The Game = Best Time to Ski

People often complain about big weekend crowds at Mt. Hood Meadows. But, this Saturday, there were no crowds at all. Instead, yesterday, Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, was a very crowded day with long lines everywhere. Both days were equally good weather-wise. So, why were there no crowds on a Saturday?

I met about a dozen club members on the slopes today. Those in the picture are only some of them. At first, several people theorized that maybe there were no crowds because the weather forecast had said there would be a 30% chance of rain. Well that's also a 70% chance of good weather (which it turned out to be). So, that couldn't be the complete explanation. And then the real reason appeared.

There was some kind of game on, starting around 12:30 pm. It was referred to as "the game". Everybody talked about it, but nobody mentioned the location or the teams involved. It was simple "the game". So I checked it out.

It was about some grown men fighting over an odd-shaped ball. They ran left, they ran right, for what seemed like hours. They crouched low to the ground sticking their asses up in the air. They piled up on top of each other, like they really enjoyed it. They hugged and clung to each others waists like there's no tomorrow. It was so gay.

On second thoughts, maybe they were not fighting over the ball at all. Maybe it was really over a quarter. At the start of the game, they tossed a quarter in the air. One team won it. For the rest of the game it was all about getting the quarterback.

And it went on for hours. By the time I got home, unpacked my ski gear, had dinner, and turned the TV on, "the game" was still on at 7:45 pm. Maybe it wasn't the same game. Maybe there was more than one "game". But, it's all the same: more squatting, more sticking their behinds in the air, more grown up men running after a ball, pumped up shoulders, looking very "macho". Nothing ever happened, except that the ball kept getting shoved left and right across the field.

Why would people prefer to watch this instead of enjoying the pleasure of flying over mountain slopes with almost total freedom? Beats me! But, I did learn one important lesson today:

I should pay more attention to "the game". When the game is on, that's the best time to go skiing!