Joseph, OR

"Horizontal rain" and "white out" conditions always seemed like gross exaggerations to me, but I am here to testify- they exist in literal form. We thought we'd ski into a backcountry hut in these conditions, but luckily the drive made us realize this was a foolish endeavor- there was a point where we couldn't even tell whether or not we were on the road. A red clad Banjo danced on foot along the ice in front of us as we slowly creeped the car down the road- truly having nothing but that red jacket to give us bearing as to where to go. The rest of the day was spent drinking wine, playing poker, and watching movies, and no one complained one bit as we listened to the wind rattle the lodge. the following day we tried again, and made it much further, but the unplowed road and accumulated snow thwarted our efforts once again. This time, however, we were far enough back that after we mucked about with digging cars out and figuring out chains, we actually got to strap on skis and glide out into that fresh white powdery snow. We never did make it to the hut, but it was a good adventure anyway.