Final Days

After skiing Canyons for a day, we decided we would head out of Utah for California! The resort was nice, but with no fresh snow, or any in the extended forecast, we decided to get closer to home. After skiing Canyins and watching the NFL playoff games, we headed north west to Brigham City where we once again found a cozy Walmart Parking lot. We almost, have developed a warm fuzzy feeling for walmart and their hospitality, but not quite. 

The reason for staying in Brigham City was its proximity to the Golden Spike museum. This cool place in history is located north of the Great Salt Lake near Providence, UT. Patrick was reluctant to drive out into the middle of the desert for some historical marker, but after visiting, he was glad he did. It really is amazing to think about the importance of that place and the symbol of a united continent. It allowed for the true development of the west. While the location is anti-climactic, the museum is very interesting. Below is a video from a time lapse Patrick took while on a hike on the old rail bed, to an area called the Big Fill.

After the visit, we headed west and made it all the way across Nevada by evening. We found a cheap ($20!) hotel room in a Casino in Reno and spent the night in style. Our goal for the next day was to ski all the Vail California resorts. Since the snow level was so low, we figured it wasn’t worth spending an entire day at any one resort. With that goal, we set out early and achieved our goal by 1 PM. David boarded the last resort, Kirkwood, shirtless! It was that warm! Pretty surreal for January at Kirkwood…

We then pushed home and made it back to Santa Cruz for dinner. We had a great 3+ week trip as ski bums. Now we will prep the boat for our Mexico adventures! Stay tuned.

After the visit, we headed west and made it all the way across Nevada by evening. We found a cheap ($20!) hotel room in a Casino in Reno and spent the night in style. Our goal for the next day was to ski all the Vail California resorts. Since the snow level was so low, we figured it wasn’t worth spending an entire day at any one resort. With that goal, we set out early and achieved our goal by 1 PM. David boarded the last resort, Kirkwood, shirtless! It was that warm! Pretty surreal for January at Kirkwood…

We then pushed home and made it back to Santa Cruz for dinner. We had a great 3+ week trip as ski bums. Now we will prep the boat for our Mexico adventures! Stay tuned.

Utah!

We drove all day towards Park City but rather than take I-70 we decided to take US Route 40. In particular, we stopped through Steamboat Springs, CO, our Dad’s old stomping grounds. It was cute and a little too ritzy from the ski resort influence but was an interesting experience imagining our father living and working here years earlier. 

As we continued on US 40, we drove through Dinosaur, CO but did not stop because the park was full of snow. It is amazing how empty the west really is. Miles and miles of empty roads with dots on the maps marking towns of a handful of buildings.

Our destination of Canyons resort was reached late in the evening. Little did we know that it was the same weekend as the Sundance Film festival! Yikes! lots of people and cars! So we retreated to a nearby Wal-Mart and spent the night in our cozy camper. 

The next day we got up and hit the slopes, looking forward to boarding in a new state, Utah. Our impressions of the resort are favorable. There was a lot of terrain of varied ability, they just lacked the snow coverage for it to be open. Any southern exposed terrain was closed, with just patchy snow covering bushes. Below is a video from our day. On the plus side, we had a beautiful view from the top of the Wasatch range!

Before we left Denver Patrick got a new toy for his GoPro, a suction cup! Here is a video with a new angle.

Vail and Denver

Well, we are leaving Colorado.

The snow has been great, but the forecast does not have any snow in the picture for 8-10 days.  Rather than hang around skiing the same tracked out snow, we are driving to Park City, UT, to ski new tracked out snow.

The latter part of the week in Vail was filled with fresh snow.  Thankfully our accommodation kept us warm.  We were in the basement of Vail's heated parking garage, so we were protected from the snow and sub-freezing temperatures.  We even had free wifi and power outlets on the top floor in the regional transit center.

On Saturday, the skies cleared and it was a beautiful powder day at Vail.  The conditions were fantastic, with fresh snow and a clear deep blue sky above the powdery white slopes.  The only donwside were the crowds.  Vail had announced 11 inches of fresh powder, so all of Colorado turned up.

When Vail resorts delayed opening one of the mountain sections for Avalanche control, the lines built up.  Soon there were over a thousand people waiting in line.  We decided to ski elsewhere on the mountain, but still encountered 40-60 minute lift lines.

Both of us have become picky about our skiing, and it was a difficult trade off to choose between the good snow and the terrible crowds.

Patrick put the video below together from our day at Vail.   Our friends Lauren and Gabrielle appear a couple of times, illustrating the powder's stopping power.  Thankfully Vail is big enough that the crowds developed at the lift lines instead of on the runs.


Later that Day Patrick went to Denver to pickup a friend from the airport.  David stayed in the mountains with their new friends, hitching a ride back late Sunday.

We spent a few days in Denver enjoying the Mile High City.  In particular, Patrick's friend Elena was visiting her brother who works as the brewer at a microbrewery.  Needless to say, this led to much good beer drinking.

We accompanied the beer with some interesting sausages.  Somehow Coloradans seem to really like weird meat, so David had Cilantro Duck while Patrick had Reindeer sausage. (Poor Rudolph)

We visited the State Capitol, where Patrick was impersonating a hipster.  (Or was it not an imitation?)

Lastly, we'd be remiss if we didn't put a plug in for the Denver BCycle network.  It is a great bicycle sharing system where you can pick up a bicycle at one station and deposit it at another around the city.  And if the bike is checked out less than 30 minutes at a time, it's free!  (Image below from summertime)

We enjoyed biking around despite the temperatures in the 40s.  Below is an example of one of these cool stations.

After a day skiing at Keystone and Breckenridge in the same day, we are taking off today to the west.  On to the slopes at Park City!

Jan 9: Another powder day at Vail!

After a day hiatus from Vail to experience it's sister resort Beaver Creek, we returned to Vail. Overnight it snowed about 5 inches making for an great powder day. Not much to say about it, enjoy the video!

Jan 6: First Day at Vail

Sunday evening we headed over to Vail to try the flagship resort. Driving through a snowstorm while listening to Pink Floyd's Meddle album was quite an experience. We were happy to arrive at the covered Vail garage and seek shelter there.

Got up for first chair and woke up to blue skies. As we ascended the Gondola, it was clear that the snowstorm from last night and previous cold days were going to make for an excellent bluebird powder day.



First run on the front side was less than ideal, as the snow was so cold it was sticky! So we headed to the back bowls for some exposed but awesome powder runs. Got in our first aspen tree skiing too! Then we headed to Blue Sky Basin where we found some fun powder stashes in wind protected areas. Check out the video below for the highlights.

Patrick headed in a little early to finish his OSU grad school apps. Wandering around Vail is like going to an adult's Disneyland. It is a themed village with expensive designer shops and fur outlets. Yuck! We hung around after dinner in the transit center using internet while staying warm. Once it was late enough, we retreated to our "hotel" room. A great day on the mountain!

Day 4: POWDER DAY! at Breck

Wow.

The forecast called for fresh snow overnight and nature didn't disappoint. 

The prior evening was blustery and stormy so we went to hang out at Starbucks.  After getting kicked out at closing time we headed next door to walmart to sleep in the parking lot, despite the stormy conditions, we slept pretty well.

This morning there is plenty of snow even in town.  We get up early today to make sure we catch first chair.  We are some of the first up the mountain, and the conditions are amazing. 6-12 inches of powder and almost untouched.

We just cannot get enough.  We start on the main runs and end up all over the mountain looking for the fluffy white stuff.  We find it everywhere.

A couple of highlights here:


We call it a day in the mid afternoon and head for a beer.  What a FANTASTIC day.  This is what we came out here for.

Day 3: New Year's Day and First Powder Day

Happy New Year's! We are excited for the possibilities that exist for us in the coming year. 2013 was a tough year for us and we can't wait for what 2014 will bring us. What better way to start out than 6"+  of fresh powder overnight?

Today was our best day yet boarding. We got first chair and first tracks down main runs. Once tracked out, we headed to the trees for some epic weaving and winding (and crashing!). Check out the video!


We met up with our new found friends for lunch, having left them sleeping to catch first chair. After just over a half day, we called it and hit up a coffee shop for recharging. Tree boarding is hard work!

Grabbed dinner at a grungy pizza place and headed back to our friends' cabin for some cribbage. Patrick passed out during the game, having stayed up the night before to celebrate the New Year. All in all our best day boarding yet, and our exhaustion was proof!

Day 2 -- New year's eve on the slopes - Breck: 10,600ft by 11am, then crowded out

Today we awake in a parking lot in Breckenridge.  It is still dark and we quickly get moving and head into town to look for breakfast.

After filling up we head over to the resort, parking near a gondola station.  We make our way up the mountain heading towards peak 6.  Peak 6 is a new addition to Breckenridge adding a bunch of terrain.  And Peak 6 is good enough terrain that we have to wait extra for them to open it. 

We listen to the WhaTHOOMP of mortar rounds, waiting for the ski patrol to sign off on the avalanche risk.  Finally the lift opens and we head up to the top.  We have a few nice runs before the blustery winds blow all the snow off the top and we head to another part of the mountain.


It is 11am and we want to try the other side of the resort.   When we make our way down we find ridiculously long lift lines.  We later have it confirmed that the single skiier wait to get on the lift is 30 min.  Instead, we call it a day and head into town to find some internet and coffee.

Later we head to a brewpub for a dinner and to hang out til new years.  But after a few games of disgraceful pool, we meet some fun folks and get invited back to a house party.  Turns out it is common in Denver to go in with ~12 people and rent a house for the ski season.  You never know who will show up on any particular weekend, but it is social and affordable (~$200 per month).   And you can bring friends so long as they pay $20 per night to crash on a floor or couch. 

We celebrate the New Year countdown at this house near a warm big fireplace with a champagne toast.  But the snow has started to fall outside and we head to bed soon after midnight. 

There is a high chance of fresh powder from a small overnight storm and we want to catch the first chair.  So we go sleep in the truck, after all, $40 is far better spent on coffee and beer, and the truck is nice and cozy.