Tonight was the final Night Riders skiing and riding competition up at Bolton. We really have come to love these Wednesday night’s up on the mountain.. freezing our tails.. then sitting in the bar talking with friends. We’ve been doing them for years.. Since Sam’s passing they’ve been a really important link between us and the mountain,

Because of the time change it was light at the start of the competition fort he first time. It was cool being able to see the kids doing the rails in the light. First guy we ran into was Alex in his homemade Sam shirt.

Gabe’s competition tonight was  a three part jam.. first on the ’A’ rail, second  on the down-flat-down.. or ’Sam Rail’ as the call it.. and third on the big jump higher up the mountain.

Here is Gabe and crew getting ready for the first jam on the ’A’ rail.

Here come ’da judges

Diane grabbed this shot of  Gabe getting some big air on the ’A’ rail . He looked good !

As soon as the sun went down the wind whipped up like crazy. t was snowing and blowing a full blizzard.. at one pint is was over 30 mph winds.. Even though it must have been about 20 degrees, the wind chill was something fierce.. it felt like it was below zero !  The blowing snow made it look like some sort of movie set out there.

The second the last jump was done we all ran and slid down the mountain for the warmth of the bar.   While I was sliding down one of the hills, I  think I lost one of the glass SamStones I’d brought up as part of the Sam Cohn award we were giving tonight. If I really did lose it on the mountain, that’s pretty cool !

When we got to the bar, Ann Marie presented me with a bag of her very yummy guacamole.. 2 weeks ago I’d commented on how much I’d liked the ’guac’ she’d made once at her house.. so she brought me one.. Note .. the halo around Ann Marie is not just because she’s an angel.. it’s because my camera was still frozen.

It was great hanging out with friends tonight. It’a bit strange being in a bar for me right now.. I’m trying this ayurvedic diet for a month.. and that calls for no spicy food and no alcohol.  .. two of the things you generally consume in a bar..It’s also a little sad knowing that this was the last of our Wednesday night  gatherings for the season.. Still, we’ll see our friends through the year..  

At about 8:30 all the kids gathered in the lunge for the final prizes..   Zach started the whole night out with a short tribute to Sam.. it was really nice.. . He talked about Sam.. and asked the group to give it up for Sam’s memory.. They all cheered. It brought tears to my eyes.

Zach went through the evening results and the season results..im Ferrel’s Chiropractic practice donated prize money for the top three finishers in all categories. That is mighty generous !!! It was great seeing all these kids recognized for their performance. . It was tough getting pictures from where I was.. I did capture some of the prize winners..   Like Brit placed 3rd in women’s boarders.

And Caroline placed 2nd in women boarders.

Gabe got first (!)   in 12 and under boarders..  He won a new board !. I couldn’t get a good picture of him picking it up..

.. but grabbed a shot of him with it at home a bit later.   We’re so proud of that boy !!!!

Luke won 1st in 13-17 boarders…

The last award for the night was the new annual Sam Cohn award for the skier or boarder  with the most spirit. Zach took nominations then used the ’applause-o-meter’ approach for picking the winner. This year’s winner was Ellis !!!  He took home $250 bucks for that..

After the awards, the fray headed out to the balcony for the booty toss.. It was mayhem as usual.. I went and grabbed the car. On the way out I noticed that someone had slapped a Sam Forever sticker on Bolton’s bus.. I don’t approve of vandalism.. but I thought that was pretty cool !

I could feel Sam so strongly up on the mountain tonight. I know he would have liked how everything played out up there. he’d be so proud of Gabe.. …
Ride free my son
-me

P.s. When I was grabbing a picture off Gabe’s camera I came across this picture he’d taken of Satori the other night. I love this picture.