Beaver Creek 03/10/2012 Photo Album
March 9-11 represented the final weekend of our Dillon condo rental and coincided with Jane’s sister and brother-in-law staying at the Ritz Carlton Bachelor Gulch, so we planned to meet them on Saturday for a day of skiing. In addition Jane and I invited our friend, John Broadbent, to join us.
John decided to drive up to the condo on Saturday and meet us, and then spend the rest of the day skiing at Beaver Creek and hanging out with the Vogels. The weekend began with a call from Dan saying he was in the Stapleton area after picking up his bike at Cycleton, and wondered if we’d like to meet him at Casey’s for a beer. We agreed and made a quick trip to the Stapleton Town Center where we met Dan, and he had put his name on the list for a table. While we waited for a table, Dan’s roommate Loren stopped by. She works promoting beverages for Diageo as a second job, and she was handing out an Irish beer made by the same company that makes Guinness stout. Jane and I each had a Guinness while we waited and Dan drank one of the freebies offered by Loren. While consuming our drinks our table opened up, and we enjoyed a casual dinner at Casey’s.
After dinner Jane and I hustled back to the house and gathered up our things and drove to the condo in Dillon. We got a later start than normal, so didn’t have much time to relax before crashing ahead of our expected long day on Saturday.
On Saturday morning we awoke and Jane began preparing breakfast. John was due to arrive between 8 and 8:30AM, so I called him to check his whereabouts at 7:45, and we discovered he was less than 15 minutes away, so we waited for him to join us for breakfast. After breakfast we hit the road and drove over Vail pass to Bachelor Gulch and met the Vogels and guests at their condo. The valets parked our car and transported all the ski gear to the ski exit area at the club. Judy and Bill were preparing to ski, so we waited and eventually were on the slopes by approximately 10:30AM. We did a couple runs in the Bachelor Gulch area and then headed to Arrowhead for two more warmups.
Jane, Bill, Judy and John at Start of Day of Skiing
Next we angled across the mountain to the main Beaver Creek area and did a bunch of runs before ultimately working our way to the far eastern end. Here we did Ripsaw and rode the new high speed quad out of the Rose Bowl. We again worked our way back across the mountain until we finally skidded back to Bachelor Gulch and returned to the Vogel’s condo for lunch. Bill was done for the day as he wanted to watch the Florida State vs Duke ACC playoff game. John, Jane and I put our ski gear back on and returned to the slopes and decided to head straight to Grouse Mountain and get a few black runs in before the lifts closed.
We did in fact manage to descend Grouse Mountain twice before the lift shut down, and then went up Larkspur and angled back to Bachelor Gulch by 3:45PM. The two runs on Grouse Mountain were my favorites with some huge moguls conquered by John and me. Jane did the ultra steep groomer right next to the mogul field. It was a beautiful ski day as the sun was bright all day, and the snow softened up nicely, but not to the point of heavy mashed potato consistency.
Apres Ski Wine
After getting our skis and boots back to our car in the valet parking lot, John, Jane and I migrated to the Ritz Carlton Hotel base for apres ski festivities. A guitarist was playing southern rock tunes, and the fire pit was flaming, while other skiers were basking next to the pool in their swimwear. It was a strange juxtaposition of swimmers and skiers. Bill and Judy grabbed seats along the wall on the far side of the patio, and we all immediately shed several layers of clothes while we drank a beverage and listened to the entertainment. After a bit, Chris and Jenny joined us in their T-shirts and shorts.
Shorts and Short Sleeve Weather
Eventually we headed back to the condo and put on our swimsuits and then went down to the first floor and out to the hot tub. We had the entire hot tub to ourselves and while soaking could watch the end of the Arizona vs CU PAC-12 championship game that was eventually won by CU. After our soak, Jane, John and I took showers in the locker rooms adjoining the ski storage area. We agreed to meet by 6:30 in order to be in a position to drive to Ti Amo, the restaurant where we had reservations for 6:45. Eleven of us feasted on great Italian dinners and then John, Jane and I said our goodbyes and returned to our condo for the night.
On Sunday morning we were up at our normal time of 6:30, but soon remembered that we made the switch to daylight saving time, so it was actually 7:30. We had another tasty but quick breakfast and packed the car, returned the key, and headed back to Denver. After unpacking at home, Jane and I went for a long walk. When I returned I assembled our new Yakima bike rack that fits on the RAV spare tire, while Jane did some yard cleanup in the backyard around the patio. I interrupted Jane to ask if she’d like to go to Home Depot to buy seeds for the garden, and she agreed, so we biked there. Jane guarded the bikes while I purchased some radish and spinach seeds. My top priority was to buy onion sets, but they weren’t stocked yet, so we biked back to 9026 35th Avenue and jumped in the car and drove to City Floral where I purchased a mesh bag filled with yellow onion sets.
Jane Needs a Trash Boxer
When we returned to the house, Jane finished cleaning up the corner of the patio while I planted onions, radishes and spinach. Denver is supposed to experience a week of weather with highs in the 60’s, so I’m hopeful this will enable the seeds to germinate ahead of a likely return to cold winter weather.