Soldier Hollow Tubing

We had such a fun time last year doing tubing at Soldier Hollow that we knew we would need to go again this year. We got to go tonight. It was wild!! The runs had not been groomed in a while, it was cold, and the snow was absolutely icy. There is a spot on the run where they tell you to drag your feet in order to stop, but it was an inadequate point the first several times we went down. 

The first run I did with Cora and Kal and we were able to stop. On the second run, I went down with Eugene and Sharae, with Kal in the middle of the three of us. We were going so fast and we did not stop. We were on the first run, closest to the escalator that takes you to the top of the hill. At the bottom, there were three rows of orange "fencing" to stop you if you don't come to a natural stop, and then a large inflated tube you could run into if the fencing didn't do the trick. We plowed through the three layers of fencing and made a glancing pass of the inflated tube, bouncing off it and plunging over an edge as though headed to the parking lot. Fortunately, the drop was only a few feet and the spot where we landed was flat. We came to a stop in a tangled heap of bodies, tubes, and fencing.  

My first thought was of Kal, a small person in the midst of large bodies. "Kal!" I cried, "are you okay?!"

"That was AWESOME!" was his reply.

Phew!

Several workers appeared at the edge and asked if we were okay as they looked down on us. Immediately, all three of us adults said, "We dragged our feet! We tried to stop!" They kick you off the tubing hill if you crash into the fencing, but we really had tried to stop. We were all relatively uninjured (Sharae had a sore shoulder) and untangled ourselves to go again.

Because the slopes were so icy, for a time they stopped letting groups of any size go down together. Brandt and the big boys were frustrated because you could only go down by yourself which slowed the whole process and meant more time at the top of the hill standing around in the cold. After a bit, they pulled out the snowmobile and groomed the runs. This breaks up the snow and slows the tubes which meant groups could go again. Our last two runs were better, with all the girls going together and then everyone going together. The last time it was so slow we didn't even make it up the ending slope and wound up in a heap in a dip. 

But all in all, it was super fun. Kent rode up with us and then hung out in the lodge. Collin did one run then went to the lodge for hot chocolate. Cora did two then joined them. Lyla did one run then sat in the running car and watched her ipad. It was colder than last year when we went, but still really a great time. 

Here's to winter fun!