Ski Trip: Day 2 & 3

I woke up on Day 2 feeling fine. We all went to bed early, so we were well-rested. I wasn't too sore since I really hadn't done much work. I could feel the bruises starting on my shins and the backs of my knees were sore, but all-in-all, not too bad. We head out for the mountain again, but this time, we find the free parking.

Jason & I immediately split from the group again and head up the same ski lift as the day before. Today was harder than the day before for me as far as ski lifts go. The mountain was a LOT more crowded. On their non-busy days (like yesterday), they will let you ride in pairs instead of using all four seats. Unfortunately, they were so busy that we were asked to ride with two snowboarders. Jason immediately told me we were not riding with them because their boards take too much room. I was relieved because I was worried about getting off the ski lift with so many people involved. Then, two medics, who were just behind me, asked if they could ride with us. I said okay, but let them know that I may cause an accident. They laughed and said they would catch up to us to get on the lift. I felt a little better knowing that they could stay out of my way.

In ski lift lines, the snow is well-packed and a little difficult to move in. I had trouble turning a corner and got behind Jason. I couldn't get to him in time, so he got on the ski lift all by himself. Then, I got up to get into the next one and made it.....by myself. I heard the medic guys laughing and saying that they screwed it all up, too.

Getting off the ski lift today was easy. No squatting position for me! I was able to stand up and push myself off, just like I was supposed to. Go me! After I met up with Jason, I saw a large crowd:

Okay, Jason actually cut out most of the crowd in this picture. But we tried to figure out what they were looking at. This is what we saw:

We were watching a rescue dog training! It was really neat! He kept barking at the hole while the medic dug. Finally, they pulled out a glove. The dog had found it! Then I remembered that we had seen some people digging holes up there the day before. We had no idea what was going on, but apparently they were burying things for the dog to find. It was nice to know that the dog would be able to find me should I ever be in that position.

After we clapped and cheered for the dog, we made our way to the first part of the ski slope. It was covered with snowboarders. EVERYWHERE. For those who haven't skied, snowboards only work where there is downgrade. They have to walk where it is flat. So, they will push themselves along as if they were on a skateboard until they can get to a drop. But, before they can go down, they have to strap their free foot in. This wouldn't normally be a problem, but they took up the entire place. I had about 3 feet in which to make my move and then I had to take a sharp turn to avoid more of them. This was difficult, but I made it. I thought I would trip, but I did great!

The rest of the day went well. I even made it down the last part of a blue run accidentally. But I didn't fall. I may ski slowly down hills, but I still ski standing up! I didn't want to overdo it so that I could ski a lot more the next day. I spent the last hour sipping hot cocoa while Jason went on some blue runs by himself. He had so much fun! He will just come racing down the mountain super fast and then stop on a dime. We went home that afternoon happy and with very, very sore shins and calves. Here's a pic of us halfway down the mountain:


The last day, Jason & I took our time getting to the ski lift. Before we left the condo, we looked outside and it looked sunny. We thought it would be a pretty "warm" (60 degrees), so we just put t-shirts on under our jackets. We took our hats, but left the scarves at home. When we got to the mountain, we decided to have some breakfast first because everything at the condo had pretty much been demolished by this point. Then, we headed out to the ski lift as it started to snow. Holy crap it got cold!!! It was below 30 degrees, easily. The sun disappeared as soon as we got to the mountain, but there was no turning back.

Sunday was not crowded a bit. I think it was because the mountain hadn't gotten any snow overnight and it was already icy the day before. The ride up the ski lift was COLD. We were burying our noses into our jackets and pulling our hats lower and lower. By the time we got to the top, we were almost shaking. We found out that there were lots of places for wind to get into our jackets. Brrrr!

This was pretty much our view for most of the day:


On this day, we decided to take a different green route than before. This route was a piece of cake compared to the ones we took the previous days. They were nice and wide and not too steep. Best of all, they hadn't been used as much so there was a lot more snow. I was able to practice turning and could even get a lot more speed without having to worry about anyone in my way. It was really, really fun that day! Despite the blistering cold, Jason & I had a great time! I skied on the main part while Jason would disappear in the trees and meet me farther down the road. We skied pretty quickly down the mountain in the afternoon, hoping to get one more run in, but we missed it by 10 minutes. Oh well. By then, my face was hurting. I found out that had gotten some pretty nasty windburn on my chin anyway. That stuff hurts a lot!

We made it back home in time for everyone to take their rentals back and start packing to leave the next morning for Denver. We all relaxed, ate yummy stuffed peppers, tried to finish the alcohol off and went to bed late. It was an awesome two days!