a brief trip debrief

After loading food, one set of skis, two snowboards, three backpacks, three sets of boots, three suitcases, and three people into the afore mentioned xB (see below), we were off to conquer the road.

We swung by Amarillo to see my wonderful friend Bree Wells and headed off to Beaver Creek.

Day One: The girls snowboarded, hurt themselves, one had to quit, the other toughed it out for the day; all while I was off skiing hard stuff that made my heart beat so hard I felt it in my back.

Day Two: The girls didn't ski for health and comfort reasons, and I went with some of the BC staff to tour the mountain. I was a sore rick.

Day Three: I don't really know what happened at BC, because I hopped on a bus to spend Valentines Day in Vail! It was such a glorious day. Around 8 inches of fresh powder and plenty of gorgeous tree runs to keep me and my Vail friends occupied for the day. So amazing.

Day Four: I rested. I found a solitary couch and spent some much-needed time alone with some books. It was like hanging out with Malachi and Philip Yancey in the mountains. Pure. Oh, I also bought a patch for ol' yellow.

Day Five: Drive back to Dallas. Good conversations, good gas mileage, good bye Colorado.

For those of you who are kicking yourself for not taking me up on my offer to join me on a ski trip (again, see below... further), let me add a bit of info that will help you kick yourself harder: my spending grand total. The entire trip: gas, food, lift tickets, patch, everything, cost a total of... ready?... $209.41. That is $41.59 under my goal, and that includes a $15 deluxe edition atlas. I'm pretty sure I could claim that atlas under some other account and bring my total to below $200. Not bad huh?

Special thanks to:
Miguel Mudie for driving,
Breeto for the place to crash in 'Rillo,
Seth Hagar for hooking up the place to stay,
Seth and Erin Tegt for the lift ticket hook-ups,
and Josh Bashaw for graciously loaning me your sick skis.

out of the office

I'll be away from my proverbial desk from the 10th to the 17th on a very important ski trip. If you need me leave a message here or on my phone. If you want to see how three people fit all their stuff in a Scion xB, check back at the blog in a week or so. Cheers.

the real deal: an invitation

I am super blessed in a million some-odd ways, one of which is that my family pays for me to go on a ski trip every year after Christmas. This year was no exception. Christmas came, and the next day we were off to the slopes. The difference between this year's trip and previous trips is my longing to go back upon returning home.

See, I ordered the ski boots pictured above (Salomon XWave 10's for you curious types), and I want to use them. I certainly could wait until next Christmas' trip, but why? There is still snow in Colorado! So I'm in the process of planning a second ski trip for the beginning of February. Problem is, I don't have anyone that wants to go with me. I would love it if I could find two more-than-able skiers to join me on this trip. One such skier is Mikey Mills, who is currently not thinking straight, and therefore isn't in. To make these trips inexpensive, splitting things like gas is crucial!

So, if any of you readers of mine think you're up to an all-out, non-stop, hand-to-the-plow ski trip in February, let me know. And if you happen to be one of the people who think you're willing to be a part of such a trip, and you have an SUV, feel free to add that information as well. Nothing is set in stone yet, but it very well could be. I want to make this thing happen.

If you're having doubts, just picture yourself riding up a lift next to me, and looking at a view like this:

where I've been

I wish I could post a picture here, showing you the grandeur of all that was my ski trip in the Colorado Rockies, but given my current computer/internet/camera status, that won't be happening (yet). More on my current situation at the end of this post. First, skiing.

I've spent that past few days doing one of the very few things in life that I'm decent at: snow skiing. From Keystone to Vail to Breckenridge, I've worked hard at conquering each mountain, one run at a time. Keystone: conquered. Vail: too big to conquer. Breckenridge: conquered. The story I've chosen to share is an event that happened in Breck.

I stopped for lunch for the first time in three days. After eating my Vienna Sausages and tortillas I started gearing up for the trip's final afternoon. As we made our way out, one of my ski buddies recommended that we do a shirtless run. I, of course, obliged (see the carpe diem post below).

There are a couple things to keep in mind as you construct yourself a mental picture of my little topless run.

1) Mountains, winter, snow skiing... cold! I'd say it was somewhere between 20 and 30 degrees. Not terrible.

2) I have red hair, which, by default means that I have very pasty skin. My fleece is white as snow.

So there I go, equipped with skis, pants, gloves, a giant red beard, a hat and goggles, flying down a lift that quite conveniently ran directly below the nearest ski lift. If you are ever in Colorado and you want to be popular, take off your shirt and ski beneath a lift. I've never had so many people yell for me in my life. There were lots of people pointing, wondering what was wrong with me. Let 'em think that. While they're thinking that, I'll be seizing my days.

Back to my current status: I'm stuck in the La Quinta here in Pueblo, Colorado because God decided to place the biggest storm in American history on the same day as our drive home. Chances aren't really looking too good that we'll get to leave here tomorrow either... strug. Stay tuned to see if I ever get to leave this place. Oh, and don't think, "how cool, he's stuck in his favorite state." Not quite, this isn't cool Colorado, it's not-so-cool-Colorado-in-a-hotel-with-nut-bag-people. Oh well... carpe diem.