Ski Season Round Up

Winter Park at the very top

This blog is a bit in coming - it's been sitting in draft status for a while, but better late than never!

Did I tell you I got new skis last summer? After the debacle that was the end of last ski season, I purchased skis, bindings, and boots at Sports Authorities going-out-of business sale, and got a ridiculously good deal on all the gear I needed not to look like an idiot this season. And, bonus, the skis were K-2s, albeit not the same K-2's I demoed (but good enough!), along with Salomon bindings and boots.
 
For this season, I purchased a 4-pack of passes to Winter Park, as my mom was coming out to ski that mountain (and I suspect has already purchased passes for next year - that woman loves that ski hill like no other). I skied two days with her when she and my dad were here, and then wedged in two other days of skiing. That was harder to do with our schedule than I anticipated - with "stuff" popping up all over the place, which meant I used my last pass just a day or two before the resort closed for the year.


Ski buddies

Relaxing in the sun

Each visit to the mountain was different experience, albeit the same slopes. Days 1 and 2 were fun skiing with my mom, traversing primarily two areas of the mountain (MaryJane and Vasquez) over blues, going pretty constantly (as is my mom's preference) and having someone to talk with on the lifts. There were also more people on the mountain, being a weekend.

The third trip was a solo trip for me, taking a day off work and heading up to quiet slopes and pristine conditions. It was sunny and temperate, so much so that I slogged back to my car around lunch time and ditched my inner layers. I skied and 10 minutes or so just sitting in the sun in a lounge chair at the top.

The fourth was as close to the end of the season as one could get. No snow in the parking lot and I skied in just my jacket's shell with a t-shirt underneath - no need for anything else. Spring skiing apparently has a cult following that I didn't understand until I was on the slopes. It was light traffic on a Sunday on the hills, but those who came out, came out in style. And by "style" I mean animal costumes, tutus and pirate outfits. At 9am I was already skiing by beer cans and Fireball shot containers on the slopes. Spring skiing took all kinds, including the grown man in the Cookie Monster costume complete with 3 ft diameter head.


Uncle Sam on skis

By 1pm, it had gotten so warm that it was like skiing through wet sand. I tried for a bit longer, but got worried that it was sticking so bad (and I had fallen a couple of times - something I hadn't done my other three days) that I figured it was time to be done for the season, and not go out injured. So I headed back, past the "ski-dive" competition, where the resort set up a course that involved skiing downhill and then ending in a big pool of water...

And that was it for 2017. Looking forward to next year already!







Unicorn on skis

Cookie Monster on a snowboard