Fun Was Had By All

Our day today began like we left off yesterday.  We have the pictures to prove it.  The picture on the left was yesterday afternoon as the lifts were getting ready to shut down for the day.  The picture on the right was this morning shortly before the lifts opened.  Deja what?

Just when I thought I had seen it all (on a ski slope), after yesterdays skier in shorts sighting, just minutes ago (about 6:00 mtn. time) we saw from our condo window, two young men in swimming trunks running about 50 yards through the snow, up towards the ski slope and back to what we can only assume was their hot tub.  I believe this marks the official beginning of Spring Break.  It can only get better from here!

Some of you know about a sickness I have, that involves the enjoyment of cutting grass (as long as I am riding).  I found myself attracted to the snow machines here that come out at 5:00 sharp like robots, every evening to groom the ski trails.  At a younger age, I could have thrown it all away to come be a snowcat operator or "groomer".  Driving back and forth (or up and down the mountain in this case), but instead of cutting grass you are driving your machine that pulls something akin to a rototiller over the snow to smooth it out and leaving these nice little grooves in the snow, as if someone had just combed it.  These are the runs that Miki and I like to ski on.  The one with the moguls...suicide bumps...no!  The groomers work all night.  And from a distance, driving down the road, all you see are these lights in the darkness...very "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"-ish.

My dream machine at work.

What caught my attention the most today was not the constant flurries that kept us company all day or the more than normal "stretchers" being slid down the mountain by the ski patrol.  It was the large number of little kids on the mountain.  Mostly in ski school.  They were so entertaining to watch for a number of reasons.  First, they are so close to the ground, they look like Weebles.  The littlest ones you will see with harnesses on them and reins leading back to mom or dad.  But the funniest thing we saw today was a little one in a group of about 5, with their instructor.  The first little one was turning to start down the slope, when out of nowhere he face plants right into the snow for no apparent reason.  It was like those fainting goats on YouTube.  Seconds later, the kid rolled over and popped up looking like a snowman, ready to go.

As we get ready to head home tomorrow, I will miss looking out the window each morning to see what the weather has brought for us.  I will miss the beauty of the mountains from high above and the snowflakes falling gently to the ground.  I will miss the occasional freak show on the slopes and off.  And finally, I will miss the fireplace that remained unused during our stay, due to Miki and her hot flashes.  I was lucky not to have come down with pneumonia.  Raise your glasses and toast with me until next time...Here's to the cold outside and to the heat within... Miki.



My Zen from the Road:  We met many people on the lifts this week both young and old and in between.  All here for the same reason.  The young lady from Louisiana visiting her boyfriend, the young man taking a year off of school taking pictures of skiers for a local photography store, a couple of retired buddies giving each other shit all the way up the lift putting Miki in tears of laughter, and a pair of older ladies (older meaning older than us) that talked nonstop up the lift of all the adventures they have coming up.  From mountain biking in Moab, to overseas travel, they were some busy women.  Being active and having fun while an occasional face plant in the snow is priceless.  Well you can put a price on getting and staying here, but the priceless part is the active fun.  Be Active (and try to have fun doing it)!