Ski 'N' Nap

I used to go skiing, and I may go again some day. I was never a Black Diamond kind of guy, but I could get around and I had a good time. I liked to cruise the big intermediate slopes and at my peak I could do it all day long. Steep stuff was too much work. I could do a bit of it, but it would wear me out. Of course, this was all before I found out that my heart was just a little flakey. That pissed me off so much I threw in the towel on a lot of stuff. Here I had been busting my ass trying to get in shape, lose weight and all that, and it was like I was carrying a mill stone around my neck. Bah.

Anyway, I've pretty much gotten over being angry about the heart thing, and I would go skiing again if my finances permitted it, which they don't. But there is one other thing that bothers me and that's the highway of death. There have been several fatal, head-on collisions on the stretch of Highway 26 from Sandy to Timberline. People drifting across the center lane and blamo!

From personal experience I suspect the majority of these are people caused by people who have had a full day of skiing on the mountain, are exhausted, try and drive home to Portland and fall asleep at the wheel. I have never fallen asleep at the wheel, but I have driven that road numerous times while I was utterly worn out. It's no fun.

A nice nap before hitting the road would be just the thing, but a car that has been sitting in the parking lot all day is really cold. You could bring a sleeping bag, but that would require 1) having one to bring, and 2) planning ahead. And then you would still have to work your way into while sitting in your car. Not an easy proposition. Of course, you could turn on the engine and the heater, but there is something about doing that that is just contrary. For one thing you're burning gas, gas you may need to get to the next gas station. The other is you are planning on sleeping. Sleeping in a car sitting outside with the motor running may be perfectly safe, but it looks a whole lot like suicide, not one of favorite activities.

So I'm thinking what we need is some kind of shelter where you can conk out for a while without freezing. Someplace where you can catch some Z's before you head back down the mountain and into Dead Man's Curve.


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