Family Snow Day 2016 - Frog Lake, Oregon

After not being able to host our annual family snow day last year due to a lack of snow, we were happy to continue with our tradition this weekend. We had eighteen of us this year with family from San Diego, CA and Reno, NV joining us. The weather was nearly perfect with mostly cloudy skies and a temperature around freezing much of the day.

We arrived first with my parents and sister from Reno and Katie's mom. We loaded up all our gear into two gear sleds and hauled it via snowmobile about 1/2 mile up the road from the Frog Lake snopark to our favorite spot. After setting up a tent and wood stove to keep people warm, we started sledding down the nearby hill.

   

Soon the rest of our family arrived: my parents from Portland, my grandpa, my sister and her family, my aunt and her kids, and another cousin. My 87 year old grandpa seemed to have the most fun! He went sledding time and time again more than anyone else. Riding down backwards and crashing didn't slow him down a bit.

   

I spent much of the day taking people for short snowmobile rides. It was fun to share one of my favorite hobbies with family who ordinarily don't spend much time in the snow. Our day came to a close around 2 PM after it stated to snow/rain which it was forecast to do. Everyone helped clean up and soon we were all headed back home. We have lots of fun memories to get us by until next year.

2015/16 Mileage

Trip: 16 miles
Season: 364 miles
Total Days: 14

Gear List

2014 Polaris 800 Pro RMK Snowmobile
2013 Polaris 800 Switchback Assault Snowmobile
Up North Technologies PRO SERIES Snowmobile Cargo Rack
P-700-B Low Profile Powder Keg
Pelican Snow Trek Sport 75 Utility Sled
Otter Pro Magnum utility sled
Costco Aluminum Instant 10' x 10' Canopy with Sidewalls
Kni-Co Alaskan Jr Camp Wood Stove
HMK Summit V16 Pack
GMAX GM76X Helmet
Smith Phenom Turbo Fan Goggles
Columbia Men’s Bugaboot Plus III Titanium Omni-Heat Boots
HMK Hustler 2 Snowmobile Pants
Columbia Titanium Hightail II Softshell Jacket
HMK Cascade Snowmobile Jacket
Columbia Powerfly Down Puff Jacket
Head Digital Sport Liner Gloves
Outdoor Research Ambit Gloves
Columbia Men's Fast Trek Fleece Hat
Balaclava
HighGear ATF8 Altimeter
Petzl TIKKA XP 2 Headlamp
Olympus Tough TG-1 Camera
Sony HDR-AS200V ActionCam
Lifeline Aluminum Sport Utility Snow Shovel
Fiskars POWER TOOTH Softgrip 10" Folding Saw
First Aid Kit
SPOT Gen3
Samsung Galaxy S6 Active w/BackCountry Navigator
Suunto A-10 Compass