Neednsnow

On Saturday night another storm rolled-in with more snow potential.

Being a good boy, I went to bed early with the intention of getting up early. Well, I woke up late as always. Those who know me….I’m not selective with my tardiness, it follows me everywhere.

I left the house at 645 and there was no traffic on the road….”wait, I forgot my backpack!” Turned around to grab it. Back on the road and 5 mins later “argh, I forgot my gloves! Wait, no worries I have a spare pair in the pack I just grabbed. Look at me being prepared”. Another 5 minutes later “Damnit! My pass is in my other jacket!”. So I turned around, again, to retrieve my pass.

Just a little FYI. Day passes at Vail and Breckenridge are $119 per day! However, if ya buy an Epic Pass in April for the following year, it costs about $600. That’s good for 8 resorts between here and Lake Tahoe, CA. So, those of you who ask “How does he afford this?” That is how. Driving a 10 year old car with 184000 miles helps, too.

So, 45 minutes later, I’m on my way to Vail. Again, not wanting to pay parking prices, I googled a great piece of insider knowledge. There is free parking at Donovan Park. On a Sunday, the mountain can be very busy, so the lift lines at the base of the mountain in the AM are a long mess. However, Donovan Park is a quarter mile walk (along a pretty stream) to the Cascade Valley Lift.

Those of you who have been to any number of ski resorts at opening on a weekend powder day know of the long lift lines. (Working on the Video Upload Parameters. Sorry about this Poor Load)

This lift takes ya to the top and one lift later, you’re at the top of the Lionshead Gondola. From there I trekked across the resort (quite an endeavor) to Blue Sky Basin. Plenty of fresh lines to be had. Trees

Apparently Vail has some drops.

The place is just Massive!

Going through the trees, we often have to be careful of the toll-collecting trees. Apparently this one wanted my pack, eventhough it was strapped to my back.

Notice the abrupt stop to my track. At least Geigrrig is durable. Withstood the force of my 200 lbs with ease.

Life is good, but I’m needn more snow!

LV.

Leaving Altoona, PA on Monday afternoon meant I got to drive two long days. 9 hours on Monday and 15 hours on Tuesday got me to Denver, close enough. I arrived at destination #1, Breckenridge, CO on Wednesday evening with a storm rolling it.

The storm eventually dropped 22 in the Midwest. At Breckenridge, it dropped 5 inches.

Nevertheless, I drove into town, paid the 12$ parking fee at the gondola, and ventured straight to the T-bar figuring good lines could be had. Being one of the first 20 in line, I was a little excited. I should have known better. The bowls were full of rocks, wind-blown crunch, and not much snow. My board took a beating, and so did my demeanor. The mountain was crowded and got skied off relatively fast. Grumble.

Friday morning I woke up in my home for 2 weeks with little motivation to go play in the snow.

Upon checking the report on opensnow.com and Joel (no, I don’t know Joel, but he provides a narrative of weather forecasts) suggested a day on the hill. So, I wandered to Vail.
Vail immediately made me happy because I was able to park on Frontage Road, saving my the 25$ parking garage fee. The snow was fluffy and after hiking a bit. Fresh tracks could be found.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2Fj5O4-4yw

My demeanor was much more pleasant.

Another day in alpine bliss. Sunday February 24th. Vail, Co.

Settled in. Feb 21-22