Gee, I *knew* I wouldn't be keeping this thing up.

Wow. I haven't posted up *anything* in a while. LOL. I don't even really see why I bother putting up something like this...as I'd be doing this (read: not posting) more often than not.

Anyway, not a lot has happened in the few weeks between my last entry and this one.

Actually, no, I take that back. Way back.

It all started like this:

I had managed to get a cabin in Big Bear, for a weekend. So, I invited a few friends. All good, right? Well, the story turns a bit downhill from here on out.

Firstly, most of them were late. About as late as you can get, without me calling off the trip completely. Then, it took a bit too long to get there, and the chains we bought for the cars weren't exactly the best chains to use, thus a lot of slippage.

Second, the weather. Man, it was *perfect* for snowboarding. PERFECT. However, the fact that it's perfect for *snowboarding* makes it hell on the drive. Big Bear isn't that bad of a drive, but, at night, with on/off fog conditions...etc...it was horrid.

Third, the guests. I had invited a few friends. One of them had family up there too, celebrating his sister's 21st bday. So that was cool. Well, that same friend ended up inviting a friend to the cabin. My cabin. A friend I don't particularly like. Well, that was "okay" with me (read: he must have known I'd say yes anyway, just to be polite). But, the fact a lot of us ended up wanting to do our own things just made it very frustrating. And, being the host, I had to *try* and make it at least enjoyable for everyone. Rather hard, though, if there is only one key to share amongst three different activity groups.

The only bright side happened the day after we got there. And even then, not without a whole lot of trouble. We (read: I) woke up early, because that's the best time to get a move out to get snowboarding. A few of the others did too. But, we ended up leaving at 8, when the lifts OPENED. Of course, my friend with the bday sister had to go visit, so we know where the cabin is, *and* to check up. So, that's cool. Well, turns out, *that* group had massive troubles too. I don't exactly want to divulge in what exactly all of that was, but, needless to say...it frustrated him like I was frustrated the night before. But worse.

So, we end up leaving without that friend, because he said that he wanted to keep an eye and help out his sister. We tried to stay, too. But he insisted. Cool. So, we end up taking a shuttle up to the park...because parking was full. And the snow looked AMAZING.

Perfect powder. Fresh. Not *too* crowded, because no one would make that crazy drive up there.

In any case, snowboarding was fun. All the lifts/chairs were open (hey, it's California...thus, it's not that often ALL lifts are open), so the plan was to take Geronimo (the upper lift, a double black) sometime that day. Sweet.

Well, things don't exactly work out that way. Well, they did. For the most part. The more experienced borders, including myself, took the middle lifts, to get a feel for the mountain. It was nice snow, though, for some reason, all the pack snow was only about an inch underneath the powder. Made for some odd terrain. It'd become icy then extremely fast powder really quickly.

So, the day progresses, naturally. Well, the last three runs...we decided to go all out. We headed up Bear Express then up again, to the peak of Bear Mountain...the double black called Geronimo. It was the highest peak. And, hol-E jeeBUZ! The whole run was powder. Fresh and nearly undisturbed.

My mates were pretty new to powder that fresh, and didn't heed my warnings to not go near the trees unless they have some speed built up. So they sunk in a few times. Anyway, a few runs later...we decide to bring my less-savvy friend up with us, because we were almost done for the day anyway. .......TBC, soon...hopefully.