Too Windy for Fun...boo hiss!

I am beginning to think Chris and I might be some sort of wind gods or something. If only we could truly learn to harness the power, we could use it for good instead of for evil. We made it up to Mammoth, finally, since the wedding the last great wind storm of 2010. The purpose of the trip was to pick up our ski passes and maybe take advantage of some of the early snow. Instead we seemed to attract tornado like wind the scope of which made the lift terrifying and snowboarding impossible.

Plenty of beautiful snow was falling but due to the windy conditions Chris wanted to wait a few days. I couldn't blame him, he gets cold easily and no one wants to have their face snowblasted...it hurts.

It seemed a little windy in the morning but no big deal. Now, I have lived in and been going to Mammoth since 1996 and I can say I have never experienced a wind like this one. We arrive at chair 2 excited and ready to go. I am excited, Chris is freezing. But he's being a trooper and we head to the lift line. We suffer our way through as it is even pretty windy at the base. Finally on the lift we are trying to stay warm as the lift stops part way up the hill. The wind is blowing us practically sideways. Now, not only does this cut through our clothing making us as cold as ice cubes but also it is swinging the chair in a way that even frightens me. I love heights, climb to the top of everything and here I was suddenly feeling that the wind from our wedding day was nothing and I was about to fall off a chair dangling 50 feet in the air. Our wedding was gorgeous, but it was so windy I ripped my veil off my head in the middle of the ceremony. I had kind of forgotten it until I saw the DVD of the wedding. Now I begin thinking of how to use the wind to my advantage. Of course my mind goes to the idea that as long as I stayed pointing downhill and landed on my board I could probably navigate my way down. My snowboard could act a bit as a sail floating me to the snow. That thought only lasts for a second before I realize my knees would probably blow out the moment I hit the bullet proof snow below me and I am likely to be unable to move, this isn't a sail attached to my feet but a lead weight, duh! At least we have our helmets on, oh wait, no, I have my helmet on, my husband thinks they are unnecessary. Has his life insurance kicked in yet?

We make it safely to the top, where when we stand the wind pretty much makes us stand still. We push our way to the slope and manage to feel our way down despite being able to see pretty much nothing. Needless to say, a single run, that was all we managed, and it was back to the warmth and safety of the house. Hopefully our next trip will be more successful. Maybe I should try and wish the wind elsewhere? Are there any good books on how to control your wind magnetism? Right now I am just looking into the costs of a wind farm...maybe we can buy some cheap land in Mojave.