Saturday, March 29, 2014 -- Woke up at 5:00 a.m., got ready, packed up the remaining things, loaded up, and headed out at 5:45. We slept for about two-and-a-half hours while my dad drove. It was a beautiful day with sunshine, good temperatures, deep blue skies, and the fields just greening up for spring. Around 9:45, we stopped for gas and breakfast at Taco John's (egg-potato-sausage breakfast burrito, mini potatoes, orange juice) in Topeka, Kansas. It was a bit of a longer stop (service was slow), so we didn't get on the interstate until 10:40. We made it to Burlington, Colorado, for gas and a bathroom break, then I started driving and we had lunch on the road (sandwich, cheese cracker, clementine, water). We went on to Limon, then exited I-70 and headed south through wide, open, empty, beautiful land. I drove over two passes (good weather, thankfully), which was great experience for me. As we zipped on through the increasing dusk, I just loved everything -- the cattle (babies!), evergreen forests, snow, amazing views, and a spectacular sunset. The west is not my birth home, but I have adopted it as a temporary home. It is a lovely, desolate place and I love it fully. Only God could have created such an amazing region. We pulled into our Rodeway Inn in Gunnison, Colorado, at 7:30. We unloaded, headed for supper at Mario's Pizza & Pasta (we shared the Mario's Famous Salad with ranch dressing and the Mario's Supreme Combo pizza), came back to our hotel, showered, got ready for bed, and went to sleep at 10:55.
Weather: Temperatures between 35 degrees and 40 degrees, perfect sunshine, great weather all around!
Sunday, March 30, 2014 -- Woke up at 7:00 a.m., got ready, had breakfast (bagel with cream cheese, sausages, orange juice), geared up, and headed for Crested Butte Mountain Resort at 8:15. We got our tickets and were skiing by 9:20. We enjoyed the usual blues, blacks, and a couple double blacks. One of the double blacks was Rachel's, which we rode a t-bar up to and skied down. It was pretty steep, moguls-filled, and had bowl-like qualities. Lunch was at the Butte 66 restaurant; I had the Salmon Sammy (grilled salmon topped with lettuce, tomato, onion, and a dijon mustard blend on foccacia bread), beer-battered fries, hot chocolate with whipped cream on top, and water. After lunch, at 1:00 p.m., we attended an on-mountain church service. For about 20 minutes, we joined 20 others or so and sang songs, prayed, and listened to Bible verses and some reflections/thoughts. It's always a really nice thing to attend these services -- the views are gorgeous, the service is short and simple yet very thought-provoking, and it's fantastic to join other like-minded Christian skiers/snowboarders. Besides the service and a great morning, we also enjoyed a "racecourse". It's marked on the trail map as a family run, meaning all ages can enjoy it, regardless of skill level or comfort zone. For me, it was a chance to point my Lines straight, tuck into the racing stance, and cruise through the turns and burst over the little jumps. It was so much fun! And for our final run, it had a really steep, fairly long hill for the last part. My dad and I tucked and zoomed straight down, pushing 50 m.p.h. I've never gone so fast in my life. It was great! Skiing, for me, is all about having fun and cutting loose. That's exactly what I was doing. I was in control at all times and it was a terrific way to end the day. Before heading back, Matthew and I got hatpins while my mom got new ski boots. On our way back, we stopped for supper at Garlic Mike's Italian restaurant (I had a tasty salad topped with pine nuts, chicken Parmesan, squash and zucchini, pasta with marinara sauce, and water), then headed to the hotel. We all showered, got ready for bed, and were sleeping by 10:00 p.m.
Weather: Cloudy, temperatures between 20 degrees and 35 degrees, some sun in the afternoon. The snow had a "fresh then baked" quality -- crusty at times, but mostly everything was groomed and good.
Monday, March 31, 2014 -- Woke up at 7:00 a.m., got ready, had breakfast (bagel with cream cheese, blueberry muffin, cocoa, orange juice), and headed for Crested Butte at 8:10. We got gas on the way and arrived, geared up, and were skiing by 9:20. It was another great day on the mountain. They got about three or four inches of snow overnight, so we had wonderful fresh powder. Early on in the day, my dad, Matthew, and I rode up a t-bar to ski The Headwall, a double black. I love getting to these kind of runs -- traverse out on little catwalks, go around rocks, realize you can't make a mistake. It's a great challenge. For the rest of the morning, we skied blues and blacks, then had lunch at Avalanche Bar & Grill (chicken salad croissant, fresh fruit, water). After lunch, we did The Headwall again and cruised through the racecourse a few more times. Our last run was at 4:00 p.m. We headed back down the mountain, with a stop for gas and pictures at Cranor Hill Ski Area. It's Gunnison's "community hill", with maybe 400 vertical feet, a poma, and two runs. It closed March 7 but there was still a lot of snow. It's such a cute little spot. Finally, we got to the hotel for showers, then out to supper at Las Palmas (enchiladas, lettuce, sour cream, rice, beans, virgin strawberry margarita), back to the hotel, and asleep at 9:30.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014 -- Today I woke up at 6:50, got ready, had breakfast (bagel with cream cheese, banana-nut muffin, orange juice, cocoa), loaded everything up, and checked out of our hotel around 8:00 a.m. We headed for Monarch Mountain (Colorado), got our tickets, and were skiing by 9:15. Monarch is another small ski area, with not as much vertical drop, fixed-grip doubles (there is one quad but they rarely run it), and a small base area. It's a sweet little spot with charm and a relaxed setting. Monarch is unique in that all their snow is natural, so we were treated to some fantastic white fluff. We enjoyed skiing its runs and seeing what it had to offer. We had lunch in the cafeteria (tomato bisque soup, cocoa), then headed back out for more skiing. To get to some of Monarch's black runs, you had to sidestep or herringbone up a short yet very steep slope, mince around rocks, and zoom along on a little traverse before finding the desired trail. It was such an adventure and so fun! For our final run, we went on part of a blue run, a long and flat traverse, and then finally hiked up the last uphill part. It was my first "hike-to" run, a black named Gunbarrel. Monarch's first lift, a rope tow (from the 1930s), still had part of it at the top, so we took pictures of that and then cruised the run. It was powdery, nicely steep, and moguls-filled. It was a wonderful last run of the season. When we got to the bottom, we got hatpins, went to the bathroom, loaded up, and headed for home around 4:00 p.m. We drove through a really pretty canyon, with towering rock formations on both sides, the Arkansas River meandering its way through, and beauty everywhere. We skirted south of Colorado Springs and hit Limon at 7:15. We grabbed supper to go at Arby's in Limon (roast beef sandwich, potato cakes, lemonade) and headed east on I-70. We arrived at a Quality Inn in Colby, Kansas, around 10:30 p.m. After showers and getting ready, we were asleep at 11:20.
Weather: Overcast in the morning, with snow coming later and getting heavier and heavier with frequent bouts of poor visibility and strong wind. It cleared up after lunch a bit and snowed off and on throughout the rest of the day. Sunshine tried to poke through a few times in the afternoon. The temperature ranged between about 15 degrees and 20 degrees.
Wednesday, April 2, 2014 -- Woke up at 6:15, got ready, had breakfast (cereal, biscuit with blackberry jelly, strawberry yogurt, apple juice), loaded up, checked out, and headed for home at 7:15. We drove non-stop to Kansas City, Kansas, where we got gas and went to the bathroom. Back on the interstate, we had lunch (PB&J sandwich, cashews, clementine, water), then just watched the miles to St. Louis diminish. We pulled into our driveway right at 3:30, unloaded, I got ready for ballet, went to ballet (4:45 to 6:15), came home, organized/unpacked, showered, had supper (whole wheat pasta with alfredo sauce, crescent rolls, pineapple-orange juice), got ready for bed, and went to sleep at 11:00 p.m. This was another nice, if quick, trip to enjoy snow, skiing, sunshine, God's gorgeous creation, and being together. This concludes our 2013-14 ski trip season. Until next year...!
Weather: It was 28 degrees in Colby in the morning, but warmed up to 50 degrees by the time we were home. It was overcast and we had a strong headwind. It started raining off and on as we got closer to St. Louis. That's the midwest spring!
The Headwall at Crested Butte (March 31) -- we skied it
Beautiful views at Crested Butte (March 31)
Mt. Crested Butte (March 31)
Cranor Hill Ski Area (March 31) -- it's so cute!
Monarch Mountain (April 1)
Monarch Mountain (April 1)
Gunbarrel at Monarch Mountain (April 1) -- we skied it!
A lovely drive going home -- the Arkansas River and lovely rock formations (April 1)
A gorgeous western sunset east of Colorado Springs (April 1)
~Anna~
