A Warm Feeling For Winter Those Who Love Snow, Cold Can Hardly Wait
The feeling creeps like cabin fever: You pray for snow, gulp cold air, madly wait for winter to happen.
“It’s crazy,” said John Gwinn of Spokane, an 18-year-old cradling a used snowboard. “Everyone’s anxious to get to the mountains. I have a month to go and it’s a long wait.”
It’s that time of year when winter can’t get here soon enough for some people. As they pined for snow-capped peaks and frozen lakes, many soothed themselves Saturday by ice skating or splurging at the annual Ski Swap.
The ice arena at Riverfront Park was crowded the day after its opening as dozens whipped around the rink to the music of Pearl Jam.
At the Spokane Interstate Fairgrounds, the 33rd annual Ski Swap is expected to draw about 15,000 people this weekend to shop for the more than 20,000 used items for sale - skis, thick boots, fleece parkas. Proceeds from the event help pay for the Mount Spokane Ski Patrol’s first-aid supplies, patrol training and other needs.
“This kicks off the whole season,” said Seth Fletcher, one of 300 Ski Swap volunteers. He was already dressed up for winter, with a turtleneck and thick red vest.
“It’s a feeding frenzy,” he said. “It’s sort of like the women’s shoe sale at Nordstrom. People are looking for bargains.”
Especially snowboarders, said Gwinn, another volunteer. Shoppers were “elbow-to-elbow” for the first two hours of the sale, he said. They simply grabbed stuff and rushed for the door.
As people browsed through racks of snowboards, they talked about powder and gear, and occasionally about the hype surrounding El Nino, the weather phenomenon that’s supposed to cause flooding along the coast and bring mild, wet weather to the Inland Northwest.
“El Nino is all I’m thinking about,” said 22-year-old Kip Omine. “So if it snows, I want to get a new board.”
“It’s just intense,” said his friend, Andrew Wylie, as the two wandered up and down the aisles. “If we have snow, we might as well be prepared.”
Just as anxious for winter were the skaters at Riverfront Park. It takes about a month to remove the amusement rides and set up the rink.
Sarah Gillen, who teaches skating to preschoolers and their parents, couldn’t wait to hit the ice.
“Getting into the season is fun,” she said, finally in skates and standing in the glistening rink. “I get excited.
“Ever since September, I’ve been wanting to get out here and skate.”
Even Cindy Wittig of Spokane who hasn’t skated in 40 years showed up Saturday. Wittig, who brought her 8-year-old son, Blake, called it a challenging experience.
“It’s hard to control your body,” she said.
“Ice is different from the pavement.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo