Monthly Archives: February 2012

Back in the Snowboarding Saddle

Um, I have to tell you something…the last time I was on a snowboard was three years ago.

Which I know is pretty shameful. Especially because I live within easy reach of some pretty stellar winter recreation areas. But before you decide to storm my office and throw snowballs at my head, let’s get one thing straight. I didn’t take an intentional break from boarding some of the best snow on earth…it just kind of happened. Little by little, day by day, season by season until three years rolled by and this girl hadn’t hit the snow.

With that said, I’m happy to tell you that I went snowboarding at not one, but TWO of Western Montana’s ski areas last week. The first one I journeyed to was Lookout Pass on the Montana/Idaho border.

And I must tell you, Lookout is pretty awesome.

I heart Lookout Pass.

It has great terrain, fun snow and it’s super accessible from where I live. My snowboarding, on the other hand, was not awesome. While I (unintentionally) hit a couple of black diamond runs, I also ate it nearly every time I got off of the chairlift. And it’s not like it was a cute, dainty fall. It was more of a hardcore ricochet combined with a solid bounce off of the snow. You get the picture, right?

And while I absolutely loved boarding Lookout for the day and genuinely had an awesome time (it’s now one of my favorite places to ride), by the time I left I had developed an irrational fear of chairlifts.

Later in the week, I took my new found fear with me to Whitefish Mountain Resort.

Moments after meeting up with a couple of girlfriends who work at the resort, I blurted out my fear of chairlifts. In turn they connected me with Kris, my instructor for the afternoon, who was AWESOME. Not only did she teach me how to properly dismount from a chairlift without causing a scene, she also helped me successfully navigate a toe-turn without tumbling down the mountain.

My two Jan's. (If you look closely, you can tell that someone in this photo is being held up).

By the end of the day, I was cruising down the slopes with a regained confidence and love of hitting the snow.

Happy girls.

The point of this story?

I am now happily back in the snowboarding saddle.

Snowboarding happiness.

So…who’s ready to ride?
TT

Montana: We’ve Got Good Eats

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When this messy-haired blond girl was growing up, we lived one mile down the road from my grandparents and our family owned store, where my grandpa was constantly (and boy do I mean constantly) cooking food for whoever happened to be around. And since it was was a store, there were always people around to taste his cooking.

My gramps.

My grandpa had two catch phrases: one was “Have a happy day.” and the other was “Want to taste something good?” And when we heard the latter, we knew there was something delicious simmering on the stove for us in the backroom.

While fine dining may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about Montana, we truly have some amazing chefs serving up mouth-watering dishes. And because I love food (thank you for that grandpa) and sharing special places with you, I need to introduce you to Cafe Kandahar (located at Whitefish Mountain Resort) and its delectable dishes. Have a gander.

Louisiana Shrimp.

Alaskan Salmon (so yummy).

The lamb was literally cooked to perfection.

Montana-raised Kobe Beef...it's what's for dinner.

Hello warm chocolate tort cake.

Not to play favorites, but this huckleberry dessert was perfection.

To which I now must ask you, want to taste something good?
TT

Whitefish, Montana: Pretty Prettiness

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While the view from my office is typically pretty standard (hallway, door, windows and people cruising past), last weekend it was simply awesome.

I traveled north to the charming mountain town of Whitefish for Winter Carnival, the Black Star Beer Barter and some sweet shredding at Whitefish Mountain Resort.

And this, my friends, was the view from my “Office for A Day.”