A Well Kept Man

For the ski neophytes out there:

Green circle runs are "easiest" and have names like "Cub's Way" or "Rosebud" or "Flap Jack";

Blue square runs are "intermediate" and sport names like "Cappuccino" or "Volunteer";

Black diamond runs are "difficult" and have names such as "Cimarron," "Shock," and "Boneyard";

Double-Black diamond runs are "expert only" and have names like "Devil's Crotch," or "Check Your Pants," and have lots of warning signs that are meant to prevent you from suing the resort if you happen to injure yourself.

Well, Alli's coworker convinced me we should try a double-black run (Alli opted to cruise down a familiar blue run) and it didn't start out too bad...but then we got to "Mustang." When one describes a mustang they tend to portray them as wild, or rough, or maybe you would describe the type of horse you see cowboys riding at the rodeo. I concur...

I think the drop was roughly the same vertical slope and height as the Washington Monument (not quite, but the drop was around 300 vertical feet)...somehow I survived which was a little victory in itself, until I turned the corner and wound up at a run named "Trinity." I assume it was appropriately named so at this point I decided to connect with God before continuing...just in case.

After a couple bumps (and by bumps I mean moguls the size of VW Beetles, covered with ice), my snow pants started ringing...worried that it might be the Big Guy calling me to tell me to take a different path, I stopped to answer. Instead it was the wife to see how I was doing because her coworker had apparently arrived and wondered if I was requiring the services of a mountain rescue team. After assuring her I was ok, I continued the rest of the way down and rejoined the crew at the lift.

I'm not sure I'll be jumping over any cliffs next time out on the slopes, but after this weekend I'm up for just about anything. In fact, the following day we skied with another coworker of Alli's and her family, including their five-year-old son. Towards the end of the day he wanted to take a run through the terrain park (the kiddie terrain park), so we all skied over to do a run on the course. The first obstacle was a horizontal rail about a foot of the ground that I jumped on and rode like a pro...realizing that I was now on the same level as Shaun White, I decided to up my game. After landing on the rail, I attempted to turn my skis 90 degrees on the rail which turned into me over-leaning and finishing the rail on head.

After everyone finished laughing I decided that would probably be the last time I "ride the rails." So much for my new-found confidence. Thankfully I wasn't seriously injured, and we had a great time (it's tough to have a bad time when you're up in the mountains on a beautiful, sunny day).

Sorry I don't have any pictures, we didn't bring the camera and some things are better kept as a memory, or a blog post I guess...

We have managed to ski a few times so far this winter, a week (almost) in Breckenridge, a day at Keystone, and a long weekend in Vail. As it has been snowing more and more lately, hopefully the days will rack up a little quicker...although with a minimum of two hours to the mountains (instead of one to the Alps) it makes it a bit more complicated when you have a dog at home waiting impatiently for your return. The ski resorts in Colorado are very different from Switzerland, both topographically and vegetatively (I think I made up those words)....

In Switzerland, most of the skiing is above the tree line (where the trees can't grow), whereas here in Colorado, there are lots of Aspens and pines. Also, the Swiss runs were much wider and more meticulously groomed, whereas the Colorado runs can become a bit precarious in the afternoon after the skiers have pushed the snow around making unfriendly bumps. Either way I'm spoiled as I get to play on the weekends in the great outdoors. I also seem to wipeout more often here in the States, but that might be due to an increased risk tolerance...as in if I get hurt I don't need to worry that the medics won't speak English and I'll be subject odd-ball European medical procedures involving leeches and moldy cheese.