Day 59: Shreddin Breckenridge

I don't sleep all that well. Something in the kitchen makes weird noises at some weird hour of the morning. The wind picks up again a little later. Then the sun shines through the blinds like crazy since there are so many windows. On a normal day, I could sleep through this. But some days I just suck at sleeping. And I am on a fold out couch. This might be the most uncomfortable thing I have ever slept on. This is saying a lot. I camp. I have slept on the bare floor before, and I have slept on the bare ground with no blow up pad or mattress. It folds up funny and supports me in all the wrong places. Anyway, at 8, I am nice and awake, and not so rested.

I get up and get on my snow gear. I am so excited!  Diana and Ashlynne get up and I start making some awesome breakfast sandwiches. I don't usually make 3 at a time so I end up burning two eggs and under cooking one. Oh well, no one complains. I finish writing yesterday's blog while they get ready. I then somehow manage to delete the entire post. Ugh. Now I have to write it again and I have no time now! Anyway, we gear up and head to the mountain.

I take them to the green run area and send them down the mountain. Already looking better than yesterday. They do a few more runs and progress nicely. I practice my backward skiing. I am almost getting good at it. Early in the afternoon, they take a break. I head up the mountain in search of some challenge. I find some black runs. I take some pictures from the top of peak 10 (Breckenridge has several peaks. It is interesting) Not to be full of myself, but soft black runs are getting easy. I tear down them like a maniac and am back at the base before I know it. I find Ashlynne and Diana in the ski lodge. They have some food and share some with me.

Nice view from the top!

They conclude that they should not have sat down. They are now starting to feel quite sore. No no! You are doing great, get back up there! They head back up. I take them on a few more green runs. They are lookin pretty good. I ask them how adventurous they are feeling. They say they are feeling adventurous. I pick a random lift that I am pretty sure goes to blue runs. I don't know this mountain yet so I cross my fingers that it is manageable.

We go to get on the lift. The chairs are swinging around faster on this one. It is a 4 person chair so it is the 3 of us and a random guy. The gates open and we have some problems getting to the loading line before the chair gets around. Ashlynne is sitting where I should be. I try to sit down and shove her over to where she should be. Instead, I get my skis caught on hers and end up under the chair somehow. They have to actually stop the lift for me. This is the first time I have ever had the lift stopped for me. Every employee there runs over to me and some lady literally picks me up off the ground. Everyone thinks I am hurt or something. Really, I am fine. I don't think I hurt anything at all. I have no idea how the fuck that happened. I hop on the next chair and hope that they can dismount this lift with no coaching. I have no idea what the dismount looks like.

We get to the top of the lift. It also happens to be peak 8. I look down. Ohhh shit, that is a longgg way down. They are new skiers and are sore and tired at this point. Alll right! Down ya go!  Diana takes off and does great. Ashlynne has a few problems running into the trees at first. A short way down the hill, something clicks and she does great the rest of the way. When they hit the green runs, they are looking awesome! I am so proud of them!

Lookin good!

We make it to the bottom and it is almost 3. One more hour of lift operation. I ask how they are feeling. Sore and tired. They decide to do another green run on their own and turn me loose on the mountain.  I spend the next hour riding as many lifts as possible and trying to find something challenging. The top of peak 8 which looks super fun has been closed for wind. Bummer. I find some steep stuff and some mougles. I am not a huge mougle fan but I do them anyway. If I practice enough, I will get good at it and like it better, right?  I hit a medium size terrain park. I hit a few small jumps. I then hit a somewhat not tiny (they have like 40 foot jumps at this ski area... this one is maybe 5 feet..) jump way too fast and completely unprepared. I fly through the air and eat it. Dammit. One day I will do that!

I make 4 lifts before they close. I am on my last run when I hear my phone ringing. I answer. It is Claire. She has obtained the weather stripping for my truck bed for me and wanted to make sure she has all the pieces.  Yesss!!! She is awesome and I don't have to backtrack on my trip just to pick them up!!!

I hang up the phone and shred down the rest of the hill. Weeeeee!!!!! I head back to the hotel room which is our rendezvous point. Yup, they look sore. We drive a mile to the ski shop where they rented their gear and return it. We then form a plan for the night: food and hot tub. Sounds good to me! I change clothes and we head out to dinner. We find a nice Italian place with some awesome calzones a short ways away. We head back and sit in the hot tub for a while. Well, until we are all unbearably hot.

We then go back to the room, shower to get the nasty hot tub water off of us, and then spend the next hour or so watching youtube videos. At some point, I look at myself in the mirror and notice that I have a super awesome goggle tan. For all of the skiing I have done, I have never gotten lines this distinctive from my goggles. Sweettt!!! We have to leave tomorrow and I have to drop them off at the airport tomorrow night :(.