~by Greg Wong~
I never thought that I would be skiing so much this late in the season. The beginning of this year started out with so little snow. I guess that is why so few people signed up. They missed out on a good trip for a good price and with fresh powder. The snow started falling the weekend before, and continued for a week and a half. We had 5 days of skiing and only 4 nights away. Karen found us some great discount tickets of $35 for Sugar Bowl and $38 for Kirkwood. I have not seen those prices in a long time. Thanks Karen. I signed up for this trip in December expecting a full bus. Only 20 sighed up, but there was only 14 on the bus. 14!!. The other 6 met us at Mammoth. We each had 3 rows upon which to spread out. This is the way to travel.
The first day we were skiing at Kirkwood. It was a quiet bus ride going to Tahoe. The 4 am pick up was a bit early but that is what you’ve got to do for a full day of skiing. The bus dropped us off in front of the lifts by 9am even with a pit stop to pick-up some snow chains. The weather was overcast and the snow clouds were coming in. There were no lift lines on a Friday so we got in a lot of runs. The conditions were packed powder, typical for Tahoe spring skiing. It has been a while since I have been to Kirkwood. Vail Resorts is buying them this year adding it to Northstar and Heavenly for their Tahoe holdings Ticket prices will probably be going up next season but a season pass will let you ski all 3 mountains. With a season pass I might ski Kirkwood a few times next year. The snow began to fall just as we left the resort. It was a cold northern winter front coming in. We got out of Dodge without using chains.
The drive to Mammoth was scenic. We did drive by a few spots a couple times going in circles. David mentioned “Didn’t we just see that sign? ” Dinner was served on the bus. All the dinners were cooked by the talented chef, Karen, on this trip.. She whipped up her culinary skills and served us Beef Goulash, Curry Coconut chicken, Chicken salad, and Tacos with special sauce as her 
entrees. We did not have to eat out. Teriyaki burgers by Ikeda was the coming home meal . The bus had to stop a few times along the road due to overheating. We had a stop at a gas station to buy some antifreeze for the bus. It gave me and David a chance to buy a mega lottery ticket. The jackpot was over $300 million. Maybe this might be my lucky week. Even with all the delays, the bus made it to Mammoth in good time. We checked into the condos next to the Eagle express lift and got a good night’s rest.
The first day at Mammoth was windy. The northern storm was just reaching LA. Frank, one of the locals with us was our tour guide. He took us up to Cornice Bowl and we almost got blown away by the wind. The wind was strong but had kept most of the snow in pretty good condition. By the end of the day we had skied half the mountain. The second day, it was nice and sunny, although the snow got slushy by the end of the day. Even with all the skiing we did, my roommate, Sidney, and I 
still went downstairs that evening to the rec-room to play Nitendo Wii ski. Still couldn’t get enough skiing in. The morning of the 3rd day at Mammoth I woke up to the howling of the wind and snow hitting the window. Snow was falling fast. I did not think we would get in a day of skiing. By opening time, the wind had let up but the snow was still falling. I could hear the sounds of the cannons going off. 3 to 5 inches had fallen overnight. The upper lifts were closed. Visibility was spotty but the snow was good. We skied all morning. After lunch, the lifts opened up and the sun came out. The snow condition was perfect.
The trip to Reno went a lot faster. I think it took only 3½ hrs. to get there. We made our deposits and went to bed. Sugar bowl was very quiet on Tuesday. The snow began to fall again and we had the whole mountain to ourselves. It was strange that after 4 days of skiing 10 of us decided to take a ski lesson that morning. The last 4 days had so many different types of conditions we all wanted to know what we were doing wrong. Sugar Bowl had free lessons on weekdays to get people to the resort. Surprising they were very instructional. The snow began to fall harder in the afternoon and the visibility became harder. Everyone decide they had enough skiing for the trip and turned in early.
We got on the bus and left before the road chain requirements. With this much snow, we were lucky that we did not need the chains on the road the entire trip By Sacramento the rain was coming down hard. There were many accidents on the road but we made it home safely. The trip in all was great. The only bad comment I could make was Karen’s movie selection of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”.
Now, for the important info. Who won the left-right-center game? I guess it has become a competitive event on our ski trips. I didn’t think I could win this game or did I want to win? The winner gets all the money, $60 in this case, but he has to write a new article. Did I have a chance with the experienced Grady, the bus driver. He has played every game that the club has played thus far. Or Amy T, the enthusiastic player who holds her own tournaments and wins them. We each started with 3 single dollars. We take turns throwing 3 dice and move each dollar to the direction of each cube face: giving the dollar to the Left person, or the person to the Right, the Center pot, or Keep it. The noise level gets louder and louder as the game progresses. Sometimes the game gets so competitive that one time security got called for noise in Reno. The first round I picked up the dice and threw. A left, a right, a pass came up I was down to 1 dollar already. Two more throws I was out. I guess that was it but Rick to the left and Frank to Right were holding many dollars. I still had a chance. After a few more rounds Grady and Amy were hanging in there with 1 dollar. Being out does not mean that is it over. Luck has a way to bring you back in. Each of us Amy, Grady and myself were each without any money but got back in. As the rounds went by, I got back in with a dollar to stay in the game. When it came down to the final 4, It was Grady, Amy , myself and another whom I can’t remember. Then it was down to 2. Grady and me. I threw first. a Pass, then Grady a Pass. I threw again. Another pass. Grady threw a Center Pot. The game was over. I had won left right center. In the end lady luck was on my side. I also won 2 dollars on the mega lotto ticket.
G-Man, the Money Man
