-3 degrees in Beaver Creek

Having good warm winter gear is greatly appreciated when it is this cold. We have boot heaters but for some reason my right toes were freezing. I checked to see what the problem was and turned out to be user error. I only turned on the left one.

 I like to go to Beaver Creek once when we are skiing in Vail. It seems like a good idea to check out nearby resorts. Why would we want to get ready in a nice warm condo and have the shuttle drive us to the gondola here in Vail? After dragging our equipment down to the truck and drive to Avon, we have to get our ski boots on in the parking lot, not an easy task on the ice. Then we walk to the bus stop and ride over to the lift. After an hour we are on the slopes but a rest is required before starting down the mountain.

Mike agrees with this sign.

Arrowhead and Bachelor's Gulch are at a lower elevation and have aspen trees instead of the pines. We had been staying on the intermediate runs because Mike's leg was not getting well as quickly as we hoped. He hit a ripple in the run, hurting his leg more and had to call it a day. Maybe if we had taken some time off to let him heal, it might be ok by now.

We hadn't felt the cold very much until we got on the lift that takes us to the top of Beaver Creek. The higher above the trees we got, the more we felt wind and cold on our faces. I guess we should have put our facemasks on before getting on the lift.

At the end of this day, he was ready to accept that he was hurt worse than he had realized.

I was glad when Mike finally decided it was time to call it a season and head back to Arizona instead of finishing our time here. No sense getting hurt worse and not able to ride bikes when we get back to the warmer temps.

The instructor kept the kids is line by having each one hold on to the rope.

When we get on the lifts, one of the first questions is "Where are you from?". We met people from all over the world including Argentina, Milan, Russia, Australia and Germany to name a few. The next question is "Where is a good place to eat that doesn't cost an arm and leg?" We had a few suggestions. But there aren't as many as a few years ago when the economy wasn't doing so well.

We had some nice morning walks to Betty Ford Park.

I bet getting to this 1922 school house was tough in the winter.

A first gondola from the 1960s.

We got back to AZ earlier than expected to 70 degree temps. AHHH!

Now to start planning our trip east this spring and summer to see Mike's grandkids, his class reunion and our time working at Camp Timanous in Maine. 



Vail, CO

A veteran of the 10th Mountain Division, Pete Seibert, returned to Colorado after the war to return to skiing. Pete and Earl Eaton began looking to develop ski area in the Rocky Mountain region. 

Earl Eaton grew up in Colorado and began skiing at a young age. By 1940, Eaton was working for the CCC in Glenwood Springs and ski racing in Aspen where he met Pete Seibert. Seibert and Eaton first climbed Vail Mountain during the winter of 1957. Both agreed that this would be the perfect ski area! To get the ski area rolling, Seibert and Eaton needed something that neither of them had, money. Seibert proved to be adept at securing investors, which was a good thing because in order to obtain a permit from the USFS Vail needed to have $1,000,000 in the bank. Initial investors paid $10,000 for a condo and lifetime season pass!

Vail’s opening day was set for December 15, 1962.

 The first year, ticket prices were set at five dollars for a skiing experience that consisted of one gondola, two chairs, eight ski instructors, and nine ski runs. They averaged 7 tickets sold a day.

During the 1960’s, Vail Village grew at an incredible rate. President Gerald Ford traveled to Vail and was so impressed that he began to make annual trips, purchasing property at Vail.


Bridge over Gore Creek

Ice bar sculptures 

Mike injured his leg and back in an accident in Breckenridge and needed more time off the slopes. We spent several days walking through the Village and along Gore Creek. No sense rushing things. Usually, we head to the gondola so we can get down to the business of skiing.

Arabella

Cool bird houses

It is fun to watch the kids in ski school. 

The temperature was 6 degrees as we headed out the door. It was snowing pretty heavy and wind blowing causing blizzard like conditions that made it difficult to tell how fast we were moving as we traversed the top of Mid Vail.  I felt like I am standing still but when I put my pole into the ground to give a little push, it snapped back. I was moving along at a pretty good pace. The flat light can give a person vertigo. I find focusing on a person or tree helps until we can get into the treed area which helps dramatically.

Mike skied a few blue intermediate runs after several days of rest. But his right leg started hurting from compensating for his injured left leg.

Plenty of fur blankets to keep a person warm while waiting for lunch.

We haven't tried it, but I found myself breathing hard at times.

Pepi's was one of the first businesses when Vail was developed. He was a Austrian ski instructor when he and his wife arrived and decided to stay.  

10th Mountain Division sculpture

When World War II began, the United States Army created a training

center south of the Gore Valley called Camp Hale.  The 10th

Mountain Division trained for alpine combat here.  The 10th Mountain

troops fought in northern Italy and upon return, they became major

players in the quickly growing ski industry.

The bells were chiming at noon as we walked by.

Alpine Rose has great goulash and apple strudel.

Walking along Gore Creek is so peaceful. We stayed out of the back country for our hiking since the avalanche danger is significantly higher due to the amount of snow falling in the high country.

The Special Olympic athletes were practicing for their competition next month in Glenwood Springs.  

Yeow! We have a season pass. In my mind, it is a ploy to encourage people to purchase the season pass and avoid going to other resorts that do not participate with Vail Resorts, keeping the hotel and dining dollars here. It seems to be working.

Breck

What a great week of skiing at one of the highest resorts in the US. We arrived on MLK weekend and as expected the crowd from the front range had arrived. We caught the early lift and had most of the mountain to ourselves until around 11:30. When the slopes started being covered by rental wearing  people lying on the ground, we called it a day.

Happy legs at this point.

We skied in the clouds at the top and could hear the crunching of the snow under our feet.

Love the corduroy.

Fresh powder on  Centennial early in the day.

This one is for Krista. Chair number 1. We were #2.

She always wanted to ride chair #1 but how do you know if you in #1 are unless you know how many chairs there are.



We were in and out of the clouds with little or no lift lines.

First tracks in the Imperial Bowl in the clouds. This is the highest lift in the US.

A good way to rest the legs at the end of the day.

 

Good thing we packed the biofreeze, ibuprofen and heating pad.

 

No people here.

Or here

Great grooming never gets old

 

A day of laundry, grocery shopping and leg resting were due after 3 days of skiing. While heading to Silverthorne, my stomach started to grumble as we arrived in Frisco. Eggs Butterhorn and a sticky bun were calling. We did share.

A person can't grocery shop on an empty stomach.

On the ceiling

Another blue bird day.

 

 

 

We met with some friends from Colorado Springs. I skied with the boys until we met Renee for lunch. The boys wanted to hit some chutes. My legs were shot so the girls headed out for a nice run of our own. My last run of a fun day with nice people.

We got out early for our last day skiing with friends and were headed to Peak 10's expert runs. We had just gotten off the lift on a green run enjoying the newly groomed snow when Mike hit a divot made by the snowcats and blew out and hit that tree with his shoulder and neck. We find you relax more on the easy runs which gives you less of a chance to recover from an unseen obstacle. I was close by and was able to get to him right away and asked our friends to call the ski patrol which is right around the corner from us.  Until I could get next to him, I wasn't sure if he was unconscious or dead. We got his skis off and released his arms that were held down by the wrist loops of his poles that were under his back and released his helmet that was choking him before the patrolman arrived. After giving Mike a good head to toe assessment, he gave Mike his options for treatment. One that was to refuse treatment. I immediately said that was not an option because of the thoracic pain he was having. He opted to take the toboggan to the clinic at the bottom of the mountain for xrays. He was released with contusions after some good quick care by all.

 

The Ibuprofen, Biofreeze and massage have helped him quite a bit. But will be a few more days before we get back out on the slopes again. Now, we are enjoying just chilling out and having some quiet time. As I always say, "Life can change in a blink of an eye".