Jan 30, classic

It was kind of mean, actually.  A foot of fresh pow fell on Snoqualmie Pass on Monday, but on Tuesday and Wednesday it rained and rained and rained, with standing water on the road and avalanche control closures.  Maybe that's why the participation was way down this week, because the precipitation was way up, but the skiing turned out to be delicious: with temps in the upper 30s and a heavy mist that sparkled in our Mystical Cones of Headlamp Happiness, the snow was sleek and fast and wet, like a sea otter.  Zeroes worked, fishscales worked, and red klister sort of worked.  It was a gorgeous soft night of skiing!

And speaking of Headlamp Happiness, I got to test-drive one of the new Petzl headlamps that Peter Boveng is bringing up for demo-ing.  The verdict?  I want one.  And I want it now.  They are amazing.  There is a substantial, long-lasting lithium battery, rechargeable on your computer, that sits on the back of your head, but the strapping system is so well-designed and comfortable that you don't even know it's there.  The on-off button is a nicely engineered toggle that's easy to maneuver with your gloves on (and you can lock it so it doesn't accidentally turn on in your pack), and the beam of light is as wide and bright as you could ever want.  But the cool thing about this particular model, which is called the Nao (say "now"), is how it figures out how dark it is in front of you and adjusts the brightness magically by itself.  At first I thought it was a gimmick, but it is actually awesome: when you get to a long hill, or a dark corner, or better yet, a dark corner at the bottom of a long hill, you can tilt your head back an inch and all of a sudden it's like the floodlights came on and the entire forest is lit up!  Who thought of this?  And how did we manage without it before they thought of it?  (And what do the owls think about it?)  Peter is bringing several of these lamps up to the cabin every Wednesday night, so find him and grab one and give it a test.  We may be able to give away some discount certificates, or maybe even some lamps, at the end-of-season party.  Did I already mention how much I want one for my very own?

Next week: skating.  Good luck to everyone going to the Konig Ludwig Lauf and the Chicks on Sticks!

Two Laps
Join Fewster	42	16.34
Peter Boveng	54	16.38
Richard Clung	47	16.50
Jonathan Loeffler	27	17.43	(all double pole)
Don Brooks	62	20.02
John Outterson	42	20.35
Jim Slyfield	55	20.40
Dale Bohm	54	19.51
Debbie Kolp	59	29.04
One Lap
Jay Wyatt	26	8.25
Jordan Guzale	18	8.49
Fin Terlin	16	10.00
Oliver Isik	17	10.12
Benjamin Cape	15	12.02
Just Skiin'
Brad Bauer
Kent Murdoch
Douglas Holtan
Brian Dumais
Kirsten Wysen
GlennWysen
Ryan Jones-Casey
Kelsey Jones-Casey
Sean Brown
4 Seattle Academy students
4 Bush School students