Author: klgreaser

year in review

January

1 – Ski-N The New Year at Blewett Pass with Daryl, Mike, and Riley
4 – Ice Skating with Daryl, Mike, Fisher, Ike, and Elsie. So much fun!
10 – 10th Anniversary <3
11 – I started seeing a therapist! I’m so proud of myself for telling myself to do it and then actually following through.
13 – First day of rehearsal (Stage Manager) for Sparkle Fairy’s School for Formerly Vile Villains.

February

3 – Hike to Source Lake with Daryl and Riley. So much snow!
4 – The beginning of Snomagedon in Seattle. I LOVED it!
7 – Daryl and I see Sleeping Beauty at Pacific Northwest Ballet
16 – Opening for Sparkle Fairy’s School for Formerly Vile Villains at SecondStory Rep!
23 – Daryl and I go night skiing at Snoqualmie. So much fun!

March

4 – We go night skiing again. Less fun. (There are no *bad* days on skis, simply *less fun* days on skis)
8 – I got my very first passport!
9 – Sparkle Fairy’s School for Formerly Vile Villains closes
15 – Start tech as Light Board Op (and Programmer) for We Will Not Be Silent
16 – I answered a call for Technical Director and Lighting Designer for a performance at Velocity Dance Center and it was for my friend Emily’s show Decision Fatigue! So happy to be designing lights for dance again, especially for a friend!
17 – Daryl and I go backcountry skiing at Blewett Pass with Danielle and Riley.
22 – Opening night for We Will Not Be Silent at Taproot Theatre Company

April

6 – My last night at We Will Not Be Silent
11-25 – Iceland for our Honeymoon! (I promise one day there will be more stories and photos from the trip!)
- We skied at two areas, went backcountry skiing in a fjord, and went on a cat ski trip!
- We soaked in two city pools, one natural hot spring, and at Myvatn Mineral Baths
- We flew to the Arctic Circle in a Twin Otter and hiked to the sphere at the magnetic line of the circle

May

4-5 – I visit Astoria
7 – Start tech as Light Board Op and Programmer for Kim’s Convenience
12 – Backcountry ski at Crystal with Daryl, Danielle, Julie, and Riley
17 – Opening night for Kim’s Convenience at Taproot Theatre Company.

June

1-2 – Brandi Carlile at the Gorge with Annie! My first Gorge show! So incredible.
4 – Daryl’s birthday! We ski at Naches Peak
20 – We got to see Ask Me Another record an episode at the Moore
22 – Closing night for Kim’s Convenience
26 – I start working at the Taproot Costume Shop
27 – Happy 32nd Birthday to me! We start our ballroom class that fits perfectly between my show closing and us leaving for Montana.
28 – I drive down to Portland for a friends wedding. Perfectly gorgeous day!

July

12-14 – Annual McIver Float with Daryl, Chris & Amy, Jess & Jason, and friends
15 – The first of five weeks of Stage Managing one-week acting camps at Taproot
21 – Grotto cave hunting trip near Mt. Baker.

August

8 – My friend Hannah from UM was in town, so we got coffee. Always so happy to see friends!
10-11 – I5SAFC Weekend in Cottage Grove
17-18 – Fisher Lake backpacking trip with Daryl, Johnny, Grand Paw, and Riley
21 – Almost exactly two years from my first day (8/30/17), I quit my coffee job to pursue theatre full time!
24-9/3 – Montana!
- 24 – Drive to Missoula. Amy and Sam get married! River City Roots Fest that night.
- 25 – Drive to Benchmark
- 26 – Hike into Scapegoat
- 27 – Caving! Daryl leads Amy, Kai, Brendan, and me on a loop tour
- 28 – I take a camp day with Amy, Mike, and Bob
- 29 – Kai and I join Galen on his survey trip to the Northwest Passage (the passage containing the connection from Greek Fork Falls Cave to Kathy’s Icebox Cave)
- 30 – Galen, Kai, and I finished the survey! The historic through trip I was on in 2015 is now officially surveyed!
- 31 – Camp day with Daryl, Brian, Adam, Caitlin, Amy, Bob, and Mike. That night we had a perfect final night fire and we saw the Northern Lights!

September

8/24-9/3 – Montana
- 1 – Hike out of Scapegoat
- 2 – Recover in Missoula with both of Daryl’s brothers, Mike and Kevin
- 3 – Drive home to Seattle
6 – See a recording of Live Wire with Luke Burbank at the Neptune
12-18 – Clare and Patrick visit Seattle! We got dinner one of their first nights in town and then they couch surfed here for a couple days before heading back to NYC.
16 – First rehearsal (Stage Manager) for WHITE
21 – Grotto trip up to Cave Ridge
25 – While I was in Scapegoat I did field recording for my favorite podcast. Episode 127: Shining a Light on Caving eeee!

October

13 – Daryl and I go flying!
18 – Opening night for Theatre22’s WHITE at 12th Avenue Arts
22 – Sara Bareilles concert! I bought tickets the moment we were back from Iceland and found out a week later that I had a performance that night. Magic was worked and we were able to go! She has been one of my favorite artists for over a decade and I finally got to see her in concert.

November

3 – My friend Megan from school was in town so we got brunch! As I was walking from my car to the restaurant I realized it was just up the block from my first coffee job in Seattle (which is just around the corner from where my Grandma grew up!).
9 – Closing night for WHITE
14-17 – Lighting Designer and Stage Manager for Occurrence #8 at Spectrum Dance Theater(!!!)
26 – Start Stage Managing the Spectrum Dance Theater performances at the Frye Art Museum
28-12/1 – Papbougie FriendsCavegiving with Cascade Grotto and Northern Rocky Mountain Grotto

December

14-15 – Stage Manage the NWAA ChristmasSounds concert at Highline Performing Arts Center
15 – See Cabaret with Amy at 12th Avenue Arts
17 – Daryl, Riley, and I go Christmas Tree Hunting
18 – Annie and I go downtown to see the Gingerbread Houses. I have wanted to see them since high school!
19 – Daryl and I take Mike to see The Nutcracker at Pacific Northwest Ballet
21-22 – I5SAFC weekend at Edgefield. We had hoped to ski, but have also all decided we’re too old to ski in the rain.
24-25 – Christmas in Astoria with my parents and my Grandma
26 – Start rehearsals (Stage Manager) for Steel Magnolias

●2018●2017●2016●2015●2014●2013●2012●2011●2010●2009●

Adventures: Cave Hunting

At the end of June we took a Grotto trip to look for a cave up near Mt. Baker. There were five of us, plus our ever present Grotto Dog.

We hiked down to a creek and followed it for a bit before bushwhacking our way up the drainage again. Definitely a day filled with ups and downs (and Devil’s Club).

I recently bought my first Kula Cloth and this way my first trip using it. I love it! A piece of gear I didn’t know I needed and now I can’t imagine spending time outside without it.

While Daryl and I didn’t make it up to the cave, others on the trip (including Riley) did. (Thankfully, caves don’t tend to move, so it’ll be there when we come back.)

Today’s adventure took place on land stolen from the Nlaka’pamux, Skagit, Puget Sound Salish, and Nooksack.

adventures skiing

Adventures: D’s Birthday Ski

Post author By klgreaser
Post date September 9, 2019
No Comments on Adventures: D’s Birthday Ski

The snow seemed to be melting fast at the beginning of June, so we knew we had to take advantage of Daryl’s birthday being gorgeous and get to the snow as soon as possible. Before I left coffee job D asked if I wanted to head to Chinook Pass for an evening ski. My answer was of course “ABSOLUTELY!” He got all our stuff together (our gear room has gotten more organized over the years, though no where near as beautifully as this one featured in the summer Moutaineer magazine) and we were able to head south moments after I got home from work.

We’ve been to Naches Pass several times to ski, but this time we tried a slightly different route up (really, the route changes all season long as the snow melts out). This slope continued like this for a while, so when I got up to Daryl and Riley, we took our skis off and continued hoofing it up.

One of my favorite views of my favorite mountain.

Riley is getting better and better at being a ski deg on every trip. He waited (fairly) patiently here while we switched over to ski mode, then he ran ran ran to beat us both down the hill.

No photos from the ski down, aside from this fun down climb. We hooped and hollered our way down the snow, as usual, and Daryl skied all the way back to the car (I lost momentum a couple yards short).

Today’s adventure took place on land stolen from the Yakama.

adventures skiing

Adventures: Backcountry at Crystal

Post author By klgreaser
Post date August 4, 2019
No Comments on Adventures: Backcountry at Crystal

Back in May, our friend Danielle invited us to go backcountry skiing at Crystal Mountain. It was my first time at Crystal and I’m excited to explore more of the terrain once the snow starts to fly again.

Such a gorgeous day to be skiing up hill! Not too hot, but warm enough to not need extra layers.

We skinned up to the Summit House and took a nice break on the patio. We looked like lizards, splayed out on the patio, soaking up the sun. A perfect picnic spot!

Skiing down required a bit of navigating thru narrow patched of connected snow. When I got to the bottom of this, I looked up and couldn’t believe it. I am so proud of how much more confident I am on skis than I used to be. Yes, getting down this took me long than it took everyone else on the trip, but years ago it wouldn’t taken me at least an hour – and I definitely would’ve cried.

Tahoma from the back patio at the top of Crystal

Today’s adventure took place on land stolen from the Duwamish and Puget Sound Salish.

adventures hiking Iceland skiing

Adventures: Iceland

At SeaTac getting ready to fly to Iceland!

Last month Daryl and I went on our honeymoon – to Iceland! It was so incredible. Definitely a dream trip. We’re working on a series of posts about our trip, but here’s some photos!

On the rim of Hverfjall Crater near Lake Myvatn

Getting ready to fly to the Arctic Circle in a Twin Otter

Electric motorcycle pedicab ride through Siglufjörður

Tags Iceland, skiing in Iceland

adventures skiing

Adventures: Backcountry at Blewett Pass

Post author By klgreaser
Post date May 17, 2019
No Comments on Adventures: Backcountry at Blewett Pass

A week after Sparkle Fairy closed, I started tech for We Will Not Be Silent at Taproot Theatre. I had St. Patrick’s Day off from rehearsal, so we took advantage and hit the snow.

We met Danielle at the Bellevue Park n Ride, then headed to Blewett Pass, about 2 hours east of Seattle. We got to the parking lot, watched a snowmobile fall off a truck ramp, then got our gear together to head up.

There was a couple with a dog we met up with from time to time on our way up. Riley and their pup loved running and playing in the snow together!

We skied up to just below Diamond Head before taking a break and heading down. It was so beautiful!

Riley always steals first descent lines and loves to race Daryl down the mountain. He’s such a great deg.

This trip was definitely Type 2 Fun for me. I struggled on the last bit going up, with snow sticking to my skins, leaving me unable to find purchase on a steep section in the trees. I was pretty miserable for a while. Once we started heading down, and especially once we got to mellow terrain lower down, I started having fun again. Never a bad day on skis – but this was definitely not immediate fun.

Today’s adventure took place on land stolen from the Yakama and Wenatchi.

adventures skiing

Adventures: Snoqualmie Night Skiing

Post author By klgreaser
Post date May 13, 2019
No Comments on Adventures: Snoqualmie Night Skiing

In February I stage managed Sparkle Fairy’s School for Formerly Vile Villains at SecondStory Rep. I had matinees, which opened up evenings for us to ski at Snoqualmie Pass. I was working in Redmond, so Daryl and I would meet at the Bellevue Park n Ride, then head up the hill.

We first went night skiing on February 23rd and the snow was better than we expected. Not super icy, some powder pockets hiding on the edges. We had a blast!

Because we had such a great time, we decided to go again on March 4th. The snow was icy and it was windy. We skied three runs, then stopped at the bar to get a beer and some food. Since we only paid $25 for our tickets, we decided less than $10 a run was good enough for us and decided to call it a night.

This Seattle classic is conveniently located between most adventures and our house. Unloading the vehicle and taking a shower is always best done after two plain cheeseburgers and a strawberry shake.

Today’s adventure took place on land stolen from the Duwamish, Tulalip, and Puget Sound Salish.

adventures hiking

Adventures: February Hike to Source Lake

Post author By klgreaser
Post date May 13, 2019
No Comments on Adventures: February Hike to Source Lake

Back in February Daryl, Riley, and I took a snowy hike out to Source Lake.

We passed a couple groups: two families closer to the trailhead, a group of four about halfway in, and a couple with skis. It was so peaceful out. I love how quiet hiking in the snow is.

Waiting to May to write a post about a hike in February is not ideal. I didn’t take any notes about the hike, so all those mental notes I made have vanished.

My very favorite winter hike beer.

We saw a parent and kid skiing down to the lake. It was fun to watch them pick their lines down.

I love hiking with our little family. <3

Today’s adventure took place on land stolen from the Snoqualmie, Tulalip, Duwamish, and Puget Sound Salish.

Tags Source Lake, Washington, winter hike

year in review

Year in Review 2018

January

10 – Get married at Seattle City Hall on our 9th anniversary
14 – Wedding Day at McMenamins Edgefield!
16 – Start teaching ballet at UW Rec Center
29 – Wizard of Oz at Nathan Hale High School rehearsals start
30 – Get drinks with Kayleigh, a coworker of Daryl’s from Sacramento

February

8 – Swan Lake at Pacific Northwest Ballet
10 – Hike Little Si
12 – Sell Sue Ann, my 1991 Subaru Legacy with 312,619 miles. I bought her in 2008 for $2000 (with insurance money from when Rosie was totaled) and sold her in 2018 for $900. Not bad!
28 – Bought new skis with money from selling Sue Ann!

March

3 – Jessie and Darren’s wedding! It was so wonderful for us to get to spend time with Arina, Emily, Jesus, and Frank – unlike when we saw them in January at our wedding.
4 – Snoqualmie Pass was closed and we got turned back to Ellensburg. In all the years I’ve been traveling over the pass, I have never been turned around before!
7 – Hamilton! I still can’t believe we got to see it!
13 – Tech Rehearsals for Crowns at Taproot Theatre start
18 – Clare has a 12 hour layover in Seattle!
23 – Crowns opens
26 – Finish buying my new ski set up: ski boots, bindings, and ski crampons
29 – Cascade Grotto Pub Night at Floating Bridge Brewing
30 – Drive to Astoria. Drinks with Tammy!
31 – Mama and I drive to Roseburg for my Aunt Karen’s Celebration of Life.

April

10 – Danielle and Greg took us out to Stateside as a wedding present. So good!
22 – Daryl, Johnny, Danielle, and I catch the last day at Steven’s Pass for their Pond Skim. The first day on my new skis!

May

3 – Wizard of Oz opens
5 – Vertical practice for the Grotto at Ravenna Bridge
6 – Daryl and I catch closing weekend of Mt. Hood Meadows with Chandler
12-13 – North Cascades Recon trip
19-20 – North Cascades ski trip
22 – Sub as LBO for Lady Windermere’s Fan at Taproot Theatre
26-28 – Eugene with the Greaser-McDaniel Clan

June

1 – We moved into our new place! Riley gets a yard!
4 – Daryl’s birthday!
8-11 – Papoose Cave with 19 people from 6 grottos!
12-15 – I got to be the Tech Advisor for the Center School’s student written play festival with Seattle Public Theater
24 – June Birth Month Ski Trip: Chinook Pass
27 – My 31st Birthday! We saw West Side Story on the big screen!
30 – We got to spend the day with Mike, Saville, and the kids at the Pacific Science Center. I love our family.

July

7-8 – Astoria Weekend with Sydoney! We got coffee at 3 Cups, lunch at T. Pauls, coffee at Astoria Coffee House, climbed to the top of the Column, snagged tickets to a “Sneek” Peek of Shanghaied in Astoria, then we camped at the Saddle Mountain trail head and summited the next day. Talk about a perfect weekend!
9-12 – I spent the week as Technical Director and Lighting Designer for SPT’s summer camp production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
14-15 – McIver Float with the Beechaus!
20-Aug 5 – Montana
- 21-22 – Camp with Tom and his kids at Benchmark
- 23-24 – Benchmark. Float the creek between the campground and the airport
- 25-27 – Scapegoat
- 30-Aug 3 – NSS Convention

August

4 – Mike’s birthday float. We floated the confluence of the Blackfoot and the Clark Fork rivers!
7-10 – Lighting Designer for Charlotte’s Web at Taproot’s Summer Acting Studio
11 – Jack White concert with the Beechaus
16 – Skype date with Emily and Arina!
17 – HanaSara was in town for the shortest amount of time, but I managed to steal her for breakfast
19 – Becky and I had planned on going hiking, but smokey skies are gross. Brunch instead!
25-26 – Clear Lake with the Beechaus. The lake was practically gone and it was chilly, but we all had so much fun. Daryl and I got to be in charge of breakfast!
26 – On the way home from Clear Lake we stopped by Spencer’s brewery, 54’40’
27 – LBO for Sandbox Radio Live at SPT

September

14-16 – 56 hours in New York City!
- 15 – I got brunch with Mark, an online friend from the days of sondheim.com message boards in high school. Then I got drinks with my high school friends Temple and Jess. And to top the day off, I had dinner with so many UM friends: Emily, Ellie, Clare, and Christopher!
- 16 – Daryl and I got to spend the day wandering around the city!
27 – We saw Program B of the Jerome Robbins Festival at PNB (including The Concert, a ballet I’ve wanted to see for years). It was so good!
29 – Program B was so good that we got tickets to see Program A too!

October

1 – Riley’s 2nd birthday!
11 – We saw the MountainFilm World Tour at the Mountaineers tonight. Lots go great films and a lot of stoke to get outside.
15 – Rehearsals for Taproot Theatre Christmas Touring shows start.
20-21 – Dynamited Cave trip with Cascade Grotto!
27-28 – I made a trip home to see my parents and Grandma. We went through family photos and I learned more about our history here in Seattle.

November

3 – Date night at the Showbox to see Lil’ Smokies!
10-11 – I5 Super Awesome Friends weekend in Hood River! We visited the Western Antique Automobile and Airplane Museum – it is AWESOME!
19 – Rehearsals start for A Charlie Brown Christmas at Taproot
30 – A Charlie Brown Christmas opens

December

6 – Banff Mountain Film Festival at Benaroya Hall
8 – Cascade Grotto Holidays Party!
10-12 – LD The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe for Taproot Acting Studio
14 – Betsey got new boots (Cooper CS5s)
16 – After months of trying to have a work get together, we finally have a Greenwood Diva holiday party
20 – The Nutcracker at PNB
24-25 – We spend Christmas in Astoria. Christmas Eve at my parents with my Grandma and cousin, then Christmas Day at our favorite beach.
31-Jan 1 – Ski-N The New Year with Mike at Blewett Pass

●2017●2016●2015●2014●2013●2012●2011●2010●2009●

adventures National Parks skiing

North Cascades Ski – May 20, 2018

Post author By klgreaser
Post date June 29, 2018
No Comments on North Cascades Ski – May 20, 2018

A week after our recon trip to the North Cascades, we went back and got some real skiing in.

We drove up on Saturday and hiked our backpacks and gear into the woods to set up camp. We just got a brand new tent (a Big Agnes Copper Spur HV UL2) and this was it’s inaugural trip out. While hanging out in camp we heard an avalanche!

We got up on Sunday, secured camp, took our food to the car, and then started up hill. This was our first real backcountry trip in our new gear and it felt really good to be out using it.

While skinning through the woods we heard two more avalanches! We stay away from avalanche terrain whenever we’re in the mountains, but it was a good reminder to be aware of your surroundings.

After traversing across some pretty steep slopes for a bit, my knee had had it. We skinned up to a rock I could hang out on, then Daryl and Riley headed up hill a bit longer.

I took a mid-mountain nap and woke up feeling great. I love being in the mountains so much. The North Cascades is such wild nature. Mountains are so beautiful, so scary, so wild. I never mind when Daryl wants to ski a longer line than me, because I get to just sit in be.