Let it snow... and keep snowing... and keep snowing...

I'm sure nearly everybody out there heard at least something about "that big snowstorm in Colorado." Well, I'm just hanging out in our rented condo in Keystone with Kevin, taking a break from the insane amounts of snowboarding in beautiful, plentiful powder all week, looking out on the slopes of Keystone Resort... wondering if I'll actually be able to drive back to Estes tonight like I am supposed to, or if the roads that I need to take will be closed. I could stay here another night with these guys... but alas, spending the past 5 days with 9 guys has been more tiring/frustrating than going on a wildfire in a tent camp with 15 guys at times. Maybe if Beth had made it out here, I'd be ok. ;)  It's been a lot of fun and so good to see everybody, and a total blast riding the different ski resorts around here - in all this nonstop, FRESH POWDER - and hanging out in Breckenridge and Keystone... and watching the inches of snow pile up. Of course we hit the outdoor hot tub, drank Jager Bombs, Cabo Wabo and Brugal Rum, and made asses of ourselves on shuttle busses/ski lifts/public places. Last night we went to the Goat in Keystone, which was the most happening place in town, and played lots of South Park Pinball, drank PBR and watched one of the guys kill everybody in pool. There was some whining about "there's NOBODY here" - which translated to, there's not a lot of drunk girls to hit on - and more whining about no "dance music" and calling it a "dive bar"... Guess what guys? You're at a ski resort in the mountains of Colorado! It's all about bluegrass, PBR, fleece jackets, and casual/comfortable atmospheres - not techno music, trendy-yet-totally-inappropriate-for-the-mountains dance clothes, and a meat market. That stuff is in Denver... ya know, a big city?? :P  It was pretty annoying to hear those criticisms, because that's not what the mountains are about... and it was everything that I love. Sometimes, the culture/values difference between myself and that of which I left behind in suburban Detroit is so blatantly obvious, it makes me continuously thankful and assured that leaving Michigan and coming to Colorado was one of the best decisions of my life!

Amadeo flew out here with his little brother instead of driving with the rest of the guys because he is leaving for Dominica for med school on Jan. 1st. However, with this huge storm, the airport closed yesterday and won't be opened until tomorrow... and even then, he can't fly out any sooner than Christmas. I know many other people too who were stranded in Denver on their way back to their families for the holidays. It looks like he is going to have to rent a car and drive back, assuming the freeways open any time soon! Here in Keystone, we've gotten just over a foot of snow over the past 2 days (on top of a couple inches we got earlier in the week); up in Estes, my friend tells me it's about 20", with up to 26" possible by tomorrow. It's gonna make that 2 1/2 hr drive from Keystone to Estes into an epic half day journey! But I really need to get back up there and TRY to move more stuff from Lyons to my new cottage, since I am picking up Logan tomorrow around noon. The biggest problem is that my driveway in Lyons is steep, mud and stone... and nearly impossible to get up when it's covered with snow, even with 4x4. Not to mention moving my motorcycle... Yikes. I love this blizzard, but it certainly picked one hell of a time to hit!

I've been tearing it up on my snowboard, and totally sore from head to toe! The runs out here are so long, and the powder is so great to carve in but can be so tiring when the snow is mounded up like mogels. We went to Keystone Monday, Beaver Creek Tuesday, a few of us took Wednesday off to recover, and Breckenridge yesterday. At Breck, they got enough fresh powder that they opened up a few bowls up at the top of their highest Peak. Kevin, Jeff and I went up the Imperial Lift - North America's highest ski lift, at  - and decided to try and do the Imperial bowl... a DOUBLE black diamond... above tree line, with rocks and cliffs scattered around... in a blizzard... hardly any visibility, just a swirling continuous WHITE... could hardly tell where the sky ended, the mountain started, and just how steep this crazy thing was... oh did I mention those rocks and cliffs again?? Really I'm not double black diamond good... heck, even some black diamonds are just too much (though I was loving the ones at Beaver Creek!) but hey, it sounded like crazy fun. Or maybe just crazy. We took lift after lift until finally we were suspended above the alpine peak on a chairlift that we couldn't see 3 chairs in front of us, our noses running and snow and ice covering us, not even able to see the outline of the peak or even hardly which route was open. Once at the top, there was only one way down... so we made our way, ungraceful and uncertain in the white-out, down the steep part, between the rocks. Even people who are really GOOD at skiing were having a hard time getting down... Then there's me, carve a couple turns then SLIDE and stop. Slide a little more. Carve a couple...Slide. Jeff even lost a pole or a ski or something and had to hike back up to get it. That steep part wasn't very long though and soon it was just drifts of powder to explore. It wasn't a very long route but once was enough for me. ;)

Well the snow is still blowing outside and, though I'm feeling tired and lazy today, it just looks like too much fun to not spend one more day on the mountain with my friends. Starting Saturday, I am helping my friends out at the Rock and doing dishes over the holidays while people are out of town... spending time with the puppy... moving... Lots going on! So that's all for now. Off to our winter wonderland!!

Tags: keystone, snowboarding, skiing, colorado, ski trip, vacation, blizzard, snowstorm