Winter fun for me includes cross country skiing, and recently includes Sarah as well. She's a medical practitioner who skis me into the ground every time we head out.
Except once. I was on turbo demo skis a day that she was sick. I actually kept up with her somehow.
Maybe she'll keep me around awhile. Maybe she'll be tired of waiting for me!
(oh, btw....she's from MN and has a 300 page family genealogy going back to the early 1600s...the name on the book is the same as my former Navy roommate from northern Iowa...yep, they are very distant cousins! He has the same book....such a small world sometimes)
People in our area take their skinny skis up to the Methow Valley in North Central Washington, a magnificent network with 120 miles of groomed trails connecting the towns of Winthrop and Mazama. A few hours north of Lake Chelan, it's a place I've wanted to visit for years.
Back story; I noticed (friend of a friend) Jim online and saw that he was all over the athletic world as well as the military, so I reached out and started a dialog 4 years ago. In 2021, I took a Seattle consulting job and had an awesome meetup with Jim, not far from the first house I ever owned near the Bremerton shipyard.
Turns out, Jim and his lovely wife Janet are huge nordic skiers, and they own a house in Winthrop.
As Sarah and I tentatively planned on a 50k ski race, we figured a training camp would be helpful. I reached out to Jim for advice on the area, and he graciously offered housing. Game on!
About an 8 hour drive north. We stopped in the German hamlet of Leavenworth. Ribs, braut, slaw...
And a monster pretzel...
Onward. Jim was nursing a cold, so we brought some medicine in the form of Pendleton Whiskey (Janet fired up the old fashioneds shortly after this picture).
I have NEVER seen a private setup like this madness; a garage worthy of the (Nordic) Smithsonian...I'm going to invest in ski wax futures, because Jim is driving the prices way up.
Mama, I'm home...
Not sure if this is Mt Bachelor in Bend, or Methow Valley. Just a pretty shot regardless...
First day was a warmup loop with our hosts on Sun Mountain, one of several major areas in the Valley. Then we ventured out on our own. My initial goal was to do 4 hrs a day at a slow pace.
Anyone ever bit off more than they could chew?
We somehow did 4.5 hours, albeit with plenty of stops, and somehow limped home. Jim and Janet's neighborhood has ski in, ski out capability, so we slid into the driveway hooting and hollering (and coughing up a lung or two).
Dinner was incredible pizza at Rolling Huts. Jim noted that I nearly did a face-plant in the marinara, eyes drooping.
Second day was for demo skis. We stopped at Winthrop Mountain Sports where Jim introduced us to his good friend Erik Bjornsen, 2-time Olympian, brother of another Olympian, and husband to yet another world class skier.
The store is decked out with photos. Can't remember if this is Erik, or Gus K (another world class beast). The form looks a bit better than mine.
This is Marine, aka Mrs Erik
This is what a gold medal looks like....HERE COMES DIGGINS!!
Pretty sure Nordic skiers are among the most fit. Below is Jessie's Olympic relay teammate Kikkan, her good friend Kris Freeman, and all of their abs.
Tuesday was two easy hours to recover. Sarah's demo skis made her even faster, so I might have to hide her poles or something
Tried to have lunch at the Four Seasons below, but they lost our reservation.
Dinner was a bison beef Bolognese that I whipped up. Bear approved...
Day 3 was Thompson Ridge, a 3-4 mile uphill grind with 1400' of climbing. I needed a gurney and an IV bag while Sarah just kept yawning thru the climbs. At least the return trip was easier, though some of the trails hadn't been groomed for a few days.
Day 4 was a one way, $1 bus ride to Mazama. A quick run through the Country Store, where I saw this good looking beast that I was hungry enough to eat raw...
Now it was a 30k, 19 mile trip home down the Methow Community Trail (MCT). The first third was a gorgeous, slight downhill, including the Suspension Bridge.
The middle section of the MCT is in the woods and the foothills. Meaning, uphills. Ugh. Speedy Gonzalez took off, and I slogged my way up in her wake. Brown's Farm to Wolf Ridge (lower blue section) was a bit of nastiness....
Then the last third was in the open valley, also gorgeous.
Bear and Sarah are around the same weight, but his ski form isn't quite as good.
Loading up and heading out after a fantastic week.
On the trip up thru Leavenworth, we stumbled across a few amazing looking restaurants after lunch. So we made a note and went back to try Ludwig's.
The spaetzle was ok but needing something....maybe some healthy vegetables. Or lots of bacon gravy.
Pretzels always work!
As do pork chops, schnitzel, braut, red cabbage, potato salad.
As a young-un, I remember driving cross country for hours without stopping. At my current, uh, ADVANCED age with three lumbar surgeries on my CV, it's much better to switch drivers every hour and stretch for 5 minutes! The trip went very smoothly.
Many thanks to Jim and Janet for an amazing week and incredible hospitality.
If you like that kind of skiing, you can't do much better than Methow Valley.
