Jane and I took a day off work on Thursday March 7 and used our freedom to visit Vail for a day of skiing. It was a fun day, and I’ll explain why, but it made me realize how much I love the month of March. Certainly September is another great month with the baseball season drawing to a close, NFL and college football kicking in, the NBA pre-season beginning, fall colors moving into full display, and perhaps the best month for fly fishing. Unfortunately I’m also reminded of the impending winter by cooling temperatures and shorter days.
March on the other hand is full of optimism and anticipation with the first day of spring and the change to daylight savings time. The NBA season enters the stretch run and my beloved Nuggets are on a red hot winning streak. March Madness goes into full swing, and I love following the brackets and the everpresent upsets. My favorite team sport, baseball, begins spring training, and I once again hear the crack of the bat and the popping of leather as pitchers showcase their best stuff in hopes of landing a roster spot. I love the anticipation of a new season.
The ice on our Colorado streams begins to melt away and aquatic insects become active and this prompts the trout to shed their dormancy and increase their calorie intake for the upcoming warmer weather. Those first couple fishing outings on area rivers and streams are special especially when I feel the first throb of a fighting fish on the end of my fly rod.
It’s always exciting to spot the first spring bulbs that break through the mulch in our south facing backyard, and raking the raised bed and dropping cold tolerant seeds such as onions, spinach and radishes into shallow rows fills me with anxious anticipation. Seeing these seeds sprout despite the variable temperatures early in the Rocky Mountain spring is very gratifying.
St. Patrick’s Day brings the Runnin’ of the Green and Irish music and a festive atmosphere, and I enjoy this as well. On Sunday I ran the 25th edition of the Runnin’ of the Green with my son Dan and friend Kirk, and it was a great time in spite of the 30 degree temperatures.
Of course Dave’s birthday pops up in the middle of the month, and it’s an excuse to hear from friends and family and do something special. This year we will be in the mountains and I”m planning some cross country skiing and a couple hours of fly fishing and possibly an outdoor cookout in the snow.
Jane Pauses in the Back Bowls
This brings me to my most favorite aspect of the month of March…spring skiing. I love spring skiing. The sun is warm and one doesn’t need to worry as much about staying warm, and instead the emphasis is on having fun. Sure the snow can be a bit slushy, but that just makes it softer for controlling ones speed on steep downhills and moguls. The fear of ice is absent, and that translates to an easy going atmosphere. Skiers abandon their thick parkas for zany outfits and in a few cases bikini tops and shorts.
Dave Starts Down Mogul Run
While our day Thursday wasn’t quite as warm as I just described, it was nonetheless a fine warmer-than-usual ski day. There was minimal traffic on our two hour drive to and from Vail, and that in and of itself raises the enjoyment level. We put on our boots and made the walk through Vail Village to the Vista Bahn gondola, and we were on the slopes skiing by 9:30. The area didn’t have fresh snow from the night before, but quite a bit of fresh snow had fallen during the previous week. Jane and I did some nice warm up runs on the front side in the morning and then broke for lunch at Los Amigos at the base of the Vista Bahn. Because of the light weekday crowds we were able to snag a premium table on the deck overlooking the ski area.
Lovers Leap in Blue Sky Basin
We both enjoyed delectable tacos and corn chips and soaked up the sunshine and then headed back up the gondola to Mountain Top and worked our way over to Blue Sky Basin. By now the air temperature was peaking in the forties, and we were basking in bright sunshine. We discovered Hornsilver, a run off the right side (facing up) of Pete’s chair, and this quickly became my favorite run of the day. Hornsilver sports nice category 2 and low level 1 moguls, and I blasted through them with quite a bit of confidence. Our last run in Blue Sky Basin was Little Ollie, and this served as my most rigorous test of mogul skiing for the season to date.
I can report that I handled the upper stretches in fine fashion, and managed the VW beetle field near the bottom farily well, but I must admit to bailing out a couple times to rest my weary legs. It was still a great day of late season skiing, and I’m anxiously anticipating a few more before March disappears into April. Two thirds of my favorite month still lies ahead.