Skiing - Last Hurrah

On a 60 degree night, the snow was melting fast. All runs except Velvet were closed. The U-Me Double was the only lift running. Ski Patrol was talking about the season at the bottom of the hill.

But The Johnsons were still skiing. Around 8:30pm RJ's binding came off  (again) after some pond skimming. Around 8:40pm we packed it in. There might have been one other person ... but for the sake of this blog ... let's say we were the last ones skiing during the 2021-2022 ski season.

Skiing in jeans?!?

Hockey Champs

The green team won a close game versus white to secure the the 10 and under rooftop hockey league (RHL) championship.

 

Pre-game photo - RJ is the super-intense looking guy

 

RJ is the one standing in front of the coach

 

I only took one video ... I was busy talking to Julia, switching spots between Mom and Granddad, and biting my nails.

 

Post Game Celebration

Not sure who was more excited - kids or parents

Skiing with the Kovaceviches

Milo, Summer, and Poppy came for a short visit. We all enjoyed some slush skiing and an extravagant frozen pizza dinner.

This demonstrates why you need the GoPro version with a screen so you can frame your video.  

 

The girls enjoyed a bit of skiing ... but had a lot more fun just hanging out. Ava from the neighborhood joined the fun!

Girls Playing the Detective Game

 

Lawn Tractor Head Gasket - Part 3

White smoke was pouring out of our 2012 John Deere Eztrak Z225 lawn tractor ... again. The good news is that the last head gasket replacement was in April 2017 ... so I got 5 years out of this one!

The first blown head gasket occurred 3 years and 9 months into ownership ... the second blown gasket was in April 2017 ... no wonder Briggs and Stratton went bankrupt.

Taking the back off requires some banging and swearing

 

Reference Material

This post documents information that I will probably need again. Hopefully not next year.

Engine: Briggs and Stratton Intek 31P777  

Torque pattern (220 inch pounds)

 

Other info needed to put the engine back together:

• Rocker cover bolts (4) torque: 45 inch pounds
• Intake valve clearance 0.003 - 0.005 in (bottom, aluminum rod)
• Exhaust valve clearance 0.005 - 0.007 in (bottom, steel rod)

Julia Snowboarding

Friends were not able to join us on the last snow weekend of the year because of the 4th grade flu. We still went to Whitetail and had a good time skiing, snowboarding, hanging out with Ava/Rocco/others, and socializing with Heather/Mark and company.

Julia did some snowboarding. I did the best I could with my phone -- since I left the GoPro in McLean.

At the end of the video I was hit by a beginner skier. After 20 runs of blues, blacks, and jumps ... my first accident was on a green trail :-).

Back Yard Fire Pit

Losing the big pine tree in the back yard was a bummer. Losing our hiding place for junk wood and other miscellaneous things was a bigger bummer.

A trip to the dump got rid of a lot of the mess ... but since they charge by weight, we decided to burn some of the rotting wood and pine branches.

The wobbly fire pit and the crummy wood worked out quite well for smores!

Ski Weekend at Whitetail

Team Johnson hit the slopes. Day 1 was nice and warm, Day 2 was chilly with new snowmaking. Day 3 was perfect conditions, but it was senior citizen day ... 50 and over only.

Julia on Top of Snow Reserve

 

Top of Expert's Choice Quad

 

Senior Citizen Day, Bold Decision

 

Don't worry, that sign didn't stop me.

Here we are on Day 1 trying to figure out the user interface on the GoPro.

 

Due to user error, we only got one ski run on video.