On Friday afternoon, February 1st, the schools were closed due to snow and cold temperatures, giving a jump start for the Scout Troop 1916’s annual skiing trip. While the conditions were ideal for skiing, the roads were icy and treacherous, thus the drive from Tysons to Timberline took about 4 hours even without traffic. Altogether 37 scouts and quite a few family members gradually arrived at the Timberline ski resort at dusk. Despite the long and tedious drive, everyone was excited to be at the resort and to get ready for the next day’s snow adventure.
The start of the first night in the bunkhouse was restless, as the Scouts were occasionally awakened by their upstairs neighbors. After a while, however, everyone was fast asleep and able to get a sufficient amount of rest. The bunkhouses were crowded, but they were warm and much more comfortable than our regular outing accommodations, such as tents and tarp shelters. Early the next morning, we rushed to get our skis, snowboards, and boots ready in time to get breakfast and to get the beginner skiers to their lessons.
Due to the 5 inches of fresh snow throughout the past week, the skiing conditions were GREAT. Instead of the typical icy East-coast conditions, the slopes were filled with fresh, powdery snow, making an ideal environment for effortless skiing. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun was shining brightly. The Scouts enjoyed skiing the blue and green slopes until the main lift broke for a short while. After a little break, the lift was working again and off we went to the slopes again.
There were four scouts from Troop 1916 and two from Troop 2119 that earned the Snow Sports Merit Badge offered by Timberline. Congratulations to Jayden L. Jaidan S., Jonathan R., Keenan P., Helen F., and Grace Z.
The rest of the day went by without any incidents and the scouts got plenty of skiing experience. Some ski enthusiasts continued skiing well into the night and crashed into bed around 10 PM with no difficulty falling asleep.
The food at the lodge was quite good. The package included breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. After every meal, people left the canteen with their stomach full and content.
As expected, Saturday’s sunshine had an adverse impact on Sunday’s snow conditions. But Sunday’s weather was again stellar. And with the big football game Sunday evening, we had Timberline to ourselves all day.
The whole group seemed to be pleased with this exciting event. We are very grateful for Mr. Bonanno for managing the complex logistics of this Scout outing in the wild and wonderful beauty of West Virginia!
View some great ski shots over here.