Let's Spring into it!

Hellllllllllo Spring! And hello YOU! It has been a minute since we have jumped on here to say hi, so HI! Hope you are well! It's a new year! The fact that you are here right now means you survived the year of 2020 and are slightly concurring the new year of 2021. Well done! We have made it to spring, we can feel the warmth slowly creeping in with it.

What a winter season it was. Here in the PNW, we got a fair amount of snow but a lot more rain surprisingly this season. Typically there are two climate patterns that can occur every few years in the Pacific Ocean: El Niño and La Niña. La Niña was the boss of this year's winter weather. She is known to bring a different kind of weather and that she did. With La Niña's strong winds, she ends up pushing cooler water further up the equator than normal. That slight change of temperature in the ocean makes a huge difference, affecting weather across the globe. For Oregon this season, it was a bit wet with less snow than we normally see and the snow came about later in the season. No complaints here though, we still enjoyed every bit of winter!

For us, this past winter brought a lot of happiness. Our winter started off with family after not being able to see them for over a year. Oh how it was great to catch up with them! First we had Garitt's parents come in for Thanksgiving and to celebrate a special birthday, next we had Marlee's brother and little sister in after Christmas through the new year. It was the perfect way to end a longgggg year and the right way to ring in the new year! We ventured our hearts out with good food, good views, and great conversations making memories to last a lifetime. We are already counting down the days until we will see them all again!!

Family wasn't the only thing to bring us more happiness this winter; we picked up a new hobby! Last year right before the pandemic hit, we were starting to pick up snowboarding a bit. Once the pandemic hit, the mountains all closed down of course and just like that snowboarding was gone for us amateurs. When the season came around this past year, we were more than ready for it especially not knowing if it would shutdown again. (Thankfully it did not!) We headed to the mountains every chance we had to start our learning progression. Now let me tell ya, it definitely isn't easy to just hop on the board (or skis) and go. With progression we have learned not only about the physical challenge of it all but the mental challenge that comes with it too. Whether it being a mental fear of falling and getting hurt or just steep slopes, the mental challenge will be your biggest draw back. Isn't that so in life too?

During our off season we plan to continue building to help better our snowboard skills come next winter. We even are signing up for an avalanche course to become more knowledgable for the backcountry. It is always good to "know before you go"! Here's a little recap video of our winter season progression. Not too bad for two kids who haven't boarded in 10 plus years! We would like to thank Mt. Bachelor, Ski Hoodoo, Mt. Hood Meadows, Timberline Lodge, the Woodward Bachelor team, along with all of the ski patrol and lifties for keeping us safe out there this season!

We are gearing up for more spring and summer activities around here. We took a little break this winter but are back with even MORE content than before! Stay tuned and be sure to subscribe if you haven't already! Until next time....

Stay wild Pak friends!

Peace + Love

xx,

The Pak