10/26/2011

Open For Season!

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I haven't updated in a while and I apologize for that! I had surgery last Wednesday on my arm (long story), and midterms were keeping me busy! Arapahoe Basin opened on the 13th and Loveland opened on the 14th. They duke it out every year to see who can open first, and this is the first year I've been here that ABay opened first. I actually haven't ridden yet, so I don't have any of my own photos to show you... Here's a quick video though!



After two years I can say that I am honestly unenthusiastic about the 45 minute lift line plus the lift ride up for one short "white ribbon of death" run. I guess I am too impatient these days... I'm more about the skiing than the waiting. I did however buy an "Epic Pass" for the first time, which is pretty exciting for me. I had previously bought the local pass, which only gave me 10 days at Vail and Beaver Creek, so I have only gone to Vail a few times. It's not that I'm sick of riding Breck, but I am very much looking forward to spending lots of pow days at Vail and Beaver Creek and exploring new mountains (praying for another La Nina season). Vail is so big!!! It was quite a bit more than I have previously spent ($500 vs. $650), but $650 for unlimited and unrestricted access to 7 resorts is pretty insane. If you live by any other big resort in the U.S. you can expect to pay $1,500 for a season pass to one mountain, ouch!

Ignore the 2-year-old photo! Hahaha!

We got our first big storm of the season last night, which is affecting most of Colorado and not just Summit County. Pre-season storms are always bad because the snow is still wet and heavy, which makes the roads a lot more slippery. Not to mention it's not any fun to ski in... unless you like quicksand!


Out my living room window.
Photo courteous of Snow.Com's facebook page. Breck Main St.
Photo courteous of Snow.Com's facebook page. Breck Main St.

10/10/2011

Catching the Quickest Season of the Year

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I'm not even sure that fall can be considered a season in Colorado. One day the leaves are green, the next day their yellow, the next day they're orange, and the next they're gone and there's 6" of snow on the ground. All of these photos were taken within two weeks time, most of them taken within a week.

Country Boy Mine, French Gulch, Breckenridge, CO
Country Boy Mine, French Gulch, Breckenridge, CO
Country Boy Mine, French Gulch, Breckenridge, CO
French Gulch, Breckenridge, CO
French Gulch, Breckenridge, CO
Boreas Pass, Breckenridge, CO
Boreas Pass, Breckenridge, CO

Boreas Pass, Breckenridge, CO
Goodnight!
Goodnight!
Good Morning!
Vail Pass, Vail, CO Courteous of Vail's facebook page.
Vail, CO, courteous of my friend Nicholas Eubank.
After the first winter storm, Breckenridge.
After the first winter storm, Breckenridge.
After the first winter storm, Breckenridge.
Currently Breckenridge... fall, where have you gone?


And oh yeah, winter has officially arrived at Wolf Creek Ski Area, check it out!


10/01/2011

Aspen Adventure

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About a week ago my boyfriend called me and told me he fell off a roof at work and was on his way to the hospital with an ankle the size of a watermelon. Luckily he didn't injure any tendons or ligaments (which is worse than a break), but he did have a really bad sprain. After the initial worry we were both pretty bummed because we had planned on doing a lot of hiking this fall.

Two days ago we decided that we would rather go to the Maroon Bells and not really hike than not go at all, so we loaded up, crutches and all, and made an adventure out of it. We went to the Maroon Bells that morning, shopped around Aspen, and adventured (as much as we could) around the Highlands and Snowmass Village. The weather was absolutely superb, we couldn't have asked for better. We definitely should have worn shorts, though!!!

We got lucky that we went on a day when the buses weren't running so we could drive right up to the Maroon Bells parking lot. The staff was also extremely helpful and courteous. We didn't have a handicap pass but they let us move up from the overflow lot to the front lot and park nice and close. Unlike Hanging Lake, you don't actually have to hike to the lake at the Maroon Bells, it's only a short walk from the parking lot. (There are some pretty awesome and lengthy trails past the lake, but obviously those weren't going to be happening.) This was a good thing because he was on crutches, but a bad thing because it was kind of crowded. We made it down to the end up the lake which was good enough for me. Here are some pictures in no particular order of the Maroon Bells and the road up to them! I'm bummed we didn't get to actually hike, but it's something to look forward to next summer/fall!






















It's no wonder than the movie Dumb & Dumber was all filmed in Summit County. Aspen doesn't really look anything like most people think it looks like. It's not "village-like" at all, but more so a small city. If you're from Wisconsin, it reminds me of a mix of the 3rd Ward in downtown Milwaukee and the town of Lake Geneva mixed together. I could never live there, too much traffic. It was fun to shop around there nonetheless.



Last but not least, Snowmass Village. Out of the three Aspen Mountains I haven't ridden in the winter (Aspen, the Highlands, and Snowmass), I think I would like Snowmass the best. It was beautiful with all the changing colors.





 

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