only after we had left the mountain and were driving for some time did i realize how ridiculously long it had been since i had been on a road besides the one the brings me from home to the mountain and from the mountain back to home. work-home-home-work-work -work....The trees were closer on both sides, the colours was different and soon we were wooshed into pseudo dessert land. Out of the lush forresty colours of hte gorge and into a dry arid land of rocks and dry shrubs. I felt myself breathing again, finally getting away, finally seeing something new.My partner in crime, Cale, decided that we would take the scenic route through the Indian reservation, a very strange part of non-America within America which, when i have described to Americans how Lesotho is a country inside of South Africa they liken it to the Indian reservations. Which is not a comparison at all as these pleaces are not countries just really strange delapi
tated areas which no cares about. They are not centralised or governed and Americans can pass in and out of them as they please. When i entered it i immediately felt that i had d
escended into the Eastern Cape, goats and cows were hanging out on the roads, fences were broken, houses were falling over. In the dessert-y landscape, all dry and uncared for, my mind was transported back to home and similarily fascinated to see the extent to which homes and gardens were littered and uncared for. The drive was eerily unpeopled, just broken houses and animals and (for once) not a sinlge McDonalds sign in sight.
tated areas which no cares about. They are not centralised or governed and Americans can pass in and out of them as they please. When i entered it i immediately felt that i had d
escended into the Eastern Cape, goats and cows were hanging out on the roads, fences were broken, houses were falling over. In the dessert-y landscape, all dry and uncared for, my mind was transported back to home and similarily fascinated to see the extent to which homes and gardens were littered and uncared for. The drive was eerily unpeopled, just broken houses and animals and (for once) not a sinlge McDonalds sign in sight.We have this grea
t system at our mountain called ski exchange where we can ride a bunch of neighbouring mountains for free. So myself and my buddy Cale got hold of two exchange letters and took a trip 2 hours away to the town of Bend so we could ski Hoodoo and Mount Bachelor. Bend is a apparently a bigger Hood River, but I saw way too many McDonalds signs to truly appreciate any sort of similarity between the places. However, it didn't really matter as i judge most places on the homes of the people i experience and we entered the house of Cale's friend's familys and immediately greeted with warmth. Such a friendly house full of interesting things
like wooden dragons hanging from the bathroom ceiling, architecture plans, tjembe drums, guitars, shakers, cartoons of obese waiters and pottery, lots of pottery. They were potters and they loved to feed and had made some Sangria for our arrival. We got very merry over spaghetti and we played some drums and were told that, as we were snowboarders, that they had lots of snowbaord videos for us to watch. As our lives revolve around snowboarding and the wealth of snowboarding videos, we had to politely decline the suggestion a couple of many times.
The next day we woke up to the offer of bagels and smoothies for breakfast and were soon on our way to the mountain of Hoodoo. Hoodoo is a ve
ry small hill, and it was a Monday and we were, pretty much, the only people there (I think we counted 6 other people at one point but they could have been employees). The whole mountain was ours and we sped up and down in a silly fashion, drinking in the mad rock cliffs from the view at the top on the mountain next door. We came to this mountain as Cale had been working here for 7 years and when i saw some employees riding down the mountain on snowbikes I asked him if it was possible to "get us in there" as it were. After a free drink 
at the bar (it's good to know peopel) the bartender took us out on the snowbikes warning us that the guy he took before us had dropped the bike off the chairlift (the 
bike costs about $4000 = R28000) so we better not do the same. I gripped onto the heavy thing tightly and soon was sliding down the snbow on a bicycle sled contraption, going faster and faster and trying to figure out how to stop a bicycle that has no breaks and no pedals. The trick is to do a tight stop with the handlebars to either side depending on your direction and you have to lean your body accordingly. At one point i was really excited because i was doing some amazing stops and then all of a sudden i put some soul into one of my stops and i was flying over the handlebars, through the falling snow and onto the snow below. Luckily snow is alot softer than gravel, and it hurt, but it didn't HURT and i laughed a little and continued down the hill. new experience= YAY
The snowbiking bartender with the name of Trampis invite
d us to stay at his house in Bend that evening and after a visit to the a tea room (apparently the local hipster hangout of high schoolers - we saw a few 15 year olds on dates) drank some lovely chai tea and found oursleves in another fabulous house. This house was an exp
losion of textures and colours. Every piece of the wall you didn't just want to look at, you also wanted to touch, full of dark rich colours, quotes, clouds with hidden messages, it was an exploratory house, where things were forever still to be discovered on further inspection. We wined and dined and went on a dark forest walk to escort a friend home, went to sleep, woke up early, thanked our lovely hosts (who thanked us back for some reason) and continued on our way.
t system at our mountain called ski exchange where we can ride a bunch of neighbouring mountains for free. So myself and my buddy Cale got hold of two exchange letters and took a trip 2 hours away to the town of Bend so we could ski Hoodoo and Mount Bachelor. Bend is a apparently a bigger Hood River, but I saw way too many McDonalds signs to truly appreciate any sort of similarity between the places. However, it didn't really matter as i judge most places on the homes of the people i experience and we entered the house of Cale's friend's familys and immediately greeted with warmth. Such a friendly house full of interesting things
like wooden dragons hanging from the bathroom ceiling, architecture plans, tjembe drums, guitars, shakers, cartoons of obese waiters and pottery, lots of pottery. They were potters and they loved to feed and had made some Sangria for our arrival. We got very merry over spaghetti and we played some drums and were told that, as we were snowboarders, that they had lots of snowbaord videos for us to watch. As our lives revolve around snowboarding and the wealth of snowboarding videos, we had to politely decline the suggestion a couple of many times.The next day we woke up to the offer of bagels and smoothies for breakfast and were soon on our way to the mountain of Hoodoo. Hoodoo is a ve
ry small hill, and it was a Monday and we were, pretty much, the only people there (I think we counted 6 other people at one point but they could have been employees). The whole mountain was ours and we sped up and down in a silly fashion, drinking in the mad rock cliffs from the view at the top on the mountain next door. We came to this mountain as Cale had been working here for 7 years and when i saw some employees riding down the mountain on snowbikes I asked him if it was possible to "get us in there" as it were. After a free drink 
at the bar (it's good to know peopel) the bartender took us out on the snowbikes warning us that the guy he took before us had dropped the bike off the chairlift (the 
bike costs about $4000 = R28000) so we better not do the same. I gripped onto the heavy thing tightly and soon was sliding down the snbow on a bicycle sled contraption, going faster and faster and trying to figure out how to stop a bicycle that has no breaks and no pedals. The trick is to do a tight stop with the handlebars to either side depending on your direction and you have to lean your body accordingly. At one point i was really excited because i was doing some amazing stops and then all of a sudden i put some soul into one of my stops and i was flying over the handlebars, through the falling snow and onto the snow below. Luckily snow is alot softer than gravel, and it hurt, but it didn't HURT and i laughed a little and continued down the hill. new experience= YAYThe snowbiking bartender with the name of Trampis invite
d us to stay at his house in Bend that evening and after a visit to the a tea room (apparently the local hipster hangout of high schoolers - we saw a few 15 year olds on dates) drank some lovely chai tea and found oursleves in another fabulous house. This house was an exp
losion of textures and colours. Every piece of the wall you didn't just want to look at, you also wanted to touch, full of dark rich colours, quotes, clouds with hidden messages, it was an exploratory house, where things were forever still to be discovered on further inspection. We wined and dined and went on a dark forest walk to escort a friend home, went to sleep, woke up early, thanked our lovely hosts (who thanked us back for some reason) and continued on our way.
So Mount Bachelor. according to people who work with me at Mt Hood, is comparable to Mt Hood but it is a snobby mountain, full of rich people and it's a terrible place to work. Well regardless of all the millions of things that people love to say, the moutain is stil fabulous and it was another ghost town day, we owned the mountain, with mad powder flourishing between the trees and our lines we rode in the morning were filled up with the falling snow by the afternoon. I don't think i have seen such an excellent snow day all season, we were ecstatic, in snowy trees, flying through, up down, finding air and overall, happiness.I had been in a horrible m
ood the week before the trip, in a weird funk where i was not happy to be at work and counting down the days till i was done with it. I entered my last week of work in so much of a better mindset, loving the mountain again and enjoying my days. It could also do with being my last week but nothing like getting away from it all to be happy to be back with it all.
And i woke up this morning with the intention of going to work and then realizing i'd overslept f0r the second time all season and considering it was optional work today, it really doesn't matter
ood the week before the trip, in a weird funk where i was not happy to be at work and counting down the days till i was done with it. I entered my last week of work in so much of a better mindset, loving the mountain again and enjoying my days. It could also do with being my last week but nothing like getting away from it all to be happy to be back with it all.And i woke up this morning with the intention of going to work and then realizing i'd overslept f0r the second time all season and considering it was optional work today, it really doesn't matter
Hood River is sunny and lovely and I'm going to enjoy my day, my one day fo work tomorrow and then 2 and half months of glroious unemployment. 
