Twenty semi-alert skiers met in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday,
January 27, 2001 in Naperville to begin the first IHSC trip of the
season. With everyone present and accounted for, we were ready to
roll -- at least to the nearest gas station to let a few people
fill up their tanks!

With Brian Gough leading the caravan and the help of TalkAbouts
and cell phones, we synchronized a toll plaza hook-up with Alex
Ramos at the Illinois border and arrived on schedule at Cascade
Mountain without losing anyone.  Five other people met us at the
resort including Karen Levang who got a jumpstart on the day. Most
people were off on the slopes or in lessons right away, but I took
the opportunity to restart my day (so I'm not an early morning
person).

Ski conditions were decent for the Midwest and the lines weren't
bad, but most people were finished skiing by 3:30.  Unfortunately,
Karen injured her knee and was unable to ski the next day.  Mary
Schonder, Mike Anderson, and Irma Terry headed home and the rest
of us headed to the Best Western in Portage.  After a short hot
tub soak and group dinner, most people called it a night because
of the early start we got.

Super Bowl Sunday turned out to be a great day to ski at Devil's
Head.  The slopes were empty, so we all got lots of runs in.
Maureen Hilado, Vivian Dickson, Ann Hutson and Owen Egizio joined
us for the day.  Some (including me) left early to get home in time
to catch the game.

Boner awards went to 

- Karen Levang for accidentally setting her alarm clock an hour
  ahead, resulting in being the first one at Cascade and then being
  the first one to finish skiing due to injury!
- Howard Hooper for skiing into Alex getting off the lift.  A repeat
  performance from last year's Whistler trip!
- Stockade restaurant for bumping back our reservation then running out of
  prime rib and ribs.
- Kathy Stewart for promising continental breakfast and the hotel
  for changing their policy.
- Kathy Stewart for giving everyone directions to Devil's Head only
  to get lost herself.
- Len & Julie Somogyi for being outskied by their 7 year old daughter
  on her second day on skis.
- Pete for losing a check (yes, we found it later).

In all, 32 people participated in all or part of the weekend, and
many said they would return next year.

Kathy Stewart