April Snow Storm

Last weekend I packed up all my ski gear and called it a year. I know A-Basin and Loveland are open until June, but I'm not really a fan of slush riding on groomed runs, so I figured I wouldn't go again. It started snowing Friday and hasn't stopped since. This whole weekend was supposed to be dedicated to school work, but with the snow I couldn't resist. I decided to go to A-Basin yesterday and it ended up being the best powder day of the year for me. I got there around 8:30 (the chairs start running at 9), and parked right up in the front. I was one of the first chairs up and had fresh tracks all day, with absolutely no lift lines. I decided to leave around 12:30 because I knew I had school work, and I also knew I wanted to get a few runs in this morning too.

This morning I got up at the same time, and left at the same time. Apparently everyone else in Summit County finally got the memo about the snow storm. I got to Keystone and traffic was at a dead stop... with another 9 miles to go to get to A-Basin. I was shocked. I realized I didn't have enough gas to get there and back if I was going to have to sit in a traffic jam, so I drove about 8 miles back to Dillon. By the time I got back the traffic jam hadn't moved, but I decided to try and wait it out anyway. I sat in it for an hour and a half, and finally decided to go home.

I'm bummed I don't get to ride today, because it's the most snow we've ever gotten in one day all season. But I'm happy I got to go yesterday, because I didn't think I'd even ride again this season, much less get a powder day. Besides, finals are next week and school work is what's most important. I'm 19 years young, and I have plenty of powder days ahead of me.

Powder Tree Runs at A-Basin, April 23rd.

A-Basin, April 23rd.

Outside my friend's house last night in Silverthorne, CO.

Attempting to drive up to A-Basin this morning.

Roommates and Housing

Lately I have been getting a lot of emails regarding roommates and housing, I guess it's that time of year! Though I cannot personally get you set up with a roommate or a place to live, I can point you in the right direction!

Craigslist is probably the #1 spot to look for roommates or housing if you live out of state. A majority of my friends live here in Breck in houses with 3-7 people, while others live in apartments (like me) with just one other person. There are also some friends who live out in Blue River. The upside to living in town is that you can take the bus or walk virtually anywhere, but rent is going to be more expensive. The upside to living in Blue River is that the rent is going to be cheaper, but you have to drive into town because the buses don't go out there. Blue River is known for it's big nice houses, while Breck is known for convenience. It all depends what you're looking for!

If you live in Summit County or are visiting for the day, you can always get a Summit Daily Newspaper. There are always tons of listings for roommates or open rooms, and then you can go meet the roomies and check out the place before you move in!

If you are looking for a job as well as going to CMC, you can try and get a job at any of the Vail resorts and live in employee housing until you find a more permanent home. Employee housing is on Airport Rd, just a short 10 minute walk to CMC! Rent is month to month, so you can leave at anytime... and it's actually pretty darn nice for employee housing! On top of that, it's probably the most affordable you'll find in Breckenridge. I have a friend who lives there, so I'm there quite often.

Here's some advice:

• Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into when you sign a year lease. There are not a lot of job opportunities here in the summer and a lot of people leave.
• If you are looking at an apartment, make sure you have a roommate before you sign the lease. A few friends signed without a roommate, and ended up paying quite a few months rent until they found one. That, and a few roommates have bailed because they were not on the lease, therefor not responsible for rent.
• If you don't have a vehicle, try to find a place in Breck. The free bus does go all around Summit County, but it's not a short ride. The free bus does not go to Blue River, either.
• If you have pets, make certain with your landlord that they are allowed on the property. When me and my roommate signed our lease our landlord told us it was fine we had my roommates 90lbs chocolate lab. After moving in we met our manager and she informed us only owners were allowed to have pets, no matter what our landlord said. 

That's all I can think of for now, happy house hunting! 

Liberated

I have always loved riding the bowls, chutes, and powder at Breck, but I have always struggled doing so on my park skis. I decided that before the season was over I wanted to demo a pair of powder/ big mountain skis for the day, and I finally did. I went to a local ski shop called Colorado Freeride and got a pair of Liberty Helix big mountain skis. They were 176's, which I was worried would be a little big for me, but I went for it anyway. We had a good 8 inches of fresh powder so I was incredibly stoked, so stoked I ended up getting first chair up 6 chair and imperial bowl.

What shocked me most about these skis was the fact that I could hit powder full speed from a groomed run and not lose any speed, unlike my park skis which are so soft they roll up on me and I end up somersaulting. I floated like a boat through over the powder, but could still dig my edge in and cruise (and I mean cruise!) down the groomers. I was also very impressed by how light they were for their size, and found that because of that the length was superb. The weight also made it a breeze to hike.

Overall, I rode like my pro friends do yesterday. Those skis made me hike runs I would never hike, bomb runs I would never have traversed, and take my skiing to higher levels. Colorado Freeride closes at 7:00pm, and I waited until 6:45 to take them back. To say the least, I was devastated. I felt like I was taking my puppy to the pound. Not only did it make me sad I didn't have the money to buy them, it made me sad the season is ending. If it weren't for my two knee surgeries this summer from preventing me from working, you can bet your bottom dollar I'd be saving up for those!!

Thanks to Liberty for the best day of skiing I've ever had in my entire life.

Park City

This post in long overdue, and I apologize for that. Time gets away from me now that the year is quickly ending.

This past weekend I went to Park City, Utah. I have been having some nasty health problems and was kind of stressed with school, so I decided a mini vacation would be nice. The drive was very long, and there wasn't much to look at for most of it. I never realized how interesting nothing could be to look at, ha! The 5th Annual Queens Cup was being held in Park City, which is an all female ski and snowboard competition. I stayed at my friend Ashley's house, and her father and his girlfriend were soooooo sweet to all 10 of us girls and 1 boy. They made us delicious meals and welcomed us like we were family. It was really cool to ride a new resort, the terrain was so much different than Breck. And it was even cooler that I didn't have to pay for any lift tickets because PowderCorp owns Park City and Copper, where I work. To say the least, I missed the greenery. The competition was awesome, and all my friends did awesome as well, but after 4 days I was very happy to be back. I wish I had taken more pictures, I guess I was just too caught up having fun!

My friend Ashley in black and my friend Maddie in pink coaching their team before the competition.

Papa bear Mr.Bill Battersby cooking us some breakfast!

Gus, the only guy of the group, hanging in their even in the wee hours of the morning to cheer on his girlfriend Eli! Awwww, what a guy!

The sunset just outside of Steamboat on the drive home. So beautiful!

As you all know yesterday was April Fool's Day, which for Breckenridge locals means "Gaper day". Gapers are what we call tourists who dress, ski and act funny. April Fool's Day is our day to make fun of them. I was in school and had tons of homework, so I didn't get to participate... but I have some awesome photos my friends took. It looked like it was a blast.

From left to right: Kaitlin, Ethan, CJ, Derek, and Ian in their gaper gear! Too funny!

As school is coming to an end I'm realizing how fast this year went by. Most of my friends are moving back home for the summer in a month, and I don't know who is all coming back. It was by far the most fun year of my life, from cliff jumping, to longboarding, to skiing, hikes, and going to the Dew Tour and X Games. This year was way more than I ever expected it to be, and I'd like to thank CMC for that. Our youth goes by so quickly, so why spend all day in school wasting it away when we're going to work the rest of our lives? CMC gave me the freedom to do what I love during the day and go to school in the evening. It was the perfect balance.

I will for sure be coming back next year, because I can't see myself living anywhere else. As the commercial says: "Colorado is the only place you'll see a $2,000 mountain bike on top of a $200 dollar car, and it's the only state where people will drive 2 hours to ride 12 inches of powder, but can't get to work when there's 4." The people here believe in slowing down and enjoying their lives, and not sacrificing that for work. It's no wonder we're the skinniest state in the U.S. And speaking of skinny, I started this new 40 minute pilattes work out, I'm so addicted I do it twice a day! 

As much as I love skiing and school, it will be nice to get a change of pace. I skied all last summer too, so after doing it for a year straight, I'm ready for a break. I'm excited to get home and see my dogs, and my extended family, and get up to our family's summer house for some fishing and jetskiing.

Man, I sure do live a rough life... Ha!