Loving every minute!

It has been another incredible few days! Other than the afternoon on Friday when we had some serious snow and wind, the skies have been blue and the days have been perfect for skiing with temperatures hovering around +1 with lots of sun. Breckenridge is a truly amazing ski resort. There is a huge variety of terrain, staggeringly gorgeous views everywhere you look, efficient lifts, great staff, and white powdery snow covering every surface. The views from the peak are so truly breathtaking that even the word Wow! does not seem sufficient. We have all been on the slopes now for four days and although our legs are tired, this is definitely shaping up to be our best ski trip ever – with the exception of having our friends and family with us like we usually do in Vermont.

For the past three days, I have been busy in my Working Women’s Ski Camp. Although I was feeling a little nervous when I started, I could not have asked for a better instructor and absolutely loved the women in my group. Things got started on Friday morning with my instructor Kalin reviewing the questionnaires that we completed and completing some on mountain evaluations and then gathering our group to make a plan for the weekend and to set some goals. Not surprising to me, she suggested that what I needed to work on most was learning to plant my poles and improve my stance. What was surprising (and a little terrifying), however, is that her suggestion for how to accomplish this was for our group to learn to ski moguls! Even though my past experience had taught me that I not only xski really poorly in moguls, but that they hurt my knees and hips, the 72 year old in my group said she was game, so with trepidation I agreed to give it a try. To make a long story short, this afternoon, after three full days of instruction and lots of practice, I skied a double black diamond mogul run from the highest peak of the mountain and enjoyed every minute of it! I am officially a convert and will definitely be playing in the bumps for the rest of the trip and continuing to work on my forward stance and not dropping my right pole.

As a fabulous bonus to this great weekend, I was also able to score an amazing deal on a new pair of powder skis. After struggling to carve and slide in the bumps on Friday, I was admiring the width of my instructor’s skis, and learned that she has just purchased new ones and wanted to sell them. She let me demo them today, and I was really pleased with the difference they made to my skiing and confidence. Since she gets a great discount on her equipment, she sold them to me for a great price and I will now get to enjoy them for the rest of the trip. Braedon is pleased as well, as he can now upgrade to my old skis whenever he is ready for more length.

The rest of our family have also had a great few days. Shawn has been amazing. Not only has he carted the boys back and forth between Frisco and Breckenridge, but he also handled all the day to day details while I got to enjoy my time at camp and has willingly taken care of me each evening as I rested my tired legs. Braedon has had some huge triumphs on the slopes and Riley had an amazing time at his Park and Pipe camp (for details, please check out their blogs).

Tammy

Braedon and I have had some great times the last two days while Tammy and Riley were busy in their respective programs. The conditions have been amazing! Breckenridge has some wonderful terrain and this is only the first of the 5 hills and we’re looking forward to checking out.

While it’s been wonderful, we’ve had a couple mishaps…from minor falls /close calls on chairlifts, lost children and poor run choices….it’s kept it exciting. Braedon and Riley both had minor incidents getting on or off the chair, thankfully neither with any permanent damage. I lost Braedon for a few minutes yesterday when he fell a bit behind and made a wrong turn. He handled it wonderfully, made his way back to the bottom of the chair we just went up and went straight to guest services. He stayed calm and made great choices….unlike me today. We had done a few runs already from the top of the mountain so we decided to check out the other side of the mountain, a nice big bowl. Unfortunately, it was much more challenging than it looked from a distance and once we were in there was no turning back. Braedon was a real trooper and pushed his way through some of the toughest terrain I’ve ever been on.

Shawn