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.
Today we returned from spending a day back in Rocky Mountain National Park. We first went there not long after arriving in the US when the Aspen trees were turning and the elk were bugleing. This time we went prepared for a much colder day, with hats, gloves, boots etc, and the sled of course. It was a very pretty time of the year to go with the tall pines and lots of snow on the ground. Not a lot of wildlife to be seen except for a deer and a squirrel. After deciding to have our picnic lunch in the car as the wind was so strong, we felt brave enough to venture out on the sled. We came across an area specifically for sleds with quite a few people out giving it a go. It was protected from the winds so it wasn't too bad after all out in the sunshine. Amy and Kyle thought it was great and as Amy was prepared to pull the sled back up the hill they had quite a few turns coming down a gentle slope. There was a much steeper and longer slope but we might keep that for next year.
After sledding we drove to an area where the beavers build their dams. Obviously they weren't around but we went for a walk anyway along a raised boardwalk. From here we headed back around to Bear Lake, you may remember the photos of the Lake. Well this time it was very different, completely frozen and covered in snow. There were lots of people out snow shoeing on the lake and we walked out just to say that we have walked on Bear Lake. I saw a spot where someone's foot had gone right through to the lake, a depth of about 18 inches, and as I was pointing it out to Amy, poor Craig lost his leg through the snow. He managed not to put his foot in the water and after this episode we decided to go back to the edge of the lake.
As the weather seemed to be turning bad we headed home and again arrived back to a very sunny and warm 65F. Maybe we shouldn't head into the mountains when it is nice back at the house….
What else have we been doing, on Friday Craig took a day off and we headed to Vail to watch the 1999 World Alpine Ski Championships. We thought we will never get the opportunity again, so why not. Craig decided that he may be able to get a few hours skiing in while the kids and I watched the races as they were offering very cheap lift tickets while the races were on. So off we headed out I-70 (a six lane freeway between Denver and Salt Lake City, Utah) early Friday morning. The conditions heading out were terrible and thinking we were in for a horrible day the mood in the car was very sombre. The road conditions were very icy and with snow falling and no water left in the well for the wipers it wasn't pleasant. After coming out of the Eisenhower tunnel the road conditions got even worse and the ute travelling just in front of us skidded on the black ice, started to do a 180 on the highway and fortunately spun into the right hand lane and hit the car next to us. I couldn't believe it. How we weren't involved in the accident I still don't know. The cars behind us were swerving to miss each other but the ice is relentless and cars went everywhere. Tempted to say lets just turn around and go home, we kept going, very slowly mind you. I have never been so relieved at arrive at a destination.
To our surprise by the time we got to Vail the conditions had improved greatly and the sun was even shining. Craig headed off for a ski and Amy, Kyle and I sat in the stand at the bottom of the slalom course and watched the races. It was a unique experience to see, having to watch the video screen to see 80% of the race and then being able to see the skiers for last part of the course. The Colorado University marching band was there to help out with entertainment, as well as Smokey the Bear. Several spectacular falls later Amy and Kyle had had enough so we went for a walk around Vail Village.
Now this was an experience as well. Craig and I were in Vail in 1993 so I remembered some of what was there. What I didn't remember though were the large quantity of fur coats wandering around, and the number of shops selling fur coats. For a mere $2,999.00 you too could own a full length mink coat. All I could think of was the number of little minks that go into one of these things. With the elaborate gold jewellery, the hairdos, the makeup and the furs the mother of two from Burra was a little bemused in these surroundings. Do these people ever put on a pair of skis, don't they realise what an asset these mountains are? We hope to get to Aspen in March/April and I believe there will even be more of the same there.
The Vail Village itself is incredibly pretty. The shops have been built out of stone and there is a river running through the village so there are lots of wooden bridges. We finally had to head back to meet Craig and we managed to get seats again in the stand to watch the races. At 2.00 we had a free ride to the top of the mountain in a gondola and here we all put on ice skates and tried ice skating on an outdoor rink. Unfortunately for me there was no fence around the rink so that meant I couldn't get around very well. We did manage to get skates small enough for Kyle but he just found it too darn slippery. Amy and Craig persevered the longest, Miss Amy having a couple of big spills but determined to keep trying.
Again the weather took a turn for the worst and we decided to head back down the mountain. After doing a bit of souvenir shopping (no, not fur coat shopping) we got in the car a little reluctant about the trip home. By this time the roads were clear and dry so we had an uneventful trip home, thank goodness.
A couple of weeks ago we were invited to a Super Bowl party, the Denver Broncos were playing the Atlanta Flacons for the big prize. It was fun having a team to support and as I still don't fully understand the rules and get frustrated by the stop/start type of game I just followed everyone else's lead. When they shouted, I shouted, when they booed I booed. It was a good day, although a long one.
The people who threw the party had only moved into their newly built house 2 weeks prior. It was a very large house with all 5 TVs showing the game. We ended up sitting in the basement watching 2 of the TVs. Every time the Broncos scored a touchdown or played an interception (don't ask) it was shots of Tequila all round. As I was the designated driver I had to have shots of water. Yes the Broncos won and yes you can imagine the state of the guys at the end of the game. It was lots of fun, the kids had about 15 other kids to play with so we didn't even see them. To top off a great day we won $100 in a sweep so we came home very happy. On the drive home people were out driving about just honking their horns everywhere, it was amazing. In Denver itself people went a little crazy and started fires and tossed cars on their roofs. The police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. A bit scary. As we drove home I said to Craig that I was glad they won because I would hate to be out driving if they had lost.
Also that week we went to a Camping and RV show, thinking we could check out the latest camping gear. Wrong, it was actually just an RV show, showing off the latest in mobile homes and 5th wheelers (mobile homes that you tow behind a big truck). It was a bit disappointing that we didn't see any tents but it sure was fun checking out these homes on wheels. They ranged in price from $30,000 to $150,000 and they really were homes complete with plush furnishings, full bathrooms and kitchens, some even had a bath. There was one that had a kitchen so big it included an island bench. In this particular van the lounge room was adjacent to the kitchen with a big screen TV and in case you missed anything while chopping veggies at the island bench there was a smaller screen TV in the wall directly in front of you. There was office space for the PC, satellite dishes for the TV, and every luxury you could think of. Some of these vans were 35ft in length and you don't need a special licence to drive one. Apparently our version of the camping show is held closer to summer.
Today we drove to LoDo (also known as Lower Downtown) in Denver and had a walk around the 16th Street Mall and Larimer Square. Lots of walking and not much shopping. Before getting to LoDo we diverted to Camping World, a large store dedicated to the camper. We were hoping to again check out a range of tents and other camping gear for sale but similar to our previous experience at the RV show we were most disappointed to find the camping store dedicated to bits'n'pieces for your RV, not a tent in sight. After asking one of the shop attendants where is the best place to find tents, she just shrugged her shoulders and said "I don't know"…..
News Flash……News Flash…….
Today we finally put the finishing touches on the Dolls House and completed it. At last Amy can move the furniture in and we can move the associated junk (paints, glue, drop sheet, etc) back into the garage. If I do say so myself it looks pretty good, three storeys, stairs, attic, gable windows, shingled roof (what a job that was..), verandah and wall paper on the internal walls. No doubt Craig will have a photo of it up on the homepage soon so check out the end result of numerous hours of effort. Miss Amy was very pleased to at last being able to play with it, rather than just look at it.
Amy has now received confirmation that she has a place at Monarch K-8, and she will start attending school come September, the beginning of the school year here. Both Amy and Kyle still go to swimming lessons twice a week and just last week we were swimming in the pool looking out at snow falling, quite strange.
Other little differences:
The school bus system is wonderful here. All the buses are painted yellow so they are easy to spot. If one is stopped and the red lights are flashing all the traffic has to stop until the red lights go off, that means traffic in both directions, so it is very safe for the kids getting on and off the buses. A good idea.
I logged onto the Budweiser (Bud beer) site because you can do tours of the brewery and also they have a draught horse team that you can visit once a month. Anyway I just wanted to find out some more info and when you go to the site you have to enter your birthdate to ensure you are over 21 to be allowed to access the site. How do they know if you make up a date…..
Again re: the Broncos, it is now two weeks since they won the Super bowl and congratulations are still pouring out. The thing we don't understand is the media and the locals keep calling them the "World Champion Broncos", how can they be world champions when the rest of the world isn't involved in the competition.
Along I-70, near a town called Georgetown there is a lake that freezes over as most of them seem to do. But this lake is quite unique I believe because they actually hold car races on this lake.
The day we drove to Denver we actually saw our first clothes line in someone's backyard. It was the first one we have seen since arriving in Colorado. Miss Amy was totally perplexed as to why her mum was so amazed by the revelation.
In the spirit of celebrating, the latest consumer binge has been Valentine's Day. An unbelievable array of merchandise is available for sale, the florists and jewellers must be rubbing their hands together in glee as people spend, spend, spend. To our embarrassment we weren't prepared for Amy coming home from pre-school with a gift from everyone of her classmates (mostly candy). Again we will just have to plead ignorance because we really didn't understand the protocol associated with Valentines Day, it is so different from home.
A nine year old boy was found to have two loaded hand guns in his backpack at school last week. According to Colorado law you need to be 10 before the authorities can charge you, so they are going to determine if they can charge his mother.
We sorted out the problem of dryness in the house, we purchased two humidifiers, one for upstairs, one for downstairs. Everyone was suffering from dry skin, poor Kyle suffering the worst. The air is dry anyway and add to that the use of gas heating and the conditions were pretty terrible. The humidifiers run 24 hours per day and have helped enormously.
Easter holidays are a thing of the past while we are here. I was starting to plan our four day weekend when I discovered that Americans don't get Good Friday or Easter Monday as public holidays. What a bummer…
We get home delivery of a local newspaper and as we ordered weekend papers only we thought it would be delivered on Saturday and Sunday. In newspaper terms weekend delivery actually means Wednesday through Monday.
It seems that a lot of people are planning the delivery date for their babies in the hope that they are born on 1-1-2000. Apparently April 9 is the prime conception date for all of you out there wanting to achieve this. One couple from Texas are not taking any chances. Apparently if they haven't conceived by this date they have booked into an Artificial Insemination clinic just to make sure.
In an effort to get out and about in the snowy weather we have just returned from a weekend skiing and sledding at Wolf Creek. This resort is much further away than most of the popular resorts (5 hours drive instead of 1 or 2) but it had two things going for it; a) an annual snowfall of 435 inches and, b) very cheap accommodation through the Storage Tek ski club. We left Superior early Friday afternoon leaving behind about 4 inches of snow on the ground at home. The drive was uneventful thank goodness with the roads dry and clear. To get to Wolf Creek we went through Alamosa again, remember this is where we stayed when we went to the National Sand Dune Monument.
After settling into our two bedroom cabin we met up with our Australian friends, Ingrid and David, and went to dinner at a restaurant recommended to us for the wonderful Cajun Catfish. Looking forward to a nice dinner we were disappointed to find the menu had changed slightly, the choice now being ribs, hamburgers or pizza. Oh well.
Saturday morning produced a great day, cold but lots of sunshine. It is a very pretty area with snow covered mountains and tall pines. It is a popular area for snow mobiles too. A short easy drive to the ski area and Craig and David headed out for a morning of skiing. Amy, Kyle, Ingrid and I immediately headed for the restaurant to alleviate our thirst and then it was out onto the slopes with the sled. Amy and Kyle played for about two hours and then we headed back to the car before meeting Craig and David for lunch. As they headed back up the mountain we headed back to the cabin for Kyle to have his much needed sleep and then it was back to the mountain to meet the guys. After the expectation of lots of powder to ski it seems that most of the slopes were icy, but the great weather made up for it.
Sunday morning produced a minor disaster with poor Kyle vomiting and very unwell. I put it down to the fact that I caught him eating snow on Saturday. After deciding he was too sick even to hang around the cabin we packed the car and headed home. We made a few stops on the way home (for poor Kyle to throw up) and managed to get him to bed about 1.30 in the afternoon. At least we had a good day Saturday.
By Monday afternoon Craig and Amy had come down with the same thing so maybe it wasn't eating snow that caused the problem. Tuesday it was my turn and based on how bad I felt I'm glad we came home when we did because Kyle had it the worst and he must have felt really awful. Anyway by Thursday everyone one was almost back to normal.