Walking to and from dinner and ski rentals appeared to be a festive time. Apparently the entire town and
tourists are reveling in some fire god festivities. Celebrations, fun and
excitement clog the narrow sidewalks and spill out of bars and restaurant’s. So
what if it’s only 11 degrees, the cold never bothers them.
I woke up early the next morning to conquer the first tracks event. First Tracks is only offered to those staying in "on resort" hotels. By
six-thirty am, the valet had returned my skis and I was eating the free
continental breakfast provided to Gold and Diamond members. The buffet offers
oat meal, scrambled eggs, bacon, fruit, muffins and Starbuck’s Coffee in
abundance.
The Double Tree provides a shuttle to the .1 mile distances
to the lift chair. Though I thought I had dressed properly, I quickly learned
that 12 degree temperatures and blustery snow filled wind would prove too much
for this southern boy. The lift carried me for 15 minutes from 10,000 feet to
12,000 feet through bone chilling extremes. I kept thinking about images from
the movie about climbers with skin frozen black by arctic temperatures as they
descended the Eiger Mountain in Switzerland.
By the time I skied down, my fingers felt so numb and cold
that I couldn’t get them to do what I wanted. I took off my skis and went into
the resort restaurant to thaw. All the while the pain was so great that I swore
to go back to my room and quit.
After about an hour, I felt better and humbly went to the
pro-shop for advice. They did all but laugh at my gloves, and offered me a set
of gloves that they guaranteed would keep me warm. I also bought a face mask
and goggles to replace my skull cap and Under Armor sunglasses. That did the
trick and allowed me to continue skiing for several more hours.
The ski slope offered two restaurants only obtainable by
lift. Plenty of food and warmth provided to reenergize for the ski trip down to
the valley below. I recommend the chili in a bread bowl and the good strong and most importantly hot coffee.
Be sure to not only dress properly for the ski trip, but make sure you have the right transportation. My Kia Soul did not perform well in the snow. Traffic backed up behind me as I continuously lost traction during my slow ascent of the mountain leaving Breckenridge.
No comments:
Post a Comment