Ski Vacation 2007 (Part 1)

Each year I try to make it out to Colorado for 1-2 weeks in the winter to go skiing. This longer trip is usually more relaxed than my quick weekend ski trips, and I really get to enjoy the experience of living in the mountains in winter.

This year, my ski trip was blessed with abundant snowfall. The scene above shows the weather upon my arrival at the Moose. It then proceeded to snow 3-8 inches nearly every day of my vacation... Perfect for skiing.

The first resort on my list was Keystone (seen above). Keystone had several nice intermediate cruisers. It was a good place to warm up my legs (and lungs). Additionally I always enjoy the view across Lake Dillon towards Buffalo Mountain.

The best thing about Keystone is the night skiing, especially in the spring when the evenings are long, and the daylight lasts for several hours after other resorts have shut down their lifts. I enjoyed watching the sunset while skiing one night. Keystone also freshly grooms some of the runs just for the night skiing session. After dealing with tracked up icy snow all day, there is nothing like being able to carve perfect "S"-turns in fresh corduroy snow, under the lights.

I also got to spend a couple of days at Breckenridge. Breck is known for immaculately groomed wide open runs in a park like setting (as seen above). I like groomed runs, but I also like steep and deep sometimes. Fortunately, I was able to get off the groomed a little bit on Peak 8 and Peak 10. Though I was curious, I did not go to the top of the new Imperial lift which is now the highest lift in North America. According to the trail map, there are only double black diamond runs down from this lift, so I'll wait till summer for the view from the top.

These photos of Breckenridge are somewhat deceiving weatherwise. While it was not always completely socked in, it was very windy with 50-60 mph gusts. Fortunately, it was not cold with highs making it to around 20 each day. There were times on the chairlift though that I was concerned the cable may dislodge from it's track. My chair actually tilted sideways a couple of times when the wind would catch my skis like a sail. When it did snow, with all this wind, I could not see the chair in front of me, (or the skiers in front of me)... kind of like a certain painting at the Moose.

After Breckenridge, I visited my perenial favorite, Copper Mountain, for a couple of days. The snow was as great as ever (with a lot less wind). Additionally it was midweek and not during Spring Break. Consequently the crowds were minimal, and I could get "lost" down back trails and make first tracks in the deep snow.

Maybe because the snow was so deep (softening up the bumps), I was able to challenge myself down some of the more difficult terrain on Copper's east flank. Hopefully the improvements in my technique will last to next season.

My niece and nephew also began to improve their skills with the beginner ski lessons they took while at Copper. After running around the mountain by myself, it was nice to come back at the end of their lessons and ski some green runs with them for the first time. It is only a matter of time before they are skiing circles around me.