Copper Creek Hut Ski Adventure

It was 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon after a hard first week of school. The sun was dipping low in the sky. Our warm breath clouded in front of our faces as Eileen and I bent down to secure the bindings on our skis. We were headed to Copper Creek Hut, one of the MTTA’s amazing back country cabins, and we couldn’t think of anywhere else in the world we wanted to be!

About half way in, we caught a glimpse of Mt. Rainier on the horizon.

Alpenglow just before sunset

The sun disappeared and left us to ski the remainder of the way by moon- and star-light. Amazing!

Ed, Louie, Wendy and Dave welcomed us to the hut around 6 p.m. We set up sleeping bags, changed into fleece pants, and settled in with hot chocolate in front of the fire while we waited for Susan and Dawn to arrive. After an hour or so, we abandoned the wait and dove enthusiastically into bowls of hot fajita soup and homemade tacos garnished with Dave and Wendy’s leftover Caesar salad. (Susan and Dawn had the veggies for the tacos - oops!)

Just as we were about to collapse with exhaustion after a long evening of great conversation, Susan and Dawn arrived, rendering our planned midnight rescue operation obsolete. Whew! They hadn’t eaten dinner yet, so we heated up some more soup and chatted while they ate their fill.

The next morning, it was clear the weather had changed. Snow was driving hard outside. Susan, Dawn and Eileen decided to make an excursion to one of the nearby viewpoints before leaving. I opted for book-reading time on the couch in front of the fire. Heavenly!

The trip back was much more enjoyable than I thought. Downhill always is!

About halfway out we met Carrie, Rod and Joanne (L to R) heading in. They were going to the hut for the steak, red wine and chocolate cake extravaganza put on by the MTTA each year. Yum!

Two happy skiers

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