Skies Don't Work on Pavement, I Would Know

From Crested Butte

I didn't have any drink to spill on myself so I decided to get road rash instead.

Each day we walked up the street to this cut out in the snow and skied down “homeowner” to the Gold Link Lift. It was as ski in/ski out as you can get in my book. When we were done for the day we skied down “homeowner”, found the UT flag David had put out marking our exit and skied right up to the street. Every day except yesterday it was perfect, I skied to the cut out in the snow, angled my skies down and slid onto the snow covered street and skied down to the house and practically into the garage. It was so fun I could hardly contain my excitement. I had never been to a place where you skied right up to your front door!

Yesterday however was not like the other days. It was warmer and most of the snow had melted off the street. So as I came around the curve and up to the cut out in the snow, I noticed it was a steep drop, the snow plows had pushed the snow from the street to the edges so there was a steep drop off, then the street which was bare of snow. I poked my skies out over the built up snow edge right before the street and thought to myself, “How can I ski down to the house so I don’t have to walk?” Then it comes to me, I decided I would just ease my skies down the snow, make a sharp right onto the side of the road where there was still snow and ski down to the garage. It was a perfect plan.

So I went for it; I lean my skies down and slide off the edge, but before I can turn right I slid directly onto the street and my skies come to a sharp halt. My upper body keeps moving forward and since my legs are frozen to the ground because skies don’t actually work on pavement, I proceeded to fly forward. I caught myself with my hands just before my face got cozy with the street. So here is the visual, my legs are sprawled out, I am laying face down on the pavement and my arms out I like just scored a soccer goal. My poles are wrapped around my wrists so they are pointing outward, one ski had popped off and the other was attached and at a 90 degree angle to my leg. Karen, my friend I was, with wanted to laugh but was worried I had done some serious damage to my face. “Are you ok,” she asks. As I pushed myself up with my hands I shout back, “yea, I’m fine.” I pick myself back up, get my skies on and make my way down the street, on the snowy part. I look back at Karen who, after seeing me face plant it on the street, has decided to take her skies off and walk. I am laughing hysterically at myself and yell back at Karen, “I’m glad you didn’t have the camera out!”

Ultimate Skiing

SmartWool Light Skiing Sock - Women's

Fourstar Clothing Co Filbert Full-Zip Hooded Jacket - Men's

I Need to Ski More Often

From Crested Butte

Crested Butte

Before this vacation, I think the last time I skied was about 3 years ago in Tahoe and before that I think it had been 3 or 4 years. No one can be a great skier skiing once every 3 years, or at least I can’t. I did manage to make it down the mountain on the first pass without falling although I certainly feel many times after that run down the mountain. Falling didn’t deter me; I skied all 4 days and loved every minute of it, even the falls.

I stuck mostly to blue runs with a few greens; I didn’t want to break anything before I embark on yoga teacher training. Breaking something would be devastating to my new life goals so I decided easy and fun would be better than trying to “out do” my last ski experience, which again, was over 3 years ago. (No need to be a show-off.)

I got some great ski tips on Thursday and practiced actually using my poles instead of holding onto them like they were simply an accessory. I also learned to make smaller “s” curves and to keep my knees together. Both techniques made my thighs and quads hurt so I was glad I had received those tips late in the trip!

On my way back to the airport in Gunnison, I started thinking about the last 5 days in Crested Butte; I don’t think I could have asked for a better trip. As I rode the Alpine Express shuttle back to Gunnison I looked at the mountain and admired the steep snowy slopes I had just spent the better part of 4 days skiing and the lifts I had become good friends with. And the weather could not have been more perfect, sunny some days and snowing others, perfect every day.

The sun was beating down on me in the Alpine Express van, making me drowsy. I leaned my head back on the seat and closed my eyes. About halfway there I hear the driver point out a bald eagle up a head. I slowing opened my eyes and squinted toward the tree I thought she was referring to and barely made out a blackish looking thing that could have been a bird but my eyes were too sleepy to make it out. I blinked a few times and as we passed the tree I saw through the back window a bald eagle sitting in a tree. I smiled inside and thought that was a nice way to end an already wonderful trip. I promptly fell back asleep.

Around Gunnison and Crested Butte (Images of America: Colorado)

Crested Butte: From Coal Camp to Ski Town

Amazing Creste Butte Snow and I was There to Enjoy It

From Creste Butte

Me at the top of Paradise Express Lift

Creste Butte got something like 9 inches of snow last week, or so I heard from just about everyone over the last few days. I don't really know the difference between a few inches or 9 (as it relates to skiing) so I usually just nodded my head and gave an approving expression as if I knew 9 inches was a good thing. As we drove in from Gunnison, it was clear what 9 inches does to a town, every rooftop had at least 2 feet of snow on top and the snow banks on the side of the road were at least a full person tall. I just stared out the window and watched the beautiful scenery in amazement. I stopped pointing things out to the rest of the people in the car because there were just too many wonderful things to see. If there was that much snow on the rooftops and on the ground in town, the mountain had to have just as much, that must be what people were so excited about. Then I was thinking, skiing is going to be awesome!

From Creste Butte

We started off today at Red Lady Express lift and did one green slope either Mineral Point or Keystone. My friends and I haven't skied in years so our objective today was to get our ski legs back. At the bottom, near Red Lady Express, we met up with a fellow yogi that now lives in Creste Butte and she took us up Silver Queen Express to what I would consider the "top" for those beginner to novice skiers. (Meaning, we were not in the black diamond area.) We skied down a great blue slope, Paradise Bowl, back down to the Silver Queen Express Lift.

We did Paradise Bowl one more time, at which point I promptly fell within a few seconds of hitting the slope. After huffing and puffing and moving my skies several times, I finally got my skies back on with the aide of a friend. the rest of the run was sketchy, my mind took over and every steep area I psyched myself out and made myself afraid of falling.  I made it down, I'm sure the few people that were behind me didn't appreciate the wide slides from left to right, but what do I care, I made it down.

After lunch we moved to the middle of the mountain and did some shorter blue runs off Prospect Lift and Gold Link Lift. I liked this area, it had some good areas to test my skill, narrow parts and even a few tunnels to go through. After half a dozen runs I called it a day. From where we were, it was an easy ski back to the house.

We are staying at a place right off the slopes so all I had to do was ski down Homeowner and look for a flag which marketed the turn off to the road where the house was. This was so cool, I've never done this before, I saw the flag, turned the corner and then slid into the street and literally skied on the street, down the driveway right into the garage! It was so awesome, talk about ski in/ski out!