Silent Blog, Skiing Blog

Sorry about that.

Usually when I go out of town I pre-post some blogs, but I didn't have any blogs ready to go. *sad face*

On Frenchman run

Of course, on the drive HOME I thought I should have posted the work we had done on our house since I forgot to post it after they were finished. I posted on Facebook, but not the blog.

Oh, well. Shoulda, woulda, coulda, right?

Last week was spring break for the kidlet and we went skiing in Keystone, CO. It was a good drive--no snow only strong winds--and Kansas had raised their speed limit to 75 mph, which made the drive only 12 hours long, instead of the normal 13-14 hours.

My only problem was altitude sickness--I had a headache the entire time in Colorado, along with insomnia, and a bloody nose (TMI??). Oh, and the shortness of breath was killer. As an asthmatic, it added to my stress level just a touch. If you forgot to breath, then you had to gasp like a fish out of water to oxygenate your blood!

It wasn't your typical spring skiing, when you can shuck your neck gator, hat, gloves and ski with an open coat and actually get a suntan, though we did see one couple skiing one run in their skivvies on day four. . .

Day one, it was cold and windy. Day two, it was snowy and windy. Days three and four were wonderful--I skied with sunglasses instead of goggles!

And I have windburn on a narrow portion of my face that was even allowed out in the cold, namely my nose and a narrow strip of skin on my cheekbones and forehead. You be the judge. . .

Kidlet and me after a hot cocoa break

As I might have mentioned before, I'm not a fan of moguls--those bumps on a ski run, for those of you who haven't skied before. I don't willingly go down any runs that have them, BUT I do like steeps--steep, groomed slopes. 

So we convinced the kidlet to ski down a long groomed black diamond run called Diamondback. That was the her last run on day three. :-) Well, except for the runs that got us to the front of the mountain and down to the bottom. She complained her feet hurt, and I mentioned it was because she had her toes clenched down the entire slope. 

Yeah, been there, done that before. 

On days three and four she pooped out early and the hubs and I skied about another hour before calling it quits for the day. 

On the gondola

And remember . . . Trees hurt, slow down. 

Top of  Dercum mountain

 Later, Peeps!

Spring Break in Colorado

As I mentioned yesterday, we drove to Colorado to ski over spring break, but it was the weirdest spring break we've ever had.

1) there were no crowds--even at Vail
2) there was no sunshine--the glimpses of sun don't count
3) there was no falling and going boom--at least by me, hubs and daughter both bit the snow dust once.
4) there were no moguls to (bumps--I don't like bumps) be traversed--thank goodness! Though we did detour down a groomed black slope by accident--hubs not asking for directions again! Yes, it was at Vail. BTW--I have always intensely DISLIKED Vail.
5) it was cold, windy and snowy, which felt like December skiing, not spring skiing

During March, spring break can fall on three different weeks, depending on the state you live in. Since most ski resorts want to take advantage of this situation, they increase their rates. Those of us with kids are held captive by the increased pricing. Don't worry, this happens during the summer, too. If you want a good deal, take your vacation on the 'off' season. For skiing, that would be any week that kids would be in school. But this year, Keystone had a "kids ski free" deal. Oh, we still had to pay for rentals, but the lift tickets were free, which does add up. The one day we skied at Vail, we had to pay $86 for the kidlet to ski with us, since Vail wasn't part of the "kids ski free" deal.

This is a blurry trail map of Keystone. The front side of the mountain is the left slope--just skiing these runs could keep you busy all day. They are steeper than Breckenridge and better defined trails than Vail.  
On our first day of skiing, it was COLD and snow was blowing. Of course, this was the first year I decided not to pack a sweater or my snow boots . . . because it never gets cold or snowy in March, right?

Yeah, wrong.

Snow was blowing sideways. Yes, this is my 12-year old in pink . . . she was standing uphill from me . . . that why she's so much taller . . . yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

 

 

 

We were one of the first people up, but there were a few tracks in the powder. The best part of skiing powder is to be the first one to lay tracks. The next time we went down these slopes, it involved dodging the fresh piles of snow laid down by boarders. If you're leaning forward when you hit a pile of snow, plan to stop suddenly. Jus' sayin'.

 

It was fun to ski this fluffy stuff, but when we went to the back of the mountain--it was bitterly cold with the wind blowing. Usually you can see Breckenridge, which is about 15 miles away, but not today.

 

This was the first time in many, many years of spring skiing that I wore a hat, goggles and a neck gaiter. Usually, I'm good with an ear warmer and sunglasses.

 

There was no suntan to be had this year.

 

Day Two of skiing involve bitterly cold sunshine. We skied a LOT. The  sun peeked out a little bit and hubs took this picture at the top of The Outback peak. On the map this is the peak at the far right. The snowy lines over my daughter's head is Breckenridge ski resort.

 

Day Three we debated about going to Vail, since snow was predicted. The snow didn't bother us, it was the driving in the snow in the mountains that did bother us. The snow was expected late in the afternoon, so we decided to take a chance. The drive was about 25 mountain minutes.

 

I want to say right here and now. I don't like skiing Vail. I never have liked skiing Vail. I will always dislike skiing Vail. And I intensely abhor skiing Vail. The only reason I will ski Vail is because hubby likes Vail. Sorry, not a fan of Vail.

 

This is a map of Vail--just the front side. The backside is filled with numerous bowls.

 

I finally figured out what I hate about Vail-- 1) it's a monstrous mountain, 2) most of the mountain involves 'open' trails, which means you can easily cross from one trail to the next. 3) it's usually very, very crowded. 4) it's difficult to navigate from one peak to the next--ie there's LOTS of poling involved on narrow trails or catwalks. 5) I'm not as familiar with the runs to know what run leads into what other run without having to pole.

 

This time, I made hubs lead . . . and of course, he takes us down a groomed black, thinking it was a steep blue. Now, I don't mind skiing groomed black slopes, but he still refused to admit his mistake and turned it around on us that this was a 'good' thing. Yep, he's a people manager all right. The intimidating part of this run was that we could see how steep and open it was. Many of Keystone's slopes we skied were just as steep, but this was more intimidating because of seeing the entire bowl around us. It's a mental thing.

 

Vail has many amenities to offer someone who is a disabled skier. Over the years, I've seen Vail employees guide skiers that are blind, paraplegic or have other disabilities. And it is easier for foreign travelers to ski Vail than is it other ski resorts . . . but I still don't like it.

 

Now, that isn't to say that the only place I've skied is Keystone or Vail. Only since we had the kidlet have we skied Keystone with a few jaunts to Crested Butte.

 

I've skied:

CANADA--Sunshine and Lake Louise (preferred Lake Louise, Sunshine was too open)

UTAH--Park City

New Mexico--Angel Fire

and COLORADO--Wolf Creek, Copper Mountain, Crested Butte, Steamboat Springs, Winter Park, along with Vail and Keystone.

 

Sorry, no pictures of Vail. The hubs left his phone in the car--oops.

 

And this brings us to our fourth day of skiing--SNOW and lots of it. We skied Keystone. This is where it comes in handy to know the mountain like the back of my hand. At times it was snowing and blowing so hard that you could barely see 50 feet in front of you. Many times the kidlet would ski ahead and we'd lose sight of her pink coat . . . we made here stay with us after that. We were skiing Spring Dipper, which is a blue run that becomes green when a bunch of trails merge and then returns to blue. The snow was piling up and the gray sky was merging with the gray snow and it was hard to see with the blowing snow whipping around us. The scary part about this was that it would be very easy to go straight when the real trail curved.

 

The going straight part would have led down a black diamond slope. Yep, scary.

 

Skiing powder in blizzard conditions is exhausting and we called an early day at about 2 PM. The hubs went out to ski a few more runs at about 3:30. I was beat, but I also had busted my left boot sole and it was falling off in chunks. I didn't think it was a safe thing for me to ski with it in that condition. Besides, if it broke, then it would mean I would have to WALK down the mountain.

 

Nope. Not happening.

 

And then on Friday, we drove home with the monster storm nipping at our heels.

 

Later, Peeps!  

Skiing in Colorado

For the first time in two years, we went skiing. We missed last year because we decided to put the kidlet in private school and needed to save the $$$.

This year, Keystone had a deal for Spring Break--kids ski free. Awesome blossom!

Me and hubs at The Outpost for short break

 

So we planned to cook our meals in, instead of eating out. And if you do plan to eat out at a ski resort, there usually isn't much to pick from--everything is expensive, including the pizza--$25 for a large pepperoni. . . we just bought a large pepperoni two nights ago from Papa Murphy's $7 with a coupon.

We've driven to Keystone a gazillion times and didn't bother with a map. Heck, we have Regan our GPS system and my mah-valous memory for rest areas to time our bathroom breaks.

This year we decided to make sandwiches and eat in the car while driving to save some time. They were serious sandwiches: ciabatta bread, my cheese spread, ham, pastrami, Genoa salami, provolone, and pepperoni. Coat both sides of the bread with the cheese spread and the bread won't go soggy. True, ciabatta doesn't usually go soggy, but the extra sandwiches were still good when we drove home five days later.

We had another bit of luck when we drove into Kansas. Some time during the past two years, Kansas had increased their speed limit on their interstate highways to 75 mph. Wowzers! This was wonderful!

So with the kidlet ensconced in the backseat--she made a bed back there--with her cell phone, Kindle Fire AND a DVD player, along with a must-have--headphones, we happily listened to 'oldies' on the radio/CD's and chatted . . . for 12 hours.

Denver traffic wasn't too bad for a Sunday afternoon, but as soon as we got into the mountains it started to snow.

This was a taste of what was to come . . . not your normal spring break skiing where you open your coat because it's too warm or getting a ski tan with white around your eyes from wearing sunglasses. Oh, no, I think we only saw the sun for about two hours this entire trip.

Before checking into the condo, we hit the grocery store--along with the rest of the spring breakers and stocked up on the perishables I didn't want to pack. The condo was in the River Run side of the mountain. The view of the slopes was wonderful.

And we had the largest bed I've ever seen in a condo-sized bedroom--it was a king-sized bed with barely enough room to walk around it. Plus it had a goose down comforter under the bottom sheet--so soft and warm.

That's it for today. I'll have to tell you about the skiing tomorrow, since I need to get back into my walking routine again.

Too bad we brought the cold with us when we returned, but at least I'll see the sun today.

Later, Peeps! . . . oh, and dont' forget to buy your Easter peeps! *snort*

Love/Hate: Skiing

Pet Peeve Friday has been postponed for Love/Hate this week. We went skiing over spring break. It was a blast as always, but there is always something good to go with the bad and vice versa.

HATE the long drive (we drive from Tulsa to Keystone, roughly 12-13 hours. . . thru Kansas. . . 'nuff said) True, it isn't as bad as driving to Crested Butte (16 hours) or Steamboat Springs (16 hours)
LOVE arriving at condo, ready to kick it the next day

HATE having to put the kidlet in ski school, but this time she requested one day
LOVE bombing down the slopes without having to worry if the kidlet can keep up . . . since she's in ski school

HATE beginners who try to ski slopes that are beyond their capabilities (got side-swiped by one on a steep blue, totally took me out and I didn't see it coming. First time I fell in 5 or 6 years. Uh, I wasn't happy)
LOVE that my kidlet managed to get down a seriously icy blue slope while other skiers were falling all around her. On our last day skiing and the resort hadn't had any fresh snow, but the temps were warm enough to melt the snow the day before, resulting in serious ice.
LOVE explaining how to use poles to my kidlet and then tripping over my own poles . . . at a standstill--since my record of no falling was already broken
LOVE laughing like a total goofball.

HATE that I ate like there was no tomorrow
LOVE that I lost five pounds when I got home
HATE that I gained it back in less then twenty-four hours

HATE the sounds of skis over ice and the splits one does when one doesn't expect it.
LOVE the sound of my skis gliding over courderoy and being the first one to mark a slope (skiers know what I'm talking about)

HATE the serious lack of oxygen
LOVE the fresh air and clear nights, where it looks like there are a gazillion stars in the sky
HATE that when I walk up a flight of stairs in ski boots I might need the AED used on me--conviently placed at the top of the aforementioned flight of stairs.

LOVE that they have Fat Tire on tap
HATE that they put the bathrooms DOWN stairs

LOVE night skiing. It really forces you to ski by feel.
HATE that they shut it down at 8PM, especially when Daylight Savings happened and it didn't even get dark until 7:15.
LOVE seeing the North Star and a cresent moon bathed in red

HATE drinking coffee to stay alert since it makes me investigate every rest area and McDonalds along the way
LOVE the 5 hour energy drinks
HATE how they kept me alert even after we got home at 4:30 AM and I was ready to sleep

All in all, we had a fun and successful spring break. How was yours?
And are you ready to . . .
Write On!