Great Moments in Paper Bag History: bringing in 2011 the best way I know how...

Monday, January 3, 2011

bringing in 2011 the best way I know how...

This past Friday, New Years Eve, my friends and I went to the climbing gym to work on some bouldering problems and the subject of evening activities came up.

FRIENDS: What are you guys up to tonight?

ME: Um, nothing huge... swinging by Lisa's house to celebrate her birthday and the New Year, but other than that... no huge plans. We might make a nice dinner before hand?

FRIENDS: Yeah... same here, no big plans.

ME: Well, you know.... I did had this crazy idea this morning that we could get up before dawn and drive to Mt. Hood and hike up it to watch the sunrise and then snowboard back down... but um, well.... you know, it's kinda last minute.

FRIENDS: I think that's a great idea... I had that same exact crazy thought actually, but was too afraid to say it.

So, we worked out our plan over the chalk dust at the gym and then polished them up over brews at Laurelwood. Then that evening, we had a nice dinner, went to a birthday/new years party, and then went to bed at 1am... only to get up three and a half hours later, bags packed, snowboards waxed, coffee hot and snowshoes ready to roll.

What follows are photos from the first sunrise of 2011 on Mt. Hood, which I believe, tell the story better than I ever could. Seriously, I can't think of a better way to bring in the New Years than with friends and enjoying the great outdoors... reasons like this is why I love living in Oregon.

Enjoy, and happy new year to you and your loved ones - I hope you made it special!

Best wishes in 2011!