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!
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!
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