After my big day at Beaver Creek on Saturday and the Bears game Sunday, I was looking forward to a nice, leisurely day at Breckenridge. And quite honestly, so were my muscles. I was still sore from all the powder on Saturday, and groomers appeared to be my best option and best friend.
Chris and Chloe picked me up at 6:30 and we made great time to the mountain. We decided to take the new BreckConnect Gondola to the base of Peak 8 for the first time. The new gondola is equipped with very spacious cabins and covers a decent amount of ground in a short time. Of course, the views were spectacular. The parking was still $10 though, which would’ve been fine if the gondola started early, but it didn’t start until 8:30, meaning we didn’t get to the base until 8:45. This would’ve made a big deal on a normally busy day, but on this day, it made no difference.
Despite the holiday and school closings for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Breckenridge was surprisingly desolate. I mean, it literally felt abandoned at times. My hypothesis as to the reason for this bizarre phenomenon was the bitter cold. I think the warmest it got all day was only a few degrees above zero, and was definitely below zero when we arrived. We all prepared well and braved the cold and had a spectacular day. Chris and I had some great runs on Frosty’s Freeway, Gold King, Cashier, and Briar Rose. In fact, on a few runs on Cashier and Briar Rose, we had the whole run of groomed corduroy all to ourselves.
Considering the forecasted cold and anticipated crowds for the holiday, Breckenridge was fantastic. There was no new snow, but my legs actually thanked me for that. Instead, I got to work on my turns on groomed terrain while carrying some pretty exciting speed and share a terrific day with friends. Definitely a top five day for the year.
Filed under: A-Basin, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Colorado, Keystone, Snowboarding, Vail
I officially have myself a boarder babe.
On Saturday, McNeill and I taught Chloe and Missy how to snowboard at Breckenridge. It was a trying, frustrating experience, but we kept our patience, and the girls thrived and really enjoyed it. Missy enjoyed it so well, she decided she liked it better than skiing, which she’s been doing for two years since we moved out here. Personally, I’m ecstatic. I’ve always dreamed of being able to go riding through the snow with the gal I love. Chloe also enjoyed her time on the mountain, meaning our new mountain crew is a gang of snowboarders. Now we just have to get Missy new equipment….
While not thrashing it on the mountain, Missy has done a great job compilling the mountain of information I’ve thrown at her and put together a terrific Ski & Snowboard Section to www.daveandmissy.com. This wealth of information can be used as a resource for vacation planning and research. We have included a snow report and snow forecast, as well as current Colorado highway conditions. On top of that, we have mountain stats for our five main mountains, A-Basin, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Vail. Each mountain we profile includes a link to it’s official snow report, web cam, and terrain status.
We’ll try to update the mountains we profile as quickly as possible. I could do a write up on Crested Butte and Monarch since I only visited them last year, but too much time has passed since I’ve visited mountains such as Snowmass, Aspen Highlands, Buttermilk and Streamboat for my write-up to be relevant. As I keep notching more of the 26 resorts in Colorado off my list, the more info we’ll supply. Keep checking back for updates, and I will reference major updates here in Chicalorado.
Think Snow!
Filed under: A-Basin, Backpacking, Baseball, Beaver Creek, Blogroll, Breckenridge, Camping, Chicago, Chicago Bears, Chicago Cubs, Colorado, Denver, Football, Keystone, MLB, Music, NFL, Politics, Snowboarding, Sports, Vail
Welcome to Chicalorado. It’s pronounced Chi-ca-lo-rad-o. I came up with it trying to think of what to call myself. As much as I love Denver and the state of Colorado, I’m still a Chicagoan at heart. I don’t want ketchup on my hot dog, my accent is still prevelant, and I root for the Bears and Cubs.
Whether it’s snowboarding at Vail, backpacking in Rocky Mountain National Park, catching a concert at Red Rocks, sports, or anything else, it’ll probably be here. I wanted to chronicle the tales of a Chicagoan living in Colorado. Here are my tales.
