We had a great new-years weekend trip to the bustling town of Grangeville and the Snowhaven ski resort mountain hill.
Based on recommendations from our friends, Anne decided to rent "the suite" at Grangeville's finest hotel -- the Super 8. Even with two rooms it was crowded for the seven of us. The hot tub functioned as storage for our snow gear. The room's temperature was extremely difficult to control. Jake built and slept in a fort made from couch cushions.
The first day we all went on the tubing hill. You sit in the tube and get towed up to the top. There are two runs, which seemed equally fast to me. Since riding down by yourself is interesting only a few times, its much more fun to go down in large groups. Seems to go faster that way too. See videos below.
On the second day most of us strapped on skis or snowboards and took to the lifts. The weather was just lovely, although a little cold. No chairlift at Snowhaven, so the choices are either the rope tow or the T-bar. Both are difficult. The T-bar is especially hard for us boarders. It works best to have both boots strapped in and the bar between your legs.
We're especially proud of Grandma who (according to the ticket still on her snowsuit) last skiied in 1999! She enjoyed the wider skis and more comfortable boots available today. She had a few disagreements with the T-bar though. It left her with a particularly nasty elbow bruise.
Snowhaven's tubing hill is pretty awesome. It seemed particularly fast on this day. Here's Duane on a solo run:
And here's the whole family linked together:
