runs fine.

Ted and I like to poke a little fun at skiers. You just have to... being a snowboarder. We were delighted to be so entertained on a lift watching a skier try to retrieve his two poles that fell to a nearly inaccessable spot. He was slowly making his way down the precipice with his skis not underfoot, but as his new makeshift "ski poles". Nearly steeper than he could handle, he was inching his way. If only our lift hadn't made it over the hill so quick. We nearly witnessed his soft tumble - well, I'd like to imagine that's what happened. Deep down I had a little sympathy for him, but it was still fun to watch :)

You never know what you're going to see up there. I didn't know people would be stupid enough to ski without a lift pass. The guy next to me had is expensive snowboard confiscated - until he'd pay the $100 fine. I think the lift pass is cheaper - so is the peace of mind.

This was the first time snowboarding this winter... with conditions like that, I'm ready to go again! Next time... the jumps.

Monthan AFB, Arizona

It's difficult to comprehend the number of military aircraft in dead storage until you see these photographs!