I have returned to "Sweet Home Alabama", the road trip was long but uneventfully. Thanks to George this was the best ski trip in several years, skiing with a Friend is much better than skiing alone. Next years trip should be something special if can talk George or someone else into joining me.
Join me here 12 -19 March for the Spring Break ski trip to Breckenridge.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
8 Feb- George's last ski day
George's last ski day for 2011--it was special
It the 8 hours we were on the slopes we experienced snow, o visibility, high winds, sunshine, 30 degree temps and 0 degree wind child. What a day--George nor myself had fallen in the past several days ( becoming expert skiers) First run today we fell a total of 5 times, the powder threw us for a loop. But we adjusted and had a great day, still no crowds, no lift lines and plenty of snow.
4/6 inches of fresh snow makes for a great ski day.
Break time and time to examine the sore spots.
George is still trying to figure out how to operate his camera. Not many pictures.
Relax after a hard day, check the weather, check to see if Egypt has exploded, think about next years ski trip.
It the 8 hours we were on the slopes we experienced snow, o visibility, high winds, sunshine, 30 degree temps and 0 degree wind child. What a day--George nor myself had fallen in the past several days ( becoming expert skiers) First run today we fell a total of 5 times, the powder threw us for a loop. But we adjusted and had a great day, still no crowds, no lift lines and plenty of snow.
4/6 inches of fresh snow makes for a great ski day.
Break time and time to examine the sore spots.
George is still trying to figure out how to operate his camera. Not many pictures.
Relax after a hard day, check the weather, check to see if Egypt has exploded, think about next years ski trip.Monday, February 7, 2011
7 Feb, First ski day @ Purgatory
First day at Purgatory ski area now Durango Mountain Resort, we arrived early and were standing in line when the lift opened, but there was no line. George and myself bet each other that there were less than 500 folks at the resort.
Sun early in the morning, report said they had 3 inches of snow Sunday night so the slopes were in great condition. A good ski partner, fresh snow and no crowd, can it get better??
6 pac lift with no passengers, it was this way all day, George and I thought it was senior citizen day, don't think we saw anyone on the slopes under 60. We thought we were the young folks on the slopes.
Does this look like the George you know?? Notice the chairs in the background, still up on the table, we are the only people in the place ! George is working on his beard, but it is slow going.
Red face matches my red shirt, old guys have to take breaks morning and afternoon, but no lunch break. Ski early, ski hard. Ski naked it adds color to your cheeks !
Caught George feeding his face, suppose to have several inches of fresh snow tonight, should be another great day tomorrow. SEE YOU !!
Sun early in the morning, report said they had 3 inches of snow Sunday night so the slopes were in great condition. A good ski partner, fresh snow and no crowd, can it get better??
6 pac lift with no passengers, it was this way all day, George and I thought it was senior citizen day, don't think we saw anyone on the slopes under 60. We thought we were the young folks on the slopes.
Does this look like the George you know?? Notice the chairs in the background, still up on the table, we are the only people in the place ! George is working on his beard, but it is slow going.
Red face matches my red shirt, old guys have to take breaks morning and afternoon, but no lunch break. Ski early, ski hard. Ski naked it adds color to your cheeks !
Caught George feeding his face, suppose to have several inches of fresh snow tonight, should be another great day tomorrow. SEE YOU !!Sunday, February 6, 2011
Sunday 6 Feb
Please go to the last picture and move up. No sking today, moved to Durango in Southern Colorado.
George refuses to relax, he works out ever chance he gets, may not let him come next year, he sets a bad example
George caught me getting into the snacks.
We moved into the condo about 1400 and prepared to watch the Super Bowl.
Notice there are no guard rails, we are above 10,000 feet.
Roads were narrow and snow covered.
Traffic stoped on top of the mountain as the workers performed avalanche control. Can you see the 105 recoilless rifle which is used to fire projectiles up into the snow pack to start snow slides. We were here about 30 minutes, temp -9.
I had my "BRIGHT" hat on so everyone could see me.
Snow packer roads were the norm.
The town of Orway "Switzerland of the US"
Lots of snow and very few cars on the road.
Temps fell slowly as we climbed past 11,000 ft. Roads had not been cleared and were slick and snow packed, glad to have 4 wheel drive, but a beautiful drive.
Sunday 6 Feb started out with the temps about 19 and we had 105 miles to go. Guy at the motel desk said it would take about 3 hours and we thought he was nuts, BUT---
George refuses to relax, he works out ever chance he gets, may not let him come next year, he sets a bad example
George caught me getting into the snacks.
We moved into the condo about 1400 and prepared to watch the Super Bowl.
Notice there are no guard rails, we are above 10,000 feet.
Roads were narrow and snow covered.
Traffic stoped on top of the mountain as the workers performed avalanche control. Can you see the 105 recoilless rifle which is used to fire projectiles up into the snow pack to start snow slides. We were here about 30 minutes, temp -9.
I had my "BRIGHT" hat on so everyone could see me.
Snow packer roads were the norm.
The town of Orway "Switzerland of the US"
Lots of snow and very few cars on the road.
Temps fell slowly as we climbed past 11,000 ft. Roads had not been cleared and were slick and snow packed, glad to have 4 wheel drive, but a beautiful drive.
Sunday 6 Feb started out with the temps about 19 and we had 105 miles to go. Guy at the motel desk said it would take about 3 hours and we thought he was nuts, BUT---Saturday, February 5, 2011
5 Feb- Moving Day, Steamboat to Durango
What a day, had about 4 inches of fresh snow on the ground when we got up this morning and it was falling at about an inch an hour. George and I checked out after an hour of loading equipment. I better not say much to Judith about packing a lot, I had 4 pair of skis 3 pair of boots, enough clothes for a month, and enough grocery's for George and I to eat for 3 weeks.
The Winter Carnival was in full swing today so we decided to enjoy some of the local atmosphere. First was the "Knights of Columbus" pancake breakfast where we met more old folks than you could shake a stick at, what a treat, we were the only out of town guest and stayed a couple of hours talking and eating, a great way to start the day.
Good help is so hard to find these days, here is the dishwasher doing his thing, we did not break a single item the entire week.
The Main Street downtown Steamboat Springs is closed off and they had hauled in about 12 inches of snow, so with the new snow the horses and people could perform the events without getting injured. Lots of local ranchers bring their horses to town for the event, where they tow the youngsters at a full gallop with the kids on skis or shovels. Lots of spills and fun.
Some real live Colorado Cowboys. Most of the riders have been in the Steamboat area for many generations and have participated in the carnival for many years. The kids are great skiers and are provided ski instruction as a school subject. There are more Olympians (52) from Steamboat than from any other area in the US.
You cannot have horses without pickups and horse trailers, hundreds of thousands of $$$ tied up in the nice rigs.
Both Cowgirls and Cowboys participate.
Can you make out the young skier being towed behind the horse ? We must have seen a hundred kids from 5 to 11 and never saw one fall.
There was a large crowd on hand enjoying the event and the snow. We had planned on staying most of the day but about lunch we had had all the fun we could stand and because it was snowing so hard we decided to hit the road and move on toward Durango. Snow was heavy and at times the roads were in bad shape but we traveled south about 200 miles and have stopped for the night at Montrose, CO. Montroses' claim to fame is the Black Canyon.
The Black Canyon (A National Park) is 48 miles long and the river drops 43 ft per mile, making it the steepest mountain drop in the US. By comparison the Colorado River only drops 7.5 Ft per mile going thru the Grand Canyon. The canyons walls are so steep the sun seldom can reach the bottom of the canyon and the walls appear to be black, thus the name Black Canyon.
The snow storm that we had traveled through most of the day hit Montrose about the time we stoped for the night, the photo above was taken after another snow earlier in the year. The canyons roads are so steep they are closed in the Winter, looks like it would be a beautiful place to visit.
The Winter Carnival was in full swing today so we decided to enjoy some of the local atmosphere. First was the "Knights of Columbus" pancake breakfast where we met more old folks than you could shake a stick at, what a treat, we were the only out of town guest and stayed a couple of hours talking and eating, a great way to start the day.
Good help is so hard to find these days, here is the dishwasher doing his thing, we did not break a single item the entire week.
The Main Street downtown Steamboat Springs is closed off and they had hauled in about 12 inches of snow, so with the new snow the horses and people could perform the events without getting injured. Lots of local ranchers bring their horses to town for the event, where they tow the youngsters at a full gallop with the kids on skis or shovels. Lots of spills and fun.
Some real live Colorado Cowboys. Most of the riders have been in the Steamboat area for many generations and have participated in the carnival for many years. The kids are great skiers and are provided ski instruction as a school subject. There are more Olympians (52) from Steamboat than from any other area in the US.
You cannot have horses without pickups and horse trailers, hundreds of thousands of $$$ tied up in the nice rigs.
Both Cowgirls and Cowboys participate.
Can you make out the young skier being towed behind the horse ? We must have seen a hundred kids from 5 to 11 and never saw one fall.
There was a large crowd on hand enjoying the event and the snow. We had planned on staying most of the day but about lunch we had had all the fun we could stand and because it was snowing so hard we decided to hit the road and move on toward Durango. Snow was heavy and at times the roads were in bad shape but we traveled south about 200 miles and have stopped for the night at Montrose, CO. Montroses' claim to fame is the Black Canyon.
The Black Canyon (A National Park) is 48 miles long and the river drops 43 ft per mile, making it the steepest mountain drop in the US. By comparison the Colorado River only drops 7.5 Ft per mile going thru the Grand Canyon. The canyons walls are so steep the sun seldom can reach the bottom of the canyon and the walls appear to be black, thus the name Black Canyon.
The snow storm that we had traveled through most of the day hit Montrose about the time we stoped for the night, the photo above was taken after another snow earlier in the year. The canyons roads are so steep they are closed in the Winter, looks like it would be a beautiful place to visit.
We will arrive in Durango tomorrow and check in to our condo, more photos then. Hope you enjoy.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Is it ever to cold to SKI???
Weather was -22 on the slopes yesterday and dropped to -30 overnight, currently -26 but the sun is trying to burn the cloud cover off. Looks like another great day on the slopes, wish you were here.
The extreme cold and snow with a bit of help from the good Lord create a beauty that is hard to explain.
Even when there is tons of snow there are lots of folks that had rather enjoy the lodge.
The sunrise reminds me of the old saying "Red sky at morning, sailor take warning" temps dropped to -30 last night.
Downtown Steamboat Springs is a storybook Western town with lots of old store fronts with western wear and restaurants where prices are high. Our plans are to go downtown to night and watch the opening of the Winter Carnival fireworks.
As if the skiers were not enough, you have to look out for all sorts of skiing challenges on the slopes. This week is the Winter Carnival so there are lots of visitors including cowboys in town, the parade is Sat so maybe we will have some nice shots.
This may be a picture of George enjoying the fresh powder---then again this may be how we wished we looked. Great thing about the harsh weather is there are no lift lines.
It was so cold yesterday that George was doing back flips. We were near frozen by the time we reached the top of the mountain, wind child -22 and colder. We did not know how cold we were until our toes and finger tips started thawing out. There was 13 inches of fresh powder so George and myself are using new never used before---thank goodness the condo has hot tubs and a sauna.
Thanks to
Larry Pierce for the photos
The extreme cold and snow with a bit of help from the good Lord create a beauty that is hard to explain.
Even when there is tons of snow there are lots of folks that had rather enjoy the lodge.
The sunrise reminds me of the old saying "Red sky at morning, sailor take warning" temps dropped to -30 last night.
Downtown Steamboat Springs is a storybook Western town with lots of old store fronts with western wear and restaurants where prices are high. Our plans are to go downtown to night and watch the opening of the Winter Carnival fireworks.
As if the skiers were not enough, you have to look out for all sorts of skiing challenges on the slopes. This week is the Winter Carnival so there are lots of visitors including cowboys in town, the parade is Sat so maybe we will have some nice shots.
This may be a picture of George enjoying the fresh powder---then again this may be how we wished we looked. Great thing about the harsh weather is there are no lift lines.
It was so cold yesterday that George was doing back flips. We were near frozen by the time we reached the top of the mountain, wind child -22 and colder. We did not know how cold we were until our toes and finger tips started thawing out. There was 13 inches of fresh powder so George and myself are using new never used before---thank goodness the condo has hot tubs and a sauna.Thanks to
Larry Pierce for the photos
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)