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.