Vail 03/16/2012 Photo Album

Birthdays haven’t been something I look forward to since I turned 21. These milestones seem to fly by faster than telephone poles viewed from the window as one drives by. But I suppose there is no stopping them so why not jump on board and enjoy.

A birthday is probably a fine excuse for celebrating life, spending time with family and loved ones and choosing to do something enjoyable. That’s what I did on Friday, March 16, 2012. Actually my birthday celebration began on Thursday evening when Dan joined Jane and I for dinner at the Phoenician Kabob, one of my favorite restaurants in Denver. Dan had a busy day on Friday as he prepared to depart for Tanzania. Dan’s gift to me was special; he paid for my wellerfish url for the remainder of the year so you readers can look forward to a continuation of my ramblings.

With the early spring weather in Colorado I chose to spend Friday with my lovely wife skiing at Vail. I actually love the time of my birthday as there are so many things to do. Spring skiing is always fun, baseball is beginning to kick in, March Madness is in progress, bulbs begin to bloom, and fishing can be decent. Friday was definitely my best skiing day of the season so far. Temperatures were probably in the fifties on the mountain so there were no cold hands or feet to deal with. Once the sun got high in the sky, the hard crusty snow softened to the consistency of mashed potatoes in places where direct sunlight pounded the brilliant white surface.

Jane Looking Good in Steep Mogul Section

My highlights on the day were skiing moguls in Sun Up Bowl and then navigating some more massive soft moguls on Genghis Kahn in China Bowl. Second was sharing lunch with Jane at Los Amigos at the base in Vail Village. Since it was a weekday we were able to get a table without waiting and soak up the sun while enjoying Mexican fare.

Birthday Dave on Espresso

After we returned to our house from skiing the temperature in Denver remained over 70. Jane and I enjoyed a Lefthand Milk Stout on the patio before some clouds rolled in and forced us inside. Jane prepared one of my favorite meals for dinner, salmon wrapped in pancetta and grilled over charcoal.

Pretty Aspen Grove

I suppose birthdays aren’t that bad after all.

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.

Vail Ski Resort 03/04/2012 Photo Album

Amy, Dan and friends Brady and Kara were meeting in Park City, Utah for a long weekend of early March skiing. This left their friend Kirk behind in Denver studying for medical school exams, so Kirk decided to join Jane and I at our condo in Dillon again. We also thought we would have Karen and David Gaige with us again, but they couldn’t find dog sitters and declined our invitation at the last minute.

Kirk stopped over to our house on Friday night and prepared a wonderful dinner consisting of eggplant curry. Jane and I loved it and were fortunate enough to own leftovers that will be consumed on Sunday night. After dinner and clean up we packed the Santa Fe and departed for Dillon. We left at 7:15PM and arrived at the condo by approximately 9:30 after picking up the keys in Frisco. We decided to visit Vail on Saturday and crashed relatively early in anticipation of a day of skiing.

On Saturday morning after a great breakfast of waffles and berries, we set out for Vail. Vail pass was a bit treacherous and we passed several accidents which added to our angst; however, we avoided negative incidents and arrived at the Vail parking facility, put on our ski boots, hiked through Vail Village, and rode two chair lifts to the summit by 10AM. It was quite cold with the Sante Fe thermometer registering 0-3 degrees and the wind was blowing quite strong off and on.

Jane and Kirk at Vail Village Base Area

The three of us spent most of the morning in the back bowls before arriving at Two Elks Lodge for lunch by 11:30. After lunch we headed to China Bowl and then up the chair to Blue Sky Basin. Little Ollie was perhaps our favorite run of the day with the sun peeking out occasionally and medium sized soft moguls to maneuver over and around. Because of the frigid temperatures and wind chill, Dave was experiencing severely cold feet which forced an end to the day of skiing by 3PM. After climbing Vail pass we returned to the condo for some appetizers and then dined at our favorite haunt in Silverthorne, Murhpy’s. Murphy’s seems to be the one establishment that doesn’t get crowded and require long waits.

On Sunday morning we all awoke early and decided to truck back to Denver for breakfast ahead of traffic. This strategy worked extremely well, and we were only held up for a brief closing of the Eisenhower Tunnel while three trucks carrying hazardous material passed through. Kirk joined us for a tasty breakfast and then took off to do more studying.

In August of 2011 Dave had his mountain bike stolen while locked to a bike stand with a cable lock outside the Colorado Athletic Club on Welton Street. He received a flyer in the mail about a massive bike sale at the Bicycle Village in Aurora, so Jane and Dave drove south to the sales event. A large tent was erected over the parking lot and after inspecting a couple bikes, Dave purchased a Scott mountain bike. In addition Jane and Dave bought a Yakima bike rack that fits over the spare tire on the RAV. This rack normally costs $180, but with the 50% off coupon received in the mail, was purchased for $90. In addition Jane found some nice deals on apparel.

A Scott Mountain Bike

Jane Models New Shorts and Windbreaker

We returned home satisfied with our purchases and given the beautiful air temperatures in the 50’s couldn’t wait to try out the bike. Jane wore her new shorts and windbreaker, and we did a 1.5 hour bike loop around Central Park in Stapleton and City Park next to the Denver Zoo. The bike ride and the appearance of crocuses in the back yard made us both anxious for the approaching spring in the Rocky Mountains.

First Crocuses of Spring

Arapahoe Basin 02/26/2012 Photo Album

One of Jane’s Christmas presents was two tickets to see comedian Brian Regan on Saturday night, February 25 so Jane and I decided to make it a short weekend at our Dillon condo. In order to avoid the risk of traffic tie ups heading west on Friday night we ate dinner near our house at Buffalo Wild Wings before embarking on the trip to Dillon at around 7:30PM.

We planned to return to Denver no later than 2PM on Saturday so elected to ski at Arapahoe Basin as it is only 20 minutes from our condo. We began skiing at around 10AM and rode the Black Mountain Express and then the Lenawee lift to the top of the bowl. Here we discovered that Montezuma Bowl was open, so we slid down the far side. On the ride back up to the top of Montezuma the chair stopped frequently as high winds gusted by us. Fortunately our backs were to the wind or it would have been brutal. We did a few runs on the front side and took a break to warm ourselves up at 11:00AM.

Strong Winds Blow Snow Everywhere

While we sat in the Black Mountain lodge and soaked up the sun in our little corner of heaven, Jane noticed that the Lenawee lift had stopped as well as the other lift that takes skiers to the top further to the right. Apparently the high winds halted lift service, and this drove all the skiers to the two lifts at the bottom. We skied from Black Mountain to the base and upon viewing the huge lines, decided to call it a day at noon and head back to Denver.

Outrageous Line after Top Lifts Shut Down

Vail Ski Resort 02/11/2012 Photo Album

Jane was able to take a vacation day on Friday, February 10 so John Broadbent joined us on a weekday ski trip to Vail. Once we’d arrived, we met our friends Fred and Douggie Young at the top of the Mountaintop Express lift at 10AM. With Fred leading the charge, John and I immediately did four runs in the back bowls while Jane and Douggie dropped down the frontside and met us at the top of the lift. It was pretty amazing how close the timing worked out on our two separate groups arriving at the top of the lift within a tight time range.

Jane and Douggie

We all headed to Blue Sky Basin for a couple nice runs before lunch and and then were lucky to grab seating for five at noon in Two Elks Lodge. After lunch Fred, John and I did three more runs in the back bowls; China Bowl, Teacup Bowl and Sun Up Bowl before rejoining the girls at the Avanti lift at 2:30. We did two more runs on the front side of Vail before calling it a successful day. The snow was the best I’d experienced this season so far, but the air temperatures remained quite cold throughout the day.

Jane and John with No Stickers

John, Jane and I returned to our condo in Dillon and relaxed a bit before meeting Fred and Douggie at Hacienda Real in Frisco for a filling dinner. After dinner we returned to the condo and attempted to keep each other awake.

On Saturday morning we had a great breakfast at the condo, John departed for his return trip to Denver, and Jane and I prepared to cross country ski. We visited the Wilderness Sports outdoor shop in Dillon, and Jane rented skis, poles and boots and then we set off for the Keystone Nordic Center. The nordic center was easy to find, and in short order we’d purchased trail passes and set off on one of the many loops that begin at the lodge. It turned out to be a gorgeous sunny day. I’m sure the temperatures never rose above the 30’s but with the radiant energy emanating from the bright sunshine, it felt like the 50’s. Jane and I accomplished three loops. The map guide told us that the last loop should take 55 minutes, so we set a goal to beat that mark, and did in fact finish the distance in 45 minutes including a stop to take photos.

Nordic Combined Champion?

After skiing we checked out the town of Dillon and watched some crazy para-skiers propel themselves across the frozen surface using wind power. We returned Jane’s ski package and then drove across the dam road to Frisco so Jane could visit the bead shop on the main street. After browsing the beads, we stopped at a coffee shop for tea, cappacino, and a cranberry nut bar treat. Next it was back to the condo to take showers and await Dan who was skiing at A-Basin on Saturday with some friends who rented a spot on “the beach”.

Dan arrived around 5PM and we chatted a bit before heading out to Murphy’s for dinner. Dan had run in to Brady and Kara at A-Basin, and they were staying at Fred and Douggie’s condo, so we invited them to join us at Murphy’s. They did in fact agree to join us and arrived in time to share in some Thai chicken appetizers. After dinner Dan returned to the condo and retrieved his bag before returning to Denver.

Jane and I packed everything up on Sunday morning and got an early start on our return trip to Denver to prepare for another work week.

Keystone Ski Area 02/04/2012 Photo Album

Jane and I watched the weather reports anxiously as the weekend approached. We spent a lot of money to rent our condo in Dillon for weekends during ski season, and the approaching storm could inhibit our ability to drive to the mountains on Friday, February 2. Was this storm going to deliver on its forecasted accumulation? As I completed my daily run on Thursday after work some fine snow began to descend from the overcast skies. The weather forecasters were right on the money as they predicted the storm would begin around 5PM on Thursday and continue until Saturday morning.

10 Inches on Grill

When Jane and I awoke on Friday morning, there was already perhaps eight inches on the ground at our house, and the overcast sky indicated no end in sight. We each left for work and at noon Jane called to let me know that she was getting out of work early to hunker down and wait out the storm. I kept checking the weather reports, and I noticed the accumulations were the greatest on the plains, significant in Denver but less than the plains, and diminishing as one traveled west into the mountains. If we could make it up the major climb just west of Denver, we could probably get to our condo.

When I returned home from work, Jane and I discussed the conditions and decided to make the trip. I shoveled the sidewalk in front of the house, and we tossed our gear and suitcases in the Santa Fe and took off for Dillon at around 2:30PM. The worst part of the trip was from our house to Idaho Springs, and I maintained a speed of 45 MPH on the steep downhill stretches in the mountains. Fortunately the trip was uneventful and we arrived at our condo by 4PM.

Kirk and Dave Display Their Kerchiefs

Kirk, a friend of Amy and Dan, was planning to join us later in the evening, so Jane and I checked out the Dam Brewery in Dillon for dinner. After we returned home Kirk arrived and we watched the Nuggets lose to the LA Lakers.

Unfortunately in spite all the snow in Denver, there appeared to be no fresh snow in Dillon as we awoke on Saturday morning and prepared to ski. We agreed to visit the closest area to our lodging, Keystone Ski Area just up the road. We had a nice breakfast and left the condo by 9:30AM and arrived at the ski area ready to ski by 10AM. It was quite cold all day, but no snow. We skied mostly on the front side of Keystone, but did take two runs on North Peak after having a nice lunch at the Outpost. Lunch was perhaps the highlight of the day as the skiing was marginal at best. Most of the heavily used slopes were packed manmade snow with a thin layer of groomed granular dust in places.

Dragon Fort

The best slopes on the frontside had icy scraped areas but enough softer granular snow along the border of the run to make turns somewhat  in the realm of accomplishment. On the last run on North Peak after lunch, Jane fell and sprained her thumb, so she rested in Summit House while Kirk and I did two more runs. For the final run we skied down Flying Dutchman to River Run which was a sheet of ice.

Jane Looking Great on the Slopes

We returned to our condo and had some snacks while Kirk found a Starbucks with Wi-Fi to study before dinner. At 6PM or so we had dinner at Murphy’s Irish Pub, a nice little out of the way spot on Blue River Parkway north of I70.

We returned home on Sunday morning to 15 inches of snow, but the roads were cleared and mostly dry. I did a cross country skiing loop in Central Park near our house before departing for a Super Bowl party at John and RoxAnne’s apartment.

Vail Ski Resort 01/28/2012 Photo Album

Jane was able to get out of work at noon on Friday so she and I packed the car and got off to an early start on our third ski weekend at our rental condo in Dillon, CO. We avoided traffic and got to the condo by 3:30PM. We made plans to meet our friends, Fred and Douggie Young, at 6:30PM. Since we had some time to spare before dinner we did some shopping at the Columbia Sportswear outlet and then went to the Natural Grocers store and picked up assorted items that we can’t find at the local King Soopers.

We called the Youngs, and Douggie informed us that we were all meeting at Hacienda Real in Frisco. We arrived at practically the same time as the Youngs and snagged a table for eight. The place was rather crowded so we were quite amazed that we were able to do this. In short order the Young’s friends Pat and Paul and Debbie and Harold arrived and joined us. Pat and Paul live in Colorado Springs, and Paul was a fraternity brother of Fred’s. We were surprised to discover that Pat’s mother lives in Allentown, Pa. We made plans to meet the Youngs and Pat and Paul on Saturday morning at the top of Lionshead at 10AM.

On Saturday morning we gathered our skiing gear and made the drive to Vail. The roads were bare and traffic was practically non-existent. We parked at Lionshead and waited in a long line, but arrived at Eagles Nest at precisely 10AM. The foursome was there waiting having just exited the chair lift. The others had arrived at 8:30 and had registered quite a few runs near Eagles Nest already.

We skied together for the remainder of the day with the highlight being two runs in the back bowls. Fred, Paul and I did a run down Ricky’s Ridge in Sundown Bowl and then Fred and I were joined by Jane for a run down Wow in the same bowl. By the end of the day my hands and toes were quite chilled so Jane and I returned to Lionshead ahead of the others.

Fred Ready to Kick It In

Saturday evening we had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant in Frisco and then drove south to Breckenridge and checked out the snow sculpture contest. It was quite frigid as we walked the sidewalks of Breckenridge and photographed our favorite snow art.

Jane Blends with Snow Figure

Vail Ski Resort 01/21/2012 Photo Album

Jane and I took off Friday evening for our drive to Dillon and the condo we are renting on weekends for the 2012 ski season. We planned to arrive at the condo around 7:30 and eat a light dinner. Dan and friends Devon, Brady and Kara were driving up later and crashing at the condo for Friday night and then skiing at Vail on Saturday.

Unfortunately we hit heavy bumper to bumper traffic between Georgetown and the Eisenhower Tunnel so didn’t arrive until 8:00PM. We grabbed a quick dinner at Chipotle in Silverthorne, and the rest of the crew arrived at around 10:30.

Saturday morning brought virtually no new snow, but we all decided to drive to Vail for the day. I had skied Vail the previous Friday with John Broadbent, so I was curious to see how the conditions had changed. After we parked and walked through Vail Village to the lift area, we discovered Dan waiting for the girls even though they had left the condo 45 minutes before us. They parked at the free parking in East Vail and took the shuttle bus. We agreed to meet as a group at Two Elks Lodge at 12:30 as the younger members of our group wanted to ski the recently opened back bowls and Blue Sky Basin.

The conditions had improved somewhat from the previous week, but remained very thin on the trails that did not benefit from snowmaking. Jane and I remained on the front side of Vail for the morning and worked our way to Two Elks by noon and snagged a large table. Within ten minutes Dan and the rest of the gang arrived and we all relaxed and had lunch together.

A Big Smile from Jane

After lunch Jane and I took a run down China Bowl and planned to return to the top on the Teacup lift. However, as we approached Teacup lift we noticed that the lift line to Blue Sky Basin was very short so we hopped on  and enjoyed a run on Cloud Nine. After one run in Blue Sky we returned on the Teacup Express and then worked our way to the Lionshead Gondola. By this time it had begun snowing fairly heavily so we appreciated the shelter of the gondola. Our final run was on Born Free, and when we reached the base, we decided to call it a day. Jane  contacted Dan, and they were on their way down as well so we waited for them. We offered them a ride to the free parking lot, but a shuttle bus arrived as we neared the parking garage, so they jumped on the bus.

Kara and Brady

We invited Karen and David Gaige to join us for Saturday evening, so when we returned to the condo we contacted them, and they arrived by around 4:30PM along with the kids. Brady’s parents, Dougie and Fred, were also at their condo in Dillon waiting for the forecasted snowstorm, so we called them and invited them over and had a great impromptu spaghetti feast at the condo. Everyone pitched in with food preparation and clean up. Karen and David stayed with us on Saturday night.

On Sunday morning we had a great breadfast, and Karen and Dave departed for snowshoeing while Jane and I cleaned up the condo, packed and loaded the car. We left Frisco after returning the key by 10AM and returned to Denver before noon.