Sunday, October 21, 2007

Barbarian Night at Mt. Ashland

Ah, the middle of the ski season approaches, which is celebrated in Southern Oregon by what is legally considered a fund raiser. Bavarian Night is an annual event at Mt. Ashland where a few people buy raffle tickets and the ski patrol gets to buy a new wool hat. The true purpose of the event is to throw a party and attract OLCC officers to keep people from drinking in the parking lot. So how do we avoid them? Go ride! A chairlift ride is just long enough to drink a nice beer and fill up the trash can atop the mountain, and night skiing is the perfect setting to pee in the woods.

We always stop by the car every few runs to fill up our mugs and stomachs, then hit the slopes again. When 8 o'clock rolls around, the ski patrol is crazy enough to trust everyone with emergency torches duct taped to our poles, so the result is a couple hundred drunk snowsports enthusiasts skiing a steep, icy run in the dark while carrying fire. They call it a "torchlight parade."

The parade is customarily followed by a great fireworks display, lots of cheering, and a little more dancing before the bar closes down for the night and people are herded outside by their designated drivers.

This event has a tendency to be very epic. In the past, Dan has spent the night hidden the the Mt. Ashland lodge, curled up in the All-Trac, and on his front porch. Keep posted for updates on this year's mistakes!

2 comments:

travis said...

I can't believe it is less then a week away!

Unknown said...

If you are adventurous enough to enjoy night skiing, then this could be a best bet for you. You can just buy raffle tickets and team up with all those fun lovers.