Day One
The past few days leading up to this trip has our group very excited as there has been 18 inches of new snow. We arrived early to the mountain and decided to try out snow tubing at a local resort before we headed off to our afternoon adventure. With bright color tubes in hand, we headed to the top of the hill. With various runs to choose from, we felt like we were five years old again. Everyone was laughing and smiling. After several hours of “playing” we grabbed some lunch and met our guides at 8,500 feet in the San Bernardino Mountains for zip lining. We zipped through tree tops of the snow covered pines at speeds in excess of 40 mph. At the end of the day we check into our cabin and unloaded our gear and sat down to a family style dinner of chicken and vegetables. We sat around the table laughing about the day and sharing about how we overcame different fears and anxieties.
I used to drink while camping. We’d played games and did other things to stay active during the night.
Timothy C.
Day Two
We were at the slopes right as the lifts opened. We had 4 snowboarders and 4 skiers. Two members of our group headed off to their first boarding lesson and we all knew they would be coming back with bumps and bruises. We spent the day carving our way down the numerous slopes of Bear Mountain. After spending the whole day on the slopes, we headed home and settled in to make homemade pizzas. We sat around our table and shared about our wipeouts and jumps and as the evening concluded we did an experiential activity that allowed space for group therapy, tears, and positive feedback from the group. Of course we closed the night with SMORES.
Day Three
We got to the slopes a little later this morning as most of us were moving a wee bit slower as we were sore from yesterday. We spent the day at Snow Summit tackling slopes with names like: The Wall, Miracle Mile, and Mountain Chute. Once our day winded down we headed back to the house for a quick change and ventured into Big Bear Village for a nice sit down steak dinner followed by a fun game of “Spoons” at the cabin.
Day Four
We woke up early and watched the sun rise over the mountain tops as we packed up the house. We headed back to Snow Summit to squeezing ever last vertical foot out of our lift tickets. We made a quick change and piled into our Adventure Van for the drive down the mountain. We stopped for dinner and shared our experiences of the trip including what our highs and lows were, what personal challenges we overcame, and how we all had a wonderful time. This was a great trip full of action, adventure, speed, crashes, food, bonding, and ultimately fun in recovery.
