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On Sunday with left Angel’s Camp and headed up to Mike’s favorite ski resort: Kirkwood. There positions were reversed, as I found it difficult to push the day-old crud around the slopes while Mike’s stiffer skis worked quite well. I was feeling punk. After lunch, Mike cajoled me to take the lift up to “The Wall.”
The Wall of Shame was the scene of a major debacle during an earlier expedition to Kirkweed. At that time, I had managed to slip at the very top of the wall and slide several hundred yards down the mountain. Just as it would appear that I was coming to a halt, the slope would steepen and would plummet down a few more feet. Mike had bets with another skier on whether I would make it down to the tree level. Luckily I eased to a stop before damaging anything more than my ego. Undaunted I went back up the mountain—and repeated my belly flop once again! That day I left the mountain with my tail between my legs.
This time it was a different story. The snow was excellent and I whooshed and swooshed like a god down the Wall—on my skis no less! My spirits soared.
We lodged that night in a funky, haunted, overheated hotel in Truckee with the windows wide open listening to the roars of the mainline trains of the Southern Pacific streaking through town. Charming.
Monday morning we headed to Squaw Valley. I had been there the year before and loved it. It did not disappoint. The high point of the trip was skiing Granite Chief, a wonderful area full of cliffs and hollows, just the kind of place I love to explore. Conditions still held and we spent much of the day carving in the soft, forgiving snow.
I had blown my legs out by @2:00 p.m. but “One More” Conner felt the need to explore. It was fun, but I was exhausted and started getting a little owley. Finally I begged him to call it a day. Since we had a three and a half hour drive back from Lake Tahoe to Oakland, he finally relented.
Back in Oakland that evening we went to the Burma Superstar restaurant on Telegraph Ave.
Although it was Monday, the place was packed: we grabbed a two-top just before the supper rush. I had a wonderful salad made with peanuts, sunflower seeds, and a Burmese tea reduction that turned into a tart dressing. Fantastic!
For the main course, I had a chicken-shrimp casserole that I could not stop eating. It was delicious. I’d like to relate how Mike and I discussed the mysteries of the world and all its splendor, but really we just talked trash. He and I see one another enough that we don’t “catch up” but just experience our lives together. Skiing does that.
Thus ended my trip to California. Up next: Utah!
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