Scroll to the bottom to check out the most recent stop overs: A-Basin and Winter Park!
Stowe, VT
Stowe is King
Whiteface, Adirondacks, NY
As promised, pretty icy. But good times all around.
Jay Peak, VT
Jay Peak is not on a card but it should be. For now we can call it the Joker, I am allowed a few write ins, and this one wont be the first. Joined by Kate, and later, others, no new snow but crystal clear skies, made for spring skiing in december
And just so we're clear, I was not with those 2 matching brothers who were skiing, i just found them at the bar after and asked if i could take the picture. they were 100 % matching, from head to toe. It was out of control. also the skiing was good.
Snowshoe, WV
Another one without a card. But Snowshoe is no joke! It was about a six hour drive from Baltimore, through the middle of no-where. I never expected so many switch backs; the ride started to make the dog ill.
Maybe I thought it was going to be more of a Joker hill, but there is nothing like 8 inches of freshies to change your mind no matter where you are. Snowshoe is the only place I have been where you drive to the top, make camp there, and then ski down. That confused me, and it took me a while to figure out where I was. I think even on my Auras I still may have had to fattest skis there, but there were some fun steeps, and still stashes of snow at noon. If I had known better I would have started at the 'Western Territory' and done Shays Revenge, which was still good a few hours after opening.
I lapped the Soaring Eagle Express far too many times before realizing there were other lifts. I also learned a good lesson for this trip, which was to actually read trail maps if I have never been there. Just because the lift is called 'Powderidge', does not mean it has to do with any seriously powdery terrain. It leads to greens in case you were wondering. But I did get to practice skiing backwards on the way down, which was fun.
I was thankful to be given a day, right off the bat, that I could use to test out the new skis. When I took them out, there was no doubt they were the widest things on that mountain, and I did feel silly. But there was snow, and I wanted to test out the new toys, and I didn't know anyone, so I didn't care anyways. They were great, although I felt a bit awkward on them. The important thing is, they looked good. And that's half the battle. All in all, really fun mountain to spend a day at. The dog and I were even able to fit in some frisbee in a half empty parking lot at the end of the day. I also enjoy being called M'am down here.
Hmmm haha, Snowshoe pow?!....Who woulda thunk it
Maybe I thought it was going to be more of a Joker hill, but there is nothing like 8 inches of freshies to change your mind no matter where you are. Snowshoe is the only place I have been where you drive to the top, make camp there, and then ski down. That confused me, and it took me a while to figure out where I was. I think even on my Auras I still may have had to fattest skis there, but there were some fun steeps, and still stashes of snow at noon. If I had known better I would have started at the 'Western Territory' and done Shays Revenge, which was still good a few hours after opening.
I lapped the Soaring Eagle Express far too many times before realizing there were other lifts. I also learned a good lesson for this trip, which was to actually read trail maps if I have never been there. Just because the lift is called 'Powderidge', does not mean it has to do with any seriously powdery terrain. It leads to greens in case you were wondering. But I did get to practice skiing backwards on the way down, which was fun.
I was thankful to be given a day, right off the bat, that I could use to test out the new skis. When I took them out, there was no doubt they were the widest things on that mountain, and I did feel silly. But there was snow, and I wanted to test out the new toys, and I didn't know anyone, so I didn't care anyways. They were great, although I felt a bit awkward on them. The important thing is, they looked good. And that's half the battle. All in all, really fun mountain to spend a day at. The dog and I were even able to fit in some frisbee in a half empty parking lot at the end of the day. I also enjoy being called M'am down here.
Hmmm haha, Snowshoe pow?!....Who woulda thunk it
Taos
No new snow, but not a problem. Taos was a 2 hour haul from Santa Fe, and was well worth the trip. I can imagine it's even better when covered in fresh snow, but it was still a skiers haven. It was as steep as they say. The first day I skied Taos, I spent the afternoon getting to know the mountain, which was no easy task. Some how I kept getting dumped out onto blues and greens. No one likes to be looking for some serious "gnar" and end up on blue run called bambi. So if you go, I recommend going with someone who knows the place, so you can get right to the goods. Or if you're skiing alone, like I am, you should probably act as pathetic as possible and try and convince someone local to take you around. Which is what I did. And it's such as small world that it turned out we shared mutual friends. So on his break, he showed me around the mountain and it was so much better than having a go at it alone. It was like I was almost there, I was doing the right trails, but I wasnt breaking into the woods soon enough, or I was just missing the good stuff all together. We did a short hike up, and skied some good stuff, which I also would not have had a go at alone.
Ski SantaFe
Ski SantaFe was a really fun mountain. It was perfect for dad and I to spend the day skiing together. He rocked his Head skis, purchased from the Skiershop! The mountain was surprisingly high up there, with Excellent views from the top, leading to sweet groomahs and challenging bump runs. I was outsmarted by their lift line procedure at the quad, which puts you on a people mover, moving you forward while you just wait for the chair to swing around. They must have had alot of issues with the traditional way of stop, then go, loading. It was also amusing to me that they modeled their lift shacks after dumpsters.
Silverton
Silverton was awesome. I never thought I would be able to do it, and I was "buggin out" all the way up until dropping into the first run. Then I was fine. If you don't know Silverton, it's not a resort. It is guided skiing, where the runs are accessed by a single lift, and the rest is hiking. And hike we did. I now know exactly how out of shape I am. I think I might have burned 8000 calories, no joke. There were seven of us total in the group, with one guide, and we got five really good runs in. I wont say that I was able to really look good while getting down the slopes, but I did get to break out the new skis, and they were as glorious as promised. There was no new snow, but our guide Dave knew where to find untracked terrain. Like I said, I didnt win any awards for lookin' good (except the skis...they looked good even though they weighed my pack down) but I got to do some serious turns and it felt as good as doing Tucks for the first time a few years ago. But I honestly thought I might perish at the end of the day. Im not the strongest hiker, and it was comical to see me sucking wind. The whole experience was awesome, and who can argue with getting picked up in an old UPS truck on the road after each run.
Telluride
About 4" of new snow Tuesday January 18th. The skiing was fun, and a little more relaxed than Sunday. The mountain is huge, so with some advice from Adam, our Telluride local, we were able to make the most of a day, and as the snow softened up, it just got better and better. The bump runs were great.
Crested Butte
Crested Butte, CO. The skiing at CB was awesome. I got to break out the pow skis, on a nice (frigid) blue bird day. I did just the right amount of hiking. There were trees to be had, and bowls, and mini-drops (just the right size for me, which isnt very big). It is definitely a locals mountain though, I was thankful to be shown around, and not have to figure every thing out on my own. Everyone on the mountain was all smiles, because even in the afternoon, there were still fresh tracks to be had. I also mastered the art of the T-bar tow lift, which CB utilizes to get to the good stuff. Honestly I think I was more nervous of the tow than of any skiing I have done or will do. And from the pictures you can see that McGnar was there, which was awesome.
Aspen Snowmass
Snowmass took a while to get to know on my own, but once I did, it was awesome. Really fun skiing, and for a saturday, it felt like you had the place to yourself. Snow came down hard all day, and it was glorious. It was blowing hard from the top to the middle of the mountain, so you did have to do a bit of work to find out where the snow was stashed. I ran into a former Skiershop employee (before my day) who gave me some good advice of what to ski on the mountain which I was psyched about. Small world. These are the few pictures for now, more to come later.
Aspen Highlands
Aspen Highlands, CO
Buttermilk, Aspen
Breckenridge, CO
Breck was awesome. It was huge. It would have taken me more than a few days to get to know Breck if I had not had such an excellent tour guide in Andrea, a fellow William Smith '08 grad. She is an instructor there now, and she kicks ass. And you can see from the pictures that I do in fact ski with other girls. She had me struggling to follow her around the mountain as we went boundary to boundary. We did a good amount of hiking and made alot of turns before lunch. She has the skis I wanted, the Rossi S110 and she rocked them. I still want them. Check out the sweet pics, but more on Breck to come!
Vail, CO
More to come on Vail soon! (Need better Internet....). For now enjoy some pictures!
A-Basin
Arapahoe Basin, was fun even with no new snow anywhere to be seen. It was a Sunday, and it was the first time I had seen crowds or waited in a lift line in all of Colorado. I spent the day getting to know A-Basin with Greg (from RI), and two other Pingree '04 grads Peter Glore, and Alex Mic. Both who live in the area now, and put me to shame with their sweet skills. Alex and his roomate Preston were on boards, but it was okay, they could hang. We spent a long time looking for Preston's glove which he thought was lost under the lift, but was actually under a bar stool at the bar at the end of the day. The post-ski deck scene was fun, and since it was sunny and warm, there were dogs everywhere, though Gus did not join us on the deck for fear of her getting excited and "doing her business" where skiers were trying to enjoy their beers. I forgot my camera this day, so I snapped a few shots with my phone. Mostly from the bar. I want you to take note of the PBR special: 4.50$. I love PBR but for 50 cents more I went for a slightly higher end beer, a coors light. I also snapped the Raw Bar at the base and the shot-ski.
Winter Park, CO
Winter Park, Mary Jane, CO.
Alta, Utah
Alta, Utah
Park City, UT
Park City, Utah. Wednesday Feb 2.
