Howdy! The Epic Ski Trip (aka empty nester ski trip) is still happening! Last week I was in Utah and now I’m in Colorado. We’ve been racking up a lot of miles on the road, but it’s been fun! Running has definitely taken a back seat to skiing this winter. My knee issue hasn’t stopped me from enjoying skiing but the issue hasn’t gone away yet. But then again, I haven’t given it much rest either! Overall I’m happy it’s holding in there.
Sun – travel day to Colorado from Utah. We took a detour to Arches National Park. It was the perfect day to be there! Blue skies, sunny day, and temps in the 50s! We walked around the Windows arches. Eventually we made it to Gunnison CO where we spent the night.
Mon – skiing at Crested Butte Colorado. This was our first time at this ski resort. We liked it and will definitely be back again some day. Not many skiers out either which meant we had some runs to ourselves… like the one we raced down to clock our top speed. I hit 41 mph. WOOOT! We also went on a double black diamond, “experts only”, run. It was challenging!
Also, it was World Tutu Day. The resort handed out tutus in the morning so why not!
We arrived at our final destination of the trip, Keystone ski resort. It was nice to unpack! Our condo is gorgeous and packed with every little thing we might need. This is house rental done right!
Tues – 3 miles running. Oof! How out of shape am I?? Well, we are at 9,000 feet, so there’s that. But despite how challenging this felt, I was feeling good when it was done 🙂 And… I applied for the NYC Marathon! I had a qualifying time from running the Columbus marathon, so we’ll see. Alan applied too for the lottery entry. Fingers crossed!
After my remote work day we went to see the International Snow Sculpture competition in Breckenridge. So pretty!! These are all carved without internal structures or power tools. Very impressive.
Weds – Skiing at Keystone. It was a really fun day! Keystone is one of my favorite ski resorts. It has a lot of family friendly areas but it also has some great advanced terrain which you can only get to by hiking. We hiked up three times! Hiking uphill carrying skis is so exhausting. I had to stop every 30 seconds for a rest break! But we made it and was rewarded with some fresh snow. Even better than the fresh snow was the fun section through the trees. It’s always a winner. I suppose you can’t really tell from this picture but this is up at 12,000 feet. We were only half way to the top of the hike!! You can see how little snow we have out here in Colorado. They are really lacking snow out West.
Thurs – 35 miles skiing! We skied at Beaver Creek. This was actually a top mileage day for us! I had a bit of a scare on the slopes. I am a strong skier on most runs, but there is a lot of packed snow making the slopes slippery (I was having a hard time doing a controlled turn). We ventured over to a double black and it was VERY steep. And slippery. I made a turn and went into the rocks. I’m not sure what happened next but one ski popped off and I was left sitting on my other ski. The lost ski didn’t stop, it just kept flying down the slopes! Thankfully Alan was quite a ways down the mountain and he caught my ski. I was totally freaked out thinking I would take one trip and I would go rolling down the steep slope! Another skier thankfully took my other ski down to Alan and I had to slide down on my butt. Which started out as my butt, and when I couldn’t slow down, I turned on my stomach and tried to slow myself down. It was a terrifying, awful, humiliating experience! I guess I can look back at it and laugh now, but in the moment I was very scared and felt frustrated and deflated by the whole experience. Uggggh. I’m the one sitting down in the picture up top.
Here is something that has been making me happy… our lunches! We have been making a “slope side charcuterie” lunch. It really keeps me fueled and it’s so simple!
Fri – 4 miles running. OMG, again, running at this altitude is brutal! It was actually 50 degrees in the afternoon at the resort base so it was necessary to shed layers. Exhausting, but I felt quite accomplished afterwards!
After a day of working (with the time change, I have to log on at 6am zzzzz), running, and doing laundry, watching the Olympics opening ceremony was the perfect way to end the day.
Sat – Skiing at Breckenridge. It was another full day of skiing and the weather was great! After slipping around on the slopes Thursday I got my edges sharpened, and the skis were waxed. I think it made a huge difference and I had renewed confidence. It was a good day of skiing!
We also went into town for some apres ski fun.
Sun – Skiing at Keystone, and then chilling out watching the Super Bowl AND the Olympics. I have been obsessed with the social media accounts from the athletes in Milan. I love to see what’s happening behind the scenes! What an amazing experience for them.
Need some more inspiration? I’m linking up with Deborah at Confessions of a Mother Runner and Kim from Running on the Fly for their Weekly Run Down. Check out all of the fun blogs there!
Q: Did you watch the Olympics opening ceremony? Did you like it?
I always forget how long it is!! I really liked it, other than Mirah Carey’s singing. She looked so odd! Kudos to Milan for having multiple locations so the athletes could all participate in the walk out with their team mates!
Looks like you’ve made the most of your ski trip.
Glad to hear your knee is not getting in the way.
You can even squeeze in some runs.
Good luck with NYC.
I think I might be taking a rest from running next week! I think my knee might be happier with a rest day, so the running will have to wait!
I think I have a decent chance to get into NYC but I’m not sure about the lottery chances for Alan. I really wanted it to be an experience for both of us to run, but I couldn’t pass up having a qualified time entry.
What a cosy rental house! It sounds like you’re having a blast on the slopes. I’m glad you got away from that icy slope safely! Sounds freaky scary!
Great news about the NYC marathon too.
I was hoping to follow the Olympics since there are some great Swedish athletes but I can’t find where to watch it streaming, Irish channels don’t seem to interested, and for good reason when there’s also Six Nations going on.
I had to Google what Six Nations was… but that makes sense why you don’t see a lot of Olympics coverage!
That icy slope was very scary. I hope to not repeat that situation every again!!
This sounds like an epic adventure!!! And you can’t have an epic adventure without some danger, right? That mishap on the slopes sounds really scary (especially to me since I don’t ski at all). i’m impressed that you got back out there the next day and felt good.
Yes, running at that altitude is NO JOKE. Imagine how easy it’ll feel when you get home.
I had the opening ceremony on, muted, because I was watching a livestream of my son’s concert at the same time. It looked REALLY weird with no sound. Now i’m gearing up for the Super Bowl. Go Seahawks!
It helped that I insisted we get my ski edges sharpened, which helps you turn and grip the snow. Alan said they looked sharp enough, but I wanted it done. I felt good the next time I skied so I do think it helped!
That’s so great you can watch your son’s concerts like that. A great way to stay connected and keep up with what is going on with him!
I’m jealous of all your skiing, but not that scare! A few years ago I ended up on a run I should not have — steep moguls, lots of ice — and I hated every minute of it.
Those ice sculptures look amazing.
My dreams (well, nightmares!) were filled with ski slopes after that event! It was so steep and slick. I stayed far away from any similar runs the rest of the day.
The sculptures are always so impressive. We’ve seen them for several years now and we are never disappointed. There were some falling apart a bit due to the warmer temps but overall they were all still in good shape considering they were built 5 days prior.
Ooh looks like you are having an epic ski trip! I would have freaked out on that fall! I’m just getting back to skiing the last few years after a bad accident 20 years ago. So, I stick to the blues. Glad to see there is nice snow there -we are headed to Aspen in a few weeks. Empty nester trips have really grown on me! Enjoy!
We have heard Colorado should be getting some snow this upcoming week, which will hopefully help. Overall the snow has been pretty scarce out here. I think the resorts do a great job grooming what they have, and they have to keep some runs closed until they build up enough snow. So keep your expectations low and then you won’t be disappointed!
Well, you have successfully reminded me that skiing is best to avoid for my klutzy self, LOL. It looks exciting, but I know my skill set…and I have no business on slippery slopes. Sounds like quite a trip, though! Your rental looks amazing!
The slick conditions have challenged me this trip for sure! There is some ice but mostly it’s just hard packed snow which isn’t great. But our VRBO *is* great! It might be the best one we’ve rented.
Lisa, what an amazing week of skiing (!) – plus the detour to Arches! I am so jealous (in the best possible way).
You sound like a strong skier (did you learn as a child?) but woah, the part where you lost your ski and had to slide down on your butt sounds scary indeed. Especially if it was icy! I am you were ok.
I cannot wait to get on skis again. I will actually be around the corner from Cortina D’Ampezzo (where the Olympics are) in a couple of months with my family. I grew up skiing in the Dolomites.
The Dolomites look amazing! I started skiing in high school. Our school would have random trips up to a local ski resort, which was quite small. When I dated Alan back in college he learned how to ski. We’ve been skiing together ever since!
That icy run sucked! I was so afraid I was going to just hurl down the mountain and not be able to stop since it was so steep. I was so upset I actually shed some tears when I finally got down. Not my finest hour. I’m just glad the rest of the day was uneventful!
That story about losing your ski and having to slide down on your butt sounds scary! Way back when I was skiing in Colorado, I took a wrong turn and ended up on a Double black diamond run–all moguls–and I couldn’t navigate it. So I ended up sliding down that run on my butt. For me, it was humiliating, lol. Right now, my son is out west–he went to Telluride and then to Whistler. He’s snowboarding. He said the conditions were bad. We have all the snow here and out east, I guess! Enjoy the rest of your trip!
It’s a bummer the snow isn’t great for your son. I know it’s not cheap to go on a ski trip! But hopefully he’s enjoying what they have. Both times we’ve gone to Whistler the conditions were quite iffy. I’d love to go back when it’s good. We’ve never been to Telluride either… but it’s on our bucket list!
What an amazing trip you’re having, Lisa! That incident where you lost your ski sounds terrifying! Good idea to get those skis waxed and the edges sharpened! Isn’t it great that you can work remotely so you don’t have to take time off work and save those PTO days for your March trip!
The remote work situation has worked out really well. We certainly can’t ski every day so it’s a perfect day to sit down, take it easy and do my job!