Last day at the Ski and Board Park! Yesterday was beautiful for the sliders –snowed lightly all day. Nothing better than fresh snow and who would have guessed it was Easter?! As you can see from the photo, our crew was focused on the river. This time of year with a good snow melt - and we are going to have a good snow melt for all of this spring with the abundant snow pack in “them thar hills”- the Box Canyon run is a Class 4. Not for the novice, but it is a great run for my kids and other folk who stay at Cave Springs. Just put in at the Box and get out at the Cave. Walk up the hill and into your room. Or don’t even go in the room. Just jump in the hot tub! Life is good. Then get a lift back to the shuttle car. In our case we combined the shuttle return with a family outing for lunch. Yep. Lots of family. It is Easter and everybody made it back home to find their Easter Basket. Happy Easter!

The Mt Shasta Ski and Board Park had 264 inches of snow at the top!!!!! They could be skiing until July. They could be. However, they won’t be. Which is why now is the time to start the winter over and put the skis or the board back on your feet. You only have four more weekends to take advantage of the great snow, wonderful end of the season entertainment, and really fun special events planned for the next couple of weeks.

Now the roads are all plowed and dry. There is going to be great packed powder to ride on for at least a week while the weather warms up. Then it will turn to more spring snow than you may have ever seen before. With any luck, the annual Pond Skim will have swimsuit weather. Pond Skim? Yes!

Every year at the end of the season the Ski Park creates a water feature by digging a large hole in the snow, lining it with plastic, and filling it with water. And every year, rain, snow, or shine, there are folks who think they can ride downhill fast enough so that their momentum will let them “water ski” across the top of that pond. Some actually do make it across. And yes, that water is not heated. There are award categories for all kinds of effort including best costume. Occasionally, for the more mature contestants, there may be an adult beverage involved. There is always live music. And there is always lots of big splashes!

I had occasion to be in San Francisco last week and as I drove through the parking lot at China Beach the sound of the still studded snow tires on our Subaru rattled and echoed in the almost deserted space. I know because the only car in the lot was being used as a mobile repair shop for a local surfer. Being an almost surfer myself ( that is a whole ‘nother story), I stopped to chat. He pointed out that I probably wouldn’t need those studs much in the Bay Area. We shared the laugh. He knew Cave Springs. I told him spring rains had started. Snow was over. I was just remiss in not changing the tires before my trip. Boy was I wrong!

We have been slammed with snow storms for over a week. Those studded tires are the cheapest insurance you can buy in the winter, and since I dodged two otherwise unavoidable collisions, they paid for themselves a couple of times this week. Some snow is just more slippery than other snow. Since the first day of spring we have been off and on blanketed by some of the slipperiest snow of the year. However it is spring, so snow leaves the valley floor quickly. It just stacks up in the hills and mountains. Which is why it is time to go skiing!

I checked it out. I was going to write about all the Spring stuff that is going to happen: sun, flowers, painting, picnics, etc. Then I walked outside and went back in the house to check the calendar. Sure ‘nuff. This is the “First day of spring”. It is official. The fact that there is 8 – 10 inches of snow in the driveway and more rain and snow on the way just makes it feel like the first day of winter instead. It is still beautiful although unseasonable. Ski season could last till June easily with all of the snow at the Ski Park. However they are going to close on the 17^th of April so don’t miss an opportunity to board or ski on some of the best snow of the season. And there may even be some spring skiing before they close if the weather normalizes.

One really great aspect of all of this precipitation is that we have an abundance of water. Shasta Lake is almost full, 11 feet from the top, and the melt runoff hasn’t even started. It is just amazingly beautiful to see so much water in the lake. The real beauty of this large quantity of water is that it has happened without any flooding or even just close to flooding. River levels have been bank to bank full but not to the point where rocks start to roll. When rocks don’t roll, fish find food. They just get fatter all winter long. Catching should be really good this year just for that one simple fact. More about catching (trout) later.

Louie