Open For Season!

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.

A New Year, A New Look!

I actually have a pretty extensive html/css and graphic design background for never taking any classes. I decided that since you're all going to be stuck reading my blog for a few more years now (due to my acceptance into the four year program), I better give you something nice to look at. It took me about 4-5 hours total to put this new look together, and I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out! I will definitely be adding and changing little things here and there, so bear with me.

I'm really enjoying my classes so far this semester. I'm taking Music Appreciation, Algebra (my worst enemy, which is actually treating me well so far), Conversational Spanish, and my first four year program class, Contemporary Marketing.

It's been VERY chilly in Summit this week, and incredibly, several of the peaks in and around Summit County have been covered in snow for the last week or so. There have been rumors of another La Nina season on the way... so I'm trying to prepare myself for another 50 feet. I can't say I'm too upset, I can never have enough powder days. I really wasn't excited for winter to come because I feel like I got shafted on a warm, sunny summer (check out the entry from late June when I woke up to 8" of snow.) But I have to say that thinking of shredding the steep & deep (the deeper the powder, the steeper you want your run to be... you have to ride it to know what we mean) is making me excited. I have a lot of friends who are living in Vail this winter and riding Vail and Beaver Creek, so I think I'm going to finally go with the Epic Pass so I can ride more than 10 days out there. It sounds like this season is going to be just as epic as the pass!

EpicMix

This entry is long overdue, there just hasn't been a lot going on around here. Breckenridge is still pretty busy with holiday travelers, it even seems to be busier than last year. I've been riding a lot of superpipe lately. In fact, that's really all I do anymore, ha! I'm just really addicted to it! I'm hoping to do my first competition at the end of the season, very excited!

This year Vail Resorts introduced their season pass holders to EpicMix. Basically, EpicMix tracks your daily vertical feet, total vertical feet, and other fun facts. You can also see how many vertical feet your friends have made, when they "check-in" to a resort, and the all-time leader board for most points. This would have been awesome for me last year because I did a lot more actual riding than just hiking the pipe, and this year I also have been riding at Copper as much as I have Vail Resorts, so my vertical feet isn't that accurate. It also doesn't include A-Basin which I rode a lot during pre-season. You can check out my EpicMix profile by clicking here (I'm guestimating my actual vertical feet is about double what it shows since I ride Breck and Copper 50/50.) It also shows all the "pins" I've earned for different accomplishments. It's super awesome, I just wish it was for every resort in Colorado!

This coming week is also Ullr Fest, unfortunately my least favorite of Breckenridge's festivals. It seems to attract more drinking than usual and all the people dressed as vikings kind of freak me out. (Some people get reeeaalllyyy into it.) Luckily I don't live right along Main St. this year so it's going to be easier to avoid.