Skiing in the Big mountains of Colorado

Back in Colorado!

Returning to Colorado after being at elevations under 2000 feet for most of the past year takes some adjustments and time to reacclimate.  We always enjoy the crisp mountain air and views that words cannot describe. This year there was lots of snow falling and avalanches in many mountain passes but made for great skiing conditions and tired legs. As difficult as it is to admit, I found myself moving slower in the ski boots and breathing harder along with a few more rest days. I like to think it is an altitude thing but it probably has as much to do with all of the birthdays I have been fortunate enough to have or maybe, the boots just got heavier...

 Burton was sponsoring its US Open Snowboarding Championship.

We were fortunate to spend a day skiing with family. Tyler and Kyle are growing too fast and have become quite the skiers. Mike gave Tyler a few pointers and then they were joined at the hip as he  followed Mike ahead of us.



Kyle heading into Game Creek Bowl.

After riding the lift into the clouds.

 Tourism in the US accounts for 10% of our GDP. In the past couple of years, the number of people visiting from other countries has dropped by 1% even though tourism in the world has grown by 7% according to the US board of tourism. We are seeing the downward trend in Vail like we did after 9/11 and we could walk into a restaurant without a reservation and get a table, unlike recent past years. People are choosing to go to other countries rather than a place they feel to be hostile and unwelcoming to people from other countries.



Such determination.



 We hear a lot less foreign languages in town, around the condo or on the lifts than in the past. When people visit our country and feel welcome, they find out what a great place it is as they spend their money. The loss of visitors is considered to be costing the US 1 million jobs in the tourism industry.

Ice skating rink in Lionshead and Arrabelle.

We usually hike in the backcountry on our days off from skiing. This year we stayed on the intown trails due to the huge snowpack. I was afraid of sinking up to my waist in a drift and trying to crawl out with snow over my head.

Our walks along Gore Creek on our rest days were crisp and peaceful.

 Vail Resorts is committed to becoming sustainable and protecting the environment. It made me happy to see no plastic bags in the grocery stores and reusable glasses at water stations. We carry our own recycled cloth bags when we shop and are glad to see Colorado passing laws limiting plastic straws unless they are requested. We find ourselves requesting no straw in our drinks. Besides, those straws cause wrinkles around the mouth, wink.

We stayed in six hotels and two condos on our three week journey. We found 40% of those places are doing away with the small shampoo and lotion bottles and opting for large refillable to keep so many little bottles out of the landfills. I walk into my own bathroom and see a mountain of plastic and am not sure what I can do to cut down other than the plastic bags and straws. It's a start.

 It is good to see the business world doing good rather than just making money while taking care of our earth. I don't mean to sound preachy about taking care of our earth but hate to think about how it would be without these fabulous places to enjoy. I figure erring on the side of protecting the earth and being wrong isn't a bad thing. Our grandkids  would likely think we were pretty smart and kind.




Looking thirsty while waiting for a beer at the end of the day. No waiting for a table here or anywhere else.

A walk through Vail Village.

The views never disappoint, no matter which direction we look.

This has been a strange ski season for us. On one of our first days, it was so warm as we got off the shuttle at Lionshead that we had to take off our fleece top layer and put them in a locker for the day, wearing only our long john top under our coats. By the end of the second week, it was raining on top of the recent feet of snow on the mountain.

I'm not sure who put a step there. I was only drinking water.

Happy Anniversary!



Back in Blue Sky Basin



Two Elks Lodge



Now that's how to end a day in the snow.

It was a great two weeks in the mountains. We had planned to drop off our ski equipment off in Denver at Krista and Luke's before heading back to Arizona to pick up our trailer. But after four avalanches closing Interstate 70 for up to 9 hours, a change in plans were in order.