It was a very late start to the season here, the really good snow falls didn’t occur until mid-late December. StorageTek has its own Ski Club which the whole family joined. There are about 300 members and they have skiing activities organised every fortnight until early May.
We have met another Australian couple who have been here for a year (with another company), and David just loves to ski. He and I have been spending quite some time on the white fluffy stuff. And fluffy it is, it’s so dry you can’t even make a snowball.
Our first outing was to Winter Park. It is owned by the city of Denver and is operated by an independent board of directors charged with giving Denver skiers a good deal. And they do. You get access to 2,500 acres out of two base areas, served by seven high-speed quad chairs and 10 traditional lifts, all for $34. Since it was my first time on ski’s for 18 months (and altitude, old age, not fit, etc), we stuck to Vasquez Cirque. Its 687 acres of steeps and woodland, either black or blue/black runs. The blue/black seems to be a new designation that I’ve seen at a few resorts, it’s a bit harder than blue but not quite black. The snow was great, packed powder, but the weather was lousy. Overcast, grey, light snow, and about 22*F. Anyway about four continues hours, burning thighs and lack of oxygen saw me out.
The following fortnight we headed to Keystone, a whole 1½ hours drive from home. What a mountain, I loved it and can’t wait to get back. Its now part of the Vail consortium, and as I have a Vail Card, I can ski at Vail, Beaver Creek, Keystone, Arapahoe Basin or Breckenridge for half price or about $35. The original front side of Keystone remains a wonderland of novice and intermediate cruising trails, while the two peaks hidden behind, North Peak and Outback specialise in long, consistent advanced-to-expert trails, bumps and tree runs. The base of the mountain starts at 9,300 ft, with the Summit rising to 12,200 ft and over 1,755 acres. We spent the entire 6 hours over the back at Outback. With a name like that we just had to. All the runs, being black, had Australian connotations. My favourite was "Bushwacker". It was very long, basically top of the mountain to the bottom, very tight because it was all trees, and very steep. Of course I took my time, but by the end it was time for home.
The next week we headed to Loveland Basin for my first attempt at Snowboarding. No I haven’t gone over to the dark side. Many years ago I did some surfing and thought that boarding must be similar. I’ve always wanted to try it, but the seasons were so short in Australia that I didn’t want to waste time not skiing. It took us just over an hour to get to Loveland. Its on a major freeway, Interstate-70, which you can ski over as the Eisenhower Tunnel goes under the Continental Divide. Loveland is high, with a base elevation at nearly 11,000 feet, and it’s mostly above timberline. The Summit is at 13,010 feet and there are 1,365 acres of skiable terrain. It’s viewed as a beginner to intermediate mountain. That was me. It was a great deal, for only $40 we got all the gear, lift, lesson, lunch, and after ski drinks. And to top that off, the sun was out all day with beautiful blue skies.
Well I decided to have a go before we took the lesson, and even though I had my first fall of the season relatively close to just starting, it is indeed very much like surfing. With the exception that snow, being frozen water is in fact harder than water. It hurts when you fall. Especially when you dig your down hill edge in, its sort of like sticking your toes in the water when you’re bare foot water skiing. WHACK!!! Anyway the lesson went well, I was the star, thank-you, and it wasn’t long till I was Shreddin’. Was it fun? Yes, will I do it again? Probable, will I give up skiing for it? NO WAY!
I’m taking tomorrow (Friday 5th Feb) off, and the family is heading down to Vail for the World Alpine Ski Championships. Something we won’t ever see in Australia. Jane and I skied here in ‘93, and I’m hoping to get a couple of hours in while Jane plays with the kids on our new sled. The women have the combined slalom, and the men have practice for the down hill. So after that we might try some ice skating with the kids, and hopefully end the day with a sleigh ride in the snow. I’ll see if I can slip into one of the races.
Upcoming events:
Next week back to Winter Park to ski Mary Jane (all black) with another friend. Early March the family is heading off to Wolf Creek. I’m told that its one of the best-kept secrets in the Colorado Rockies Its 1,000 acres of high-elevation powder skiing perched on the Continental Divide in the San Juans Mountain Range. Five chairlifts serve a modest 1,604 vertical feet, but here’s the salient number: Average annual snowfall is 465 inches. That’s deep. Won’t need the rock hoppers here. We’re also looking at getting to Aspen in late March to spend some time with the beautiful people.