Saturday, January 11, 2014 -- I woke up at 4:40 a.m., got the final packing done, hopped in the car, and headed west (west is best!) at 5:30. My dad was driving and the rest of us slept for a few hours. We stopped at 9:00 a.m. for gas and a quick breakfast at McDonald's 30 miles from Topeka (sausage-egg biscuit, hash browns, orange juice), then back driving around 9:30. At 1:30, we stopped near Oakley (Kansas), to fuel up. I started driving then and we had lunch on the road (beef brisket-and-cheese sandwich, veggie chips, tangerine, water). I drove all the way to Denver, arriving around 5:00. We went to the Children's Hospital to see my mom's cousin's grandson (he was pretty sick but thankfully he's better now), then to REI for glove liners, goggles, and ski tune-up supplies, then finally to my dad's cousin's home in Broomfield (near Denver). We got settled in, picked up my great-aunt (she lives just across a golf course from my dad's cousin's home), and had supper at the Rockbottom Brewery. It was pretty busy but it was a Saturday night, so that's to be expected. I had the bruschetta chicken, broccoli, and strawberry lemonade. Tasty food! We talked with my great-aunt for awhile, headed back to the house, showered, and were in bed by 10:50.
Weather: When we left, it was about 34 degrees. The temps went up and down but it was 60 degrees in Denver. Winter, anyone?
Sunday, January 12, 2014 -- Woke up at 5:15, got ready, had breakfast (peach and blueberry oatmeal, apple juice), loaded the car, and headed for Dillon at 6:20. My dad's cousins have a condo in Dillon and we arrived at it around 7:30, unloaded, and headed for Beaver Creek Ski Resort. I-70 was kind of slushy, not terrible, but it certainly was blowing snow...making for a slow-er drive to the mountain. We eventually got there around 8:45, geared up, and started skiing. It snowed pretty much all day, which made for awesome, fresh, fluffy powder to float through ever so softly. My fantastic Lines happily cruised through (with a little help) the fluff that often came to my knees. We did the normal mix -- blues, blacks, a little glade skiing, all that. The wind and snow would occasionally blow so hard, we could barely see or move, even going straight downhill! We got to ski on the Women's Downhill Raptor Course, the downhill course for the 2015 World Cup Championships. I loved skiing the same run that Julia Mancuso, Mikaela Shiffrin, and others may ski on! It certainly wasn't as icy as it will be for them, but there were still some ice spots. We tried to avoid them...we weren't particularly trying to become downhill champions. All in all, it was a pretty steep run and I loved it. Lunch had been packed, so we ate in a cafeteria (sausage-and-cheese sandwiches, chips, veggies, clementines, hot chocolate, water), then headed back out to have some more skiing time. When we finished for the day, Matthew and I got hatpins (we always get hatpins at every new place we ski at...it's a tradition) and we headed for Dillon at 5:30. We eventually arrived at 6:30 (it was kind of an adventure getting back), had supper in the condo (pulled-pork sandwiches, chips, cookies, water), unloaded/unpacked, cleaned up, and hit the covers at 10:00 p.m. It was, overall, a really nice powder day at Beaver Creek.
Weather: Temperatures ranged from approximately 10 degrees to 25 degrees, with snow, heavy wind gusts, and a tiny bit of sunshine (maybe 15 minutes) in the afternoon. Weather in one word? POWDER!
Monday, January 13, 2014 -- We were able to sleep in until 8:00 a.m. today. After breakfast (blueberry bagel with honey nut cream cheese, peach oatmeal, milk), we geared up and headed for Copper Mountain, arriving at 10:15. We started our day by riding a shuttle to the bottom of American Eagle, then having a blast, as usual. It was so quiet; hardly anyone was there. Again, we had fresh, fluffy powder to plow through on our various runs. Lunch was at the bottom of the Super Bee Lift, a $5.99 special for various meal options. I chose the cheese ravioli with garlic bread, topped off with cocoa. Portions were generous and yummy. After lunch, we headed up to Rendezvous Bowl -- super skiing with nice steep parts at the top, powder, and more powder. We also rode Storm King (a t-bar) and a couple of doubles to find some more nice steeps. I love feeling strong and confident enough to power through tougher terrain. A combination of a special workout from SKI magazine, my wonderful Line skis, dedication, and pushing myself has paid off. It really was a wonderful day. We headed out at 4:30, had an uneventful trip to Dillon (thankfully), got gas and groceries, showered, had supper (a conglomeration of leftovers -- fried chicken, pulled pork, pasta, biscuits, pineapple-banana juice, dessert -- chocolate chip cookies and milk), and hopped in bed at 9:10.
Weather: Temperatures ranged from 0 degrees to 20 degrees, with light snow all day, high wind gusts above treeline, and a tiny bit of sunshine in the afternoon.
Tuesday, January 14, 2014 -- Woke up at 6:45, got ready, had breakfast (strawberry oatmeal, bagel with honey nut cream cheese, milk), loaded everything up, and headed for Loveland at 9:00 a.m. Once we arrived, we got our tickets, geared up, and started skiing. Loveland is an adorable ski area -- kind of like a big Sipapu. It has a low-key vibe, barely any base area, not as much vertical drop, and fixed-grip (translation: slower) chairlifts. It's still a nice place. It's also the place where, many years ago, I tumbled head-over-heels for 400+ feet down a steep double-black. The reasons? Too short skis, too little experience, blizzard conditions, and so forth. So I was, naturally, apprehensive and very ready to conquer this mountain. Once is enough for it to conquer me. Unfortunately, because of high wind and blowing snow, the quad chairlift to the top of the mountain was closed so I couldn't ski the very run I fell down, but we were still able to have some nice runs in...yes, powder again! It was very windy and cold, so we went in for an early lunch at 11:20 (pepperoni pizza, cocoa) and warmed up. After lunch, my dad, Matthew, and I enjoyed some double-blacks with super powder, chute-like qualities, and nice steepness. We also skied (with my mom) a nicely-steep black that went down through some trees and had some little bumps (moguls). It ended in a tunnel which we walked through. It was my favorite run. Right before 3:00, we headed out. My dad and I skied all the way to the car because it had snowed enough to cover the parking lot substantially! By 3:15, we were heading down out of the mountains and towards home. As we drove along through the eastern Colorado plains, we saw a gorgeous sunset illuminating Pikes Peak. My mom and I sang America the Beautiful and said good-bye to the mountains and beauty of Colorado. We stopped in Burlington, Colorado for gas and supper at Reynaldo's (chicken enchiladas, rice, refried beans, lettuce, water), then on to Oakley, Kansas, to spend the night at a Sleep Inn. After showering and getting ready for bed, we were asleep by 10:20.
Weather: Temperatures between 0 degrees and 15 degrees, wind chill around -35 degrees at times, poor visibility, high wind gusts, snow.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014 -- We woke up at 6:15, got ready, had breakfast (cereal, strawberry yogurt, apple juice), loaded everything, and started driving around 7:20. I enjoyed seeing the pre-sunrise before I slept for an hour-and-a-half -- red, pink, and orange seemed to set the horizon on fire. I do love sunrises and sunsets, especially out west! At 11:30, we stopped for gas at the rest area we ate breakfast at on the way out. I started driving after that and we had lunch on the road (PB&J sandwich, veggie chips, tangerines, apple rings, apple-cinnamon sticks, cookies, water). We drove non-stop and arrived at our home at 3:30. We unloaded everything and I hurried to get ready for and go to ballet (4:45 to 6:15). After that, I came back, organized, showered, had supper (fish balls, macaroni and cheese, applesauce, grape juice), got ready for bed, and was cozy and sleepy at 10:45. Our first 2014 ski trip was excellent, with plenty of powder and great skiing!
Weather: Temperatures from 25 degrees to 30 degrees and gorgeous sunshine all day. Of course sun comes after we're done skiing!
Beaver Creek (January 12) -- snow nearly all day
Me, my dad, Matthew, and my mom at Beaver Creek (January 12)
There was a brief period of sunshine in the afternoon at Beaver Creek (January 12)!
Here I am at Copper Mountain (January 13)
Copper Mountain (January 13) -- more snow
My only picture from Loveland (January 14) -- it was really cold and snowy
~Anna~
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