Sunday, January 30, 2011

A great time to use the Winch

Some guys appeared to be looking for fresh tracks off the pass, and they got a little too close to the edge.

We swung around to help out where we could.

We got 3 more offers for help by passer byes.



He was up to his axles in soft snow.

The removal angle wasn't great since there was a lot of traffic heading down from the basin.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

13" pow day at Vail

The snow came in on Saturday. The drive up was horrible. We ended up on 285 through Breckenridge. But Sunday the skiing was great.
Everyone else thought so too.
Blue Sky Basin had been closed all day Saturday, so everyone was heading that way.
Becky and I found some great snow off Highline lift.

Monday, January 10, 2011

skiing with the Winders

Tim finally moved back to Colorado after too long of a tour in Texas.

We met up with him for dinner and drinks Saturday night, followed by some runs on Sunday morning. Noah was pretty tired after a long night with some altitude problems...
Eli was ready to go!

Friday, January 7, 2011

Sweet Car!


Is that a civic with Lamborghini doors?

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Sunday, January 2, 2011

Last day.... sunday, Jan 2nd

So, we left Telluride and went to Vail. I found awesome snow and so did Tucker - although not in the same place, apparently. We arrived about 1:30 and left about 3:30. 2 hours home and here we are. *sigh* I go to work tomorrow and I think that Tucker will ski. *sigh, again*

Love my job though so no complaints!!!!

Today was great and I can't thank my lovely hubby enough for carrying my sh!t into the hut and driving as the doc thought shifting the car/truck would bother my shoulder.

sleeepy time is sooooon!

Telluride, Tucker's Birthday and the drive home?

Negative temps to ski.... what happens first? ALL METAL COMES OUT OF EARS!!!!!


So, after 2 days of EPIC powder at Purgatory we headed over the pass to Telluride where we had 2 nights of hotel booked. We arrived about 5:30 and headed out for dinner.... a brewery in Telluride - yuck! If you like beer DO NOT go to this pub.

On Saturday morning we woke up and it was -9 deg F. Yes, negative numbers. It had warmed up to -7 by the time we hit the slopes. On New Years Day with negative temps we had the mountain to ourselves - which was great! about an hour at a time because then I needed to go in and warm up! How do you dress for negative temps? LOTS of layers - I have on THREE down coats - grey, orange and blue.... wow!





We finished our ski day about 4 and got showers and went out for Mr. Brown's birthday!! WOOT! It was fantastic food!!!




Carrot Cake for dessert!

So then we went to Telluride.....

So, we pulled out of the parking lot at Purgatory at 2:20 on Friday afternoon.... headed for Durango because the pass was closed between us and Telluride where our hotel was waiting......
ARGH! But the passes were treacherous......

We drove about 6 minutes towards Durango when my wonderful smartphone told me that the pass had opened at 2:21!!!! We saw almost no one on the pass except for the experts in snow removal.... but not driving - OMG!



We arrived in Telluride about 3 hours later and were happy and warm along the way with a stop at some natural hot springs (that allowed nudity although not much was seen!) 0---> note the high fences! :)




Tues through Friday....



Well, I'm 'lumping' these days all together because. Tuesday was a bit uneventful. We skied at Copper which is a lovely mountain but early season conditions meant that my favorite trees were a bit, um, light in coverage. Still a great day though! no pics... hmmmm....

Wed we decided that this storm was going to hit SW Colorado so we jumped in the car and headed South to Durango/Pagosa Springs! We left the condo early in the morning (Keystone) and headed down to Wolf Creek where it was just DUMPING!!! We skied steeps and trees and didn't hit a single rock or root. It was just incredible!






After that the normal '1 hour' drive to Durango became 2.5 hours due to the snow/weather conditions! yikes!

Then came Thursday morning..... Durango Mountain, aka Purgatory, reported 20" of fresh, 8" after the lifts had closed the night before. We headed up there, no doubt in our minds of what we could expect. I think I had forgotten that the mountain was SO FLAT. Blech, but the goods were GOOD!



These cars are in Tucker's parents' neighborhood... not going anywhere, any time soon.


This guy? Parking lot at Purgatory.

sigh. Where to start? - December 25th.... Christmas Day



I'll start with backcountry.... We left Denver about 8:30 on Saturday morning and went to the trailhead for our annual Xmas hut trip! The rest of the crew had planned on a much earlier start than us since they were closer but we arrived and they had just started out! Due to my bursitis in my shoulder, and recent cortizone shot, I wasn't allowed a pole in my right hand nor a pack.. my poor husband carried most of my gear as I got a fanny pack. :)

The snow was awesome on the way in... and the next day.... and STELLAR on the last day - lots of turns to be had, even without a pole! ;)




We had Christmas dinner - Turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, quinoa, cookies, etc!


Again, we had an amazing Xmas hut trip and met new people that were just great to hang out with!

Ski week - 2010


Well, I counted up all the ski days for 2010... SIXTY-FOUR of them! not bad, I say! So, I get Christmas to New Years off every year and this year Tucker's work is 'encouraging' them to take vacation every quarter so he joined me! We contacted friends in Utah and Southern Colorado with hopes that we could just hop in the truck and go where the snow is/was!

We didn't do tooooooo shabby.

Fri, December 24th - Xmas Eve dinner in Boulder with the Smiths! AWESOME!!!!
Sat, December 25th - ski into 10th Mountain Division Hut near Tennessee Pass
Sun, December 26th - ski around 10th Mountain Division Hut
Mon, December 27th - ski out of 10th Mtn Division hut (turns in the 6"-8" of fresh before the hike to the car though!)
Tues, December 28th - ski Copper Mountain
Wed, December 29th - drive down to Wolf Creek and ski while the snow is DUMPING!!!
Thurs, December 30th - Purgatory - 20" of fresh reported - AWESOME!!!
Fri, December 31st - Purgatory - 12" of fresh reported - another AWESOME ski day!!
Sat, January 1st - Tucker's birthday and NEGATIVE 8 degrees to start our ski day at Telluride.... however, NEGATIVE 22 reported in Durango so glad we left anyway.
Sun, Janurary 2nd - Leave Telluride and ski Vail for the afternoon - no new snow but I found some good stashes and so did Tucker.

all in all? 9 days off of work, 9 days of skiing with the love of my life, 3 backcountry days and 5 resorts? Doesn't suck! BEST Christmas/New Years/Birthday event EVER!

9 days... 1100 miles of driving.... 23 hours of driving... almost 84 gallons of gas.... 13 mpg.

Details to follow......