Seven Days of Skiing

Staying within walking distance to a ski hill certainly has its advantages.  Perhaps the largest advantage is the convenience of coming and going as we pleased; this is a stark contrast to our usual skiing adventures, where we typically drive three hours up north to the cabin and an additional hour and a half to ski.  Driving this far is typically a commitment, it means that you will spend all day on the slopes regardless of the conditions.

This flexibility to come and go as we pleased meant that we were able to wait for the crusted snow to get softer before heading out to the slopes and let us sneak back for a quick lunch.  Given the cold nights and warm days, it was certainly advantageous to be able to ski out later in the day to avoid what we experienced on Monday's skiing adventure.

Tuesday brought us similar conditions to Monday.  Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, however, were a welcomed reprieve from the icy conditions we saw earlier in the week--as long as we waited to head out until later in the morning.  The lack of icy conditions also meant that we were able to go to the top of the mountain, where the chairlift brings you to a height of 12,840 feet.  Wednesday was our first foray at the top of the mountain.  Moguls and steep runs were our choices to pick from.  Although I less than love moguls, I was willing to give the mogul run a shot.  While it wasn't an epic failure, it was disheartening to see a seven-year-old outperforming me on this run.  The second run down, I opted for the steep run.  Going fast is way better than taking a measured mogul run in my book!

The view from 12,840 feet.

Thursday brought another bluebird sky day.  The sun quickly softened up the snow and gave us another opportunity to run to the top of the mountain.  This time, we literally made it all the way to the top.  The Imperial Lift takes you to the elevation of 12,840 feet, but if you're willing to brave a hike, you can make it all the way to the top of the lift.  While I'm typically adventurous, it was really the fact that I would be able to get an unobstructed 360 degree view that led me to the apex of the mountain.

With the wind whistling through our helmets and our legs aching from the short ascent, we were able to take a short break before sliding down the bowl to take in the breathtaking view.  Snow-capped mountains scattered with pine trees could be seen all around.  Stunning!  With the view relegated to several pictures and our memories, we began to traverse down the run.  A narrow catwalk led us to a vast, open, steep bowl.  Yes, I know I stated just a short time ago that I preferred a fast, steep run over a more calculated one; however, the slickness of the snow pack combined with the approximate 60 degree pitch of the run almost proved too much for this Midwest girl.  Gritting my teeth, digging my skis into the slope, I slowly made my way down the bowl.

At the tippity-top of the mountain, 13,000 feet above
sea level.

Making it through the bowl was only the first feat of this trying run.  The land would flatten out for a brief bit before giving way to more steep runs littered with moguls, rocks and other obstacles.  However, I was not defeated by the run and I made my way to the bottom!  I wish I could say that the adrenaline rush from skiing my first bowl led to an epic day of skiing.  Rather, I had a rush to my head from the lack of oxygen and nerves, resulting in a dizzy spell that took over an hour to shake off.  Thank goodness I was still able to wrap up a successful day on the slopes!

Taking a break before entering the bowl
to look back at the catwalk.

While it was winter at the top of the mountain, the base of the mountain was quickly seeing the effects of the spring weather.  We witnessed this on Friday as we were closing up Day 6 of our ski adventure.  We were making our way across the mountain to head from Peak 8 to Peak 9 so we could head back to the condo.  Frosty's Freeway would take us to the chairlift we needed to get to the peak; however, the lift closed before we could jump aboard.  This meant we would have to take the green run, Sawmill, to the base.  Portions of Sawmill were covered in ice, and this ice gave way to uncovered portions of earth.  This meant either having to take off the skis or slowly walk over the gravel, rocks, and sparse green cover to get to the next snow-covered portion of the run.  Though the run was only a green, it was rather a grueling way to end the day!

Day 7, Saturday.  Technically this was our departure day; and it still was.  We just decided that we would take the edge off the nineteen hour drive by doing a few runs on the hill first.  The spring weather was continuing to take its toll on the runs, and we saw staff at the resort closing off more runs.  We enjoyed some fast runs, like the black diamond American run, which was steep and fast, before we parted Breckenridge for Wisconsin.