The View from Palmer Lift

My daughter took this picture at about 8000 feet or above the other day on her Android phone which can take panoramas like this. I just downloaded it and then uploaded it here from an email she sent me. I had just been sort of scared out of my wits temporarily to be on new skis and boots and poles that I had never skied on before and sent down from the top of the glacier. But at this point I was in pure Ecstasy because of how amazing and unusual it is to be able to ski something as majestic as Mount Hood this late in July anywhere in the lower 48 states. Terrifyingly majestic and breathtaking for someone who has skied since 1963 when I was 15.

We made several runs down to the next lift. So, to get where I am here you have to take two ski lifts up from Timberline Lodge which is at 5900 feet. But be careful in the summertime to avoid serious sunburn at this altitude so wear plenty of sunblock. The only reason I don't have a hat on was it was just too hot. Most of the time I wore my hood on my ski parka so I wouldn't just crisp out completely from the sun at this altitude. As you can see: "You can literally see for miles and miles and miles". Amazing! Also, it is very important to have really good Ski goggles or sunglasses to avoid snow blindness at this altitude in the snow and sun. My 2nd wife was snow blind for a week and I had to take care of her because we skied Mt. Shasta one day and she forgot her sunglasses. At the time we were excited to ski and she tried putting mud under her eyes to reduce the glare but this didn't work. I thought about giving her my sunglasses but my eyes are even more sensitive to the sun than hers from being overexposed to the sun as a surfer in southern California and Hawaii and working outside without sunglasses when I was young. So, she went snowblind for one week because we were both young and foolish then.

My present wife was at the top of the first lift with my daughter's boyfriend when we reached that lift below. My daughter's boyfriend can jump a snowboard 60 feet into the air he is that good. But having worked all week he was too tired to snowboard today so he was taking a rest that day. We all watched together a group of people doing triple horizontal spins on skis under the tutelage of professionals. My daughter's boyfriend told me that people pay a lot of money to be able to train here with experts year around.