I woke up on April 6, also known as Montana Day; 406; the area code for the whole state. Most states can not have a day based on their area code. Most states have more than one area code. I suppose part of North Carolina could celebrate on September 19 and part of North Carolina could celebrate on March the 36th. Here in Montana, the whole state has reason to pop another beer and celebrate on April 6th.

It was a Saturday as well. And Skiesta at Lost Trail Powder Mountain. And there was 5 inches of new snow. And they had been closed on Thursday and Friday due to rain. So Saturday April 6th was like Powder Thursday on a Saturday. All the signs were saying go snowboarding.

The Skiesta theme this year was Hippies and Cowboys, costumes were encouraged. We arrived early for first tracks, as we always do. The parking lot was already filling up. Part of the filling up fast parking lot was because a large chunk of the parking was roped off for the band stand, the bon fire and the food trucks.

You knew it was a special day because the two parking lot boys were the owner, Scott and a grey bearded balding man we’d never seen before. The parking was efficient and spacious. Way better than when the morning stoners are in charge of parking. The ticket window had not yet opened and we stood in line watching the people in their tie dyed shirts and cowboy hats and JEANS. These people are serious. Skiing in jeans for the party theme. And beer for breakfast seemed to be another theme.

The first few runs of the day were amazingly great. Just enough snow to cover up the weird ass rained on sun baked base. At least for the first couple of hours any way. Thunder run top to bottom on April 6! And everyone was in a great mood. It was the last weekend for the Lost Trail employees who had smiles all around.

We stopped for an early lunch at the lodge before treking over to chair four to check out the SacJac trees.

There was a long line by the time we got to chair four. It was getting icy. There were too many people congregating where you dismount from chair four. The dismount was icy. It’s already a tricky dismount on a good day. Steep. Short. I’ve been know to take out the safety fencing before. I was getting grumpy. It was time for me to be done. It’s not easy getting back to the lodge from chair four especially when everything is turning icy, especially on a snow board where you rely on a constant decent. I chose to walk from chair three to the car instead of taking chair five and the rope tow. I looked back and there were many people following my lead.

Back at the lodge the party had started. The music was blasting. People were dancing. It was warm enough to be outside. By the time Brett got back to the lodge people were climbing Charlie Brown to get in line for the pond skim.

Each year for Skiesta the Lost Trail Crew dig a pool in the snow, maybe three to four feet deep and 60 feet long and 10 feet wide. They line the pool with plastic and then the local fire departments bring up their water tenders and fill up the pool. It takes a lot of water. The fire trucks make several trips back down the mountain to fill up their tanks out of a local creek and back up the mountain to add it to the pond skim pool. All of the snow that is removed for the pool is turned into snow bleachers for the crowd. Just before the start of the event the crew had to break up the ice that had formed on the surface of the water and remove it.

The crowd quickly filled in the snow bleachers and lined up on along the roped off area to watch. The brave people were at the end where the skiers/snowboarders would have to come to an immediate stop after successfully skimming the pond, instead of wiping out the crowd. There was also a huge possibility of the crowd being splashed or drenched in waves of water.

There were two ski patrol people positioned on each side of the pool to rescue those who wrecked instead of skimming across the pond. The rescue people each had 8 foot long 2 x 2 poles with a dowel through one end for people to hang on to while being pulled out. In years past there was a rescue person wearing fishing waders to come in and get you and skis and hat and any other clothes that had been removed in the wreckage. This year you were given a pole to grab onto. On the pole was hand written in a black sharpie marker “pond skim rescue”. Just in case someone though they were going to use the pole for some other use.

You have to come full speed down Charlie Brown to make it across the pond. Slowing down or turning and you will not make it. Most people don’t. A few make it across and do a flip at the end as they land on the solid snow and the crowd goes wild. It is entertaining. Some people go through backwards, some people do a flip first, some people wear all of their ski gear and some people wear their bathing suits. We left before the end as the wind started to pick up and we were getting cold. The party continued with a bon fire and four bands throughout the rest of the day and night.

But I chose to come home and read. I’m reading this great novel that I want to recommend to you. “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr the author of “All the Light We Cannot See” which is also a Wild About Books recommended book. I started “Cloud Cuckoo Land” as a sample on my kindle since I loved “All the Litght We Cannot See”. But Doerr’s new novel starts as a futuristic sci-fi which is not a genre I lean towards even slightly. I moved on to other books. But then Carol told me she enjoyed “Cloud Cuckoo Land” and then another bookclub member recommended it at the March meeting. I found it at the library and gave it another try. Glad I did. This is really an incredible and smart novel. It does bounce around a lot, not a ‘beach book’. If you already read “Sun House” or “The Over Story” you are in the right mindset for reading “Cloud Cuckoo Land”. Don’t worry it’s all going to come together just keep reading as you follow the characters from modern day to 1430 Constantinople to a future space traveling commune. It is an amazing journey. I’m about half way through and it the story keeps getting better. I highly recommend “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Anthony Doerr.

More great book recommendations and adventures can be found at Wild About Books.