Hittin' the Hill

It has been an eventful couple of days! Yesterday, after proactively purchasing a pair of auto socks (like chains for traction) just in case, we headed out of Denver on I-70 toward Frisco, Colorado. Thankfully the weather continued to cooperate with dry roads and sunny conditions, but the climb from 5200ft to almost 11000ft was quite a challenge for our little MPV. As we travelled up the nearly unbelievable incline, we all marvelled at the sight of mountains on all four sides. The boys particularly enjoyed the two tunnels that passed directly through the mountains and kept their eyes on the altimeter on our GPS as we climbed higher and higher. Although Shawn and I were a little concerned about how the trailer would pull through the mountains, the drive went very well with two minor exceptions. First, we encountered a short section of vertical highway where the roadway was reduced to only one lane and as you can imagine, we were not very fast and were a little embarrassed to be holding up loaded tractor trailers! Second, we blew the fuse that controls our signals and had to fix it today. All in all, it was not a bad drive.

After driving for about 90 minutes, we arrived at our condo in the quaint town of Frisco and were pleasantly surprised to find it even nicer than it appeared in the pictures we viewed online. The clubhouse in particular is really lovely with a large indoor pool and hot tub, as well as an additional two outdoor hot tubs. After spending some time unloading, we were all happy to take some time to relax and enjoy the beautiful view right outside our patio.

Today was another beautiful sunny day and we were delighted to spend our first day on the slopes. After a relaxing morning, we spent about 4 ½ hours this afternoon at Breckenridge and absolutely loved the terrain and the views! Although we are all feeling the altitude and have had some minor headaches, after a first run where Shawn and I both felt like we had been transported forward in time about 40 years, we all did really well for the rest of the day. There were, however, a couple of interesting moments. After seeing a lot of young people riding the chairlifts without putting the safety bar down and talking to the kids about the need to be safe while riding, Riley reinforced the point by sliding off the lift a little early and slipping down the embankment. Thankfully, he was not hurt and now both boys are aware how easy it could be to fall off if they were not careful. The other interesting moment happened when Braedon and I were racing down a black diamond run at speeds faster than I think either of us has skied before (which in hindsight was probably a bad idea on our first day!) and Braedon caught an edge. Although I was in lead and didn’t see him fall, Riley and Shawn compare his tumble to the falls from the Olympic Women’s slalom and say it was quite spectacular and involved a really well executed front flip. Luckily, he was very brave and other than a flat lip and some sore muscles shook off his fall very quickly.

Tonight, I attended the reception for my Working Women’s Ski Camp which starts tomorrow morning. Since this is the first camp I can remember attending since I was about 11 years old, I have to confess to feeling a little nervous, but was really pleased to find that I had been placed in a really great group with three other much older women who have all been to the camp before and have taken me under their wings like a daughter. I think it will be a great three days and look forward to improving my technique and learning what to do in both powder and on moguls. It should be a great three days!

Tammy

PS. I am just about to sit down to a yummy spaghetti dinner that my amazing mother-in-law prepared for us and froze before we left. After a long day away from the condo, coming home to a dinner that cooked itself was a real pleasure – thanks Noreen!